to be hoped,
will go a step further in their reasoning. If those two Presidents
were right in thinking that the public welfare was served by keeping
meritorious officers not belonging to the ruling party in place until
they had served four years, is it not wrong to deprive the country of
the services of such men, made especially valuable by their accumulated
experience and the training of their skill, by turning them out after
the lapse of the four years? If it was for the public interest to keep
them so long, is it not against the public interest not to keep them
longer?

* * * * *

But all these evidences of progress I regard as of less importance than
the strength our cause has gained in public sentiment. Of this we had
a vivid illustration when a year ago, upon the motion of Mr. Richard
Watson Gilder, the Anti-Spoils League was set on foot for the purpose
of opening communication and facilitating correspondence and, in case
of need, concert of action with the friends of Civil Service reform
throughout the country, and when, in a short space of time, about 10,000
citizens sent in their adhesion, representing nearly every State
and Territory of the Union, and in them, the most enlightened and
influential classes of society.

More encouraging still is the circumstance that now for the first time
we welcome at our annual meeting not only the familiar faces of
old friends, but also representatives of other organizations--Good
Government clubs, working for the purification of politics; municipal
leagues, whose aim is the reform of municipal governments; and
commercial bodies, urging the reform of our consular service. We welcome
them with especial warmth, for their presence proves that at last
the true significance of Civil Service reform is being appreciated in
constantly widening circles. The Good Government Club understands that
if the moral tone of our politics, national or local, is to be lifted
up, the demoralizing element of party spoil must be done away with. The
Municipal League understands that if our large municipalities are to be
no longer cesspools of corruption, if our municipal governments are to
be made honest and business-like, if our police forces are to be kept
clear of thugs and thieves, the appointments to places in the municipal
service must be withdrawn from the influence of party bosses and
ward ruffians, and must be strictly governed by the merit system. The
merchants und