Thanks in part to the effective exploitation of the Civil Service, and to methods such as those referred to in Arthur's thinly veiled hints, the Republicans won, getting both the Senate and the House in addition to the presidency. Garfield did not have a majority of the popular votes, and his plurality over Hancock was less than ninetyfive hundred. The electoral vote was two hundred fourteen for Garfield, one hundred fifty-five for Hancock. As leader of the anti-Grant delegations in the convention, Garfield had defied Conkling, the great New York boss. But the narrow Republican majority made party harmony even more desirable than usual, and Garfield at first seemed inclined to give Conkling a voice in the all-important matters of the patronage. Before his inauguration the President-elect wrote to Conkling: "I would be glad to consult you on several subjects relating to the next administration and especially in reference to New York interests." After writing this, for some reason Garfield seems to have abandoned all idea of working with the New York leader. In making up his Cabinet he appointed Blaine Secretary of State. Now Blaine had given mortal offense to Conkling by a surprisingly bitter, sarcastic attack upon him in the Senate, in which he referred contemptuously to his "turkey gobbler strut." At the time Blaine made it clear that in his opinion Conkling's relation to a former Senatorial leader was the relation of a dunghill to a diamond. THE GARFIELD ADMINISTRATION As though his appointment of Blaine had not been a sufficiently clear declaration of war upon Conkling, Garfield proceeded to remove Merritt, the collector of the port of New York, and to appoint as his successor one Robertson, Conkling's rival in the Republican machine in New York. The collector had over a thousand subordinates and Conkling had depended upon the Customs House as his chief bulwark. Garfield clearly intended to build up an anti-Conkling organization. No wonder that Conkling saw in this maneuver "the fine Italian hand of Blaine." This final insult to Conkling threatened to split the party. "I am completely disgusted with Garfield's course," wrote Grant, "[He] has shown that he is not possessed of the backbone of an angleworm." Conkling wrathfully resigned from the Senate, followed by his THE GARFIELD ADMINISTRATION 619 colleague, Platt, and appealed to the New York legislature for a vote of confidence and for restoration to the Senate. But the anti-Conkling group happened to have a majority then, so new Senators were chosen. The two resignations were in the nature of a formal protest against Garfield's open defiance of the principle of "Senatorial Courtesy" and they raised again the whole issue of the patronage and civil service reform. So too did the exposure of the "Star Route Frauds" in the Post Office, under the direction of James, the new Postmaster General. The "Star Routes" were mostly in the West, in regions not served by railroads. Because of the rapidly increasing population in those sections it was impossible to let long term contracts for carrying mail at a fixed compensation. The contracts were therefore let to the lowest bidder, with the understanding that if changed conditions warranted it, the compensation might be increased by the Second Assistant Postmaster General, without calling for new bids. According to custom the contracts were let to contracting firms, which made arrangements with individuals to carry the mail. One such concern included the Secretary of the Republican National Committee, the Dorsey of Indiana fame. His brother, Senator S. W. Dorsey, was also interested. They bid for a number of routes, at rates below the actual cost of carrying the mail at the time. Then, in collusion with Brady, the Second Assistant Postmaster General, they secured heavy increases in their compensation. On nineteen of the routes let to the Dorsey firm, the pay was advanced in two years from $41,135 to $448,670 per year. The estimates of the actual extent of the fraud vary, but they ranged between two and a half and five million dollars. Not all the funds misappropriated in this way went into the pockets of the offenders; instead, under Dorsey's direction, according to reports, they were paid into the treasury of the Republican National Committee. Dorsey's ethical standard may perhaps be understood from his refusal to resign from his post as Secretary after the disclosures were made. Brady tried to put a stop to the investigation by threatening to reveal Garfield's connection with, and approval of the frauds. While all these things were going on Garfield was shot by a disappointed office-seeker, a member of the "Stalwart" or Conkling faction in New York. For a time there was hope of his recovery, but that proved to be ill-founded. His successor was Chester A. Arthur, the polished gentleman of New York politics. Arthur had been one of the head spoilsmen of New York, an intimate associate of Conkling, and as such he was the despair of the reformers. But he took his responsibilities as President most seriously, and made a surprisingly good record. CIVIL SERVICE REFORM There was comparatively little legislation passed during Arthur's administration, although one measure, the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, was more than usually important. The tariff, one of the issues in the campaign, continued to attract attention. In 1882 Congress authorized the appointment of a Tariff Commission, to make a scientific study of the whole problem. It was needed. The duties were still maintained at the abnormally high Civil War level, and because of the heavy imports, they were creating an embarrassing surplus in the treasury. The money could not be allowed to remain unused in the government vaults, and the only way to get it out was by increasing federal expenditures. Congressmen began to use the surplus for payments on account of Civil War pensions-a subject to be discussed later and river and harbor, or "pork barrel" bills. These last acts were designed, sometimes to improve port facilities, sometimes merely to transform creeks and rivulets into navigable streams. Some of the projects were eminently desirable; others were charity. It was the duty of every Congressman to secure the appropriation of as much federal money as possible for his own district; not infrequently his length of service depended upon his success in the work. In 1870 the annual river and harbor bill had called for only $3,900,000, in 1880 for $8,900,000. In 1882 it called for over $18,700,000, and President Arthur vetoed it. The President expressed regret that in vetoing it, because of its inclusion of projects of purely local interest, he was compelled to defeat measures which would have benefited the whole country. With this aspect of the tariff to serve as a background in 1883 Congress began the consideration of a tariff measure. After a good deal of difficulty a bill was eventually passed. So far as reform went, it was an ineffective act, leaving the general level of rates virtually unchanged. A few were lowered, but some were raised. Not very much in the way of tariff reform could be expected from the party advocating high protection. The discussion, however, served to focus the attention of the public upon the tariff, and the Democrats began CIVIL SERVICE REFORM 621 to lean toward lower rates. For the next few years this highly technical subject became an issue in party politics. Although no man in the country had been more closely affiliated with the disreputable side of party politics than Arthur, as President he became an advocate of Civil Service reform. In 1883 Congress put through the Pendleton Act, for the purpose of separating the offices from politics. The measure prohibited the assessment of federal employees, and provided for the establishment of a Civil Service Commission of three members. This Commission was authorized to conduct examinations for testing the fitness of those wanting positions in the Civil Service, to keep records of the grades made, and to submit to the president lists of candidates, in the order of their standing. The Pendleton Act did not place any of the offices under the Civil Service Rules; the decision as to which offices should go under the merit system and which should not was left to the discretion of the president. Arthur made a somewhat tentative start with the law, placing under the Rules fourteen thousand positions, out of a total of one hundred ten thousand, about twelve and one-half per cent. Succeeding presidents made additions to the list, usually a short time before their terms expired. By 1915 over sixty per cent of the offices were filled by means of the merit system, and were therefore beyond the reach of partisan machinery. The best places still remain as political "plums," but the reform has eliminated a vast amount of corruption and inefficiency. No matter how good the intentions of a government, the question of the Civil Service always presents a dilemma. If the appointments are for short terms, and made by a political official, the offices will inevitably be used to promote political ends. On the other hand, the merit system alone, with its corollaries of long terms, and continuous service, points toward a bureaucracy, in which the aim of the employees is to perpetuate their vested interests. CHAPTER LIV THE GRANGER MOVEMENT While the country was observing the scramble for offices and the close coöperation between politics and "Big Business," there was a lively reform movement going on among the farmers in the West. The integration of industry and the organization of labor seemed to put the farmer at an extreme disadvantage. Everything which he had to buy, including both transportation and supplies, was controlled by combinations of great wealth and power. At the same time, the government, the only public agent in which he had any voice, was in close league with the railroads and the "trusts." During the seventies and the eighties the position of the farmer was rendered peculiarly difficult because of the rapid changes going on in the West. As the frontier disappeared much of the older freedom, in the sense of economic independence, went along with it. The farmer was no longer dependent upon his own energy and resources alone. He was caught in the rapidly growing country, which seemed to be controlled by forces far beyond his reach. He was likewise, after the Panic of 1873, caught in a chain of constantly falling prices. Under these circumstances agrarian discontent became one of the outstanding features of the period, along with "Big Business," great labor unions, and corrupt politics. Under these conditions, the farmers organized too, to protect themselves, and to make their power felt in public affairs. THE GRANGE The first of the great agrarian movements centered in the Grange, or officially, "The Patrons of Husbandry." This order was launched in 1867 under the enthusiastic leadership of Oliver Hudson Kelley. Kelley had been born in Boston and had followed the example of numerous New Englanders by going West. After a little experience in Minnesota, he secured a federal position in connection with the Bureau of Agriculture in Washington, D. C. His duties required him to travel extensively among the farmers, especially in the South and West, and on these trips he was deeply impressed with the state of |