Some Reforms in Our Public Ethics [pp. 417-425]

1874.] SOM,E REFORMS IN OUR PUBLIC ETIHICS.
qualified to arrest a thief as to examine
a school-ma'am. Whether he was or
was not successful in either capacity is
another affair.
Keeping these things in view, we must
conclude that the general public here
are more intelligent and better educated
than the office-holders in Europe, or
that the duties of state and county officials here are often performed in a very
insufficient manner. The latter alternative is a very disagreeable one; but, unfortunately, it is the only one that the
evidence will allow us to adopt. In
every department of the public service
the results of incompetence, not from
want of natural ability but fromn want
of experience, occasionally crop out.
Look, for instance, at the county roads
of California. No small part of the
taxes raised in every county is spent in
their maintenance. Yet if you ask any
farmer about the condition of the roads
in his neighborhood, the answer very
often will be that they are best where
they have been let alone. During the
summer months numbers of men may
be seen mending the roads in various
parts of the State. In many instances,
in less than a month after the work is
done, all traces of the "improvement"
have disappeared. Is the disappearance
owing to the great amount of traffic on
the road? No. Is it owing to the action of torrents or inundations? No.
My dear reader, unless you saw it, you
would never guess the cause. The "improvement" has been blowiz awzay by the
winzd/ Lest people unacquainted with
the country might think we suffer from
violent hurricanes, I must say that the
wind in California seldom amounts to
anything stronger than a pleasant breeze;
but, perhaps, this is the only country in
which people resort to the practice of
mending their roads by filling the ruts
and holes with dust.
Since public officers are, on entering
on the discharge of their duties, inex
perienced, it would be natural to suppose that they should work for smnall
salaries. On the contrary, their salaries
are two or three times as large as those
that experienced men receive from private individuals for performing similar
duties. Public officers can not afford to
work for a moderate salary. No man
would, without receiving a great advance
in salary, leave permanent employment
for a temporary job. If a clerk works
for a company or for a private individual, while worthy of his position he usually retains it. But let him obtain a
county, a State, or a United States office,
and no amount of clerical ability will secure his re-election. If he has received
his position by appointment, he is not
sure of it a single day. There is in addition the expense of election to be
made good out of his salary. This alone
often amounts to a year's pay, and sometimes leaves the unsuccessful candidate
a bankrupt. Having once tasted the
sweets of office, the office-holder is extremely unwilling to resign them. If
he fails to be re-elected, he does not
readily return to his former occupation
in private life. Even if he tried, perhaps the employment he resigned could
not easily be obtained. Hence, he often
remains idle until the next election, hoping that either himself or his party may
again come into office. Let him be
again elected,. and he considers the public bound to reimburse him, not only for
the time he is in office, but also for the
time spent in waiting for it; and he generally succeeds in obtaining pay for the
time he was idle as well as for the time
he works.
Extravagance is not by any means the
worst feature of the case. The tax-payers are rich, money is easily obtained,
and we can yearly squander sums that
would ruin a poorer country. Still, everyone will admit that the expense of
administering public affairs is enormous,
and everyone should endeavor to reduce
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