“It is in conformity with the laws of nature and, therefore, right that a man should push his son, his relatives and friends, and I would not blame a man for doing this; I should rather denounce him for not doing it--always provided, of course, that said son, said relatives or friends were qualified to fill the positions to which they are appointed”, said Mr. Forest at our next conversation. “I remember that I have read in certain books a great deal about the nepotism shown at your time in the distribution of the federal patronage, and that General Grant was accused of always preferring his relatives and friends in making appointments. I sympathize with that great commander in the sturdiness with which he stood by his friends, and I am inclined to excuse the mistakes, he sometimes made in his appointments, because they were mistakes of his heart that was always true to his friends and sometimes was inclined to overestimate their ability, or sense of honor. If the ties of blood and friendship are not to be considered, what else should be? And since a man is bound to know the character and ability of his relatives and friends better than the qualities of other people, he should certainly first appoint those next to him to positions for which they are qualified.” “But the trouble with our political and social system is, that it is bound to breed not only favoritism, but also corruption on the largest scale. One hundred and thirteen years ago, the men at the head of the National Government or those who were influential with them were also sometimes filling places, where for little work a good salary was paid, with unworthy women and men, but such sinecures were comparatively few and far between. The number of federal officials in your days was, if I am not mistaken about 80,000, and the postmasters of the small country towns, who made up the largest part of the 80,000 were paid such a beggarly commission for the sale of postage stamps, that no one could afford to accept such positions except trades people, who kept a store, where they had to be all day anyhow, and to whom the honor and small profits were an object. And then the incumbents of all the offices that could be classed as sinecures, were changed every four or eight years. Our administrations have a very long life. The one ousted twelve years ago lasted twenty-six years. And the number of positions at the command of the government is very large. There is one lieutenant or overseer to about each and every twelve men or women, not to mention the captains, colonels, etc.; and the amount of bookkeeping done, is simply enormous. We are keeping books as you know, I suppose, in all the producing as well as in the distributing departments, and more than that: every citizen has an account in the police books[16]. [16] Page 87.