Joseph P. Bradley Quotes
I know it is very hard to rise above the influences of party prejudice. Often, it almost drowns the sentiment of patriotism. Party rancor and party hatred are the last serpents which the genius of patriotism can crush.
Bradley, Joseph P. Miscellaneous Writings of the Late Hon. Joseph P. Bradley. Edited by Charles Bradley, L. J. Hardham, 1902.
Theodore Roosevelt was the Presidential nominee
Faction was the then common word for political party. James Madison frequently used the word in this sense. See {606044}.
This quotation illustrates a political phenomenon that used to be common in American politics—the spoils system where government activities, positions, contracts and grants were awarded to the supporters of the winning party and not to the opponents. In modern times government contracts were supposed to have been awarded on the basis of qualifications and price and not conditioned on political support. In this rare quotation, the secretary admitted to violating his own Department’s regulations and using politics as a criteria where existing laws prohibited that.
Joseph Philo Bradley was an American jurist best known for his service on the United States Supreme Court, and on the Electoral Commission that decided the disputed 1876 presidential election.
