When as MacVeagh said there was no issue except honesty, he and other Mugwumps and liberals meant that there was no real issue except civil service reform. He located dishonesty in political machines and patronage rather than in the fee-based nature of the offices themselves. If appointment to office—whether fee-based or salaried—could be wrested away from politicians and be made subject to exams, then the result would be an efficient, streamlined bureaucracy whose members would have secure tenure so long as they performed their jobs well.
