The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-19 00:00:00

cause, from the accession of Washington till the ad-

vent of President Jackson.

It was with the al-

ministration of that officer that the present system
was inaugurated, which Mr. Jenckes hopes to de-
stroy, and which, we believe, he will succeed in
doing during the administration of President Grant.
Jackson's motto was simple ; he regarded politics
as a fight for power, the spoils belonging to the vic-
tor, and from that date, 40 years ago, the political aid
given to the candidate for office has been held
more binding than any qualifications. A. more
fatal system could not be devised, but it did not act
with the present force till after the war, when the
Civil Service increased to such huge proportions. Of
the 50,000 officers, exclusive of those requiring the
Senate's confirmation, 30,000 are in the postal de-
partment, and the 20,000 in the various public offices
are within the scope of Mr. Jenckes' Bill. Of these,
1 the Department of the Treasury numbers more than

all the others combined. Sine collect the Customs,
some assess and collect the internal revenue, look
after the lighthouses and the coast survey; many
are in the office of the Treasury of the United
States—in that of the Register of the Treasury, the
Amr.tors and Comptrollers, the Loan Ddpartm,mt,
Comptroller of the Currency, the Bureaux of In-
ternal Revenues and Statistics, printing and issuing
currency,revenue cutter service,inspection of steam-
boats and steam boilers, special agencies, police and
detectives, special agents in the Bureau of the Com-
missioner of Customs.

The Department of the Interior numbers, be-
sides the general staff, the officers in the Gene-
ral Land Office, who have charge of all busi-

ness relating to the public lands those in
the Patent Office, including many skilled in
technology in the Indian Office and in the
Pension Office. The War Department includes
that of the Quartermaster, the Subsistence, and
the Pay Departments ; the offices of the Surgeon-
General, the Ordnance, the Adjutant-General, the
Engineer, the Freedman's Bureau, and the bureaux
in charge of the Washington Aqueduct and public
buildings. The Navy Department comprises all its
many clerks at Washington, as well as the bureaux
and commissions of the navy yards throughout the
country. Most of the offices of the Department of
State require the confirmation of the Senate, com-
posed as they are, the,diplomatic service of the United
States, but the clerks and others employed at Wash-
ington are insignificant in number. The Post-office
Department includes the clerks at Washington, and
in the principal post offices throughout the country.
Mr. Jenckes' Bill proposes to establish a Board of
Commissioners to ascertain and determine the
standard of qualification required for each class
' and grade of these inferior offices, no appointment
being permitted until the candidate shall have passed
the required examination, and shall have served
satisfactorily during the period of probation, when
he will be entitled to a permanent place in the service.
The Commissioners will receive, if this bill passes,
ample powers to establish rules and regulations to
govern examinations and probations for the admis-
sion of all candidates to the public service and to
eject all deficient in these qualifications, or who
may be inefficient or incompetent from any other
cause.

In reply to 37 questions submitted to a large
number of civil officers the testimony was almost
unanimous in favour of the change, making the ser-
vice permanent, appointing at first to the lowest
grade after a rigid test examination, and requiring all
officers to undergo such examination before promo-
tion. Many thought that the work could be better
performed under the system now recommended by
two-thirds of the officers at present employed, and
men better educated, more talented, and of higher
character would enter the service. Several speak
very favourably of women as clerks, but their
duties appear to be wholly confined to copying,
in which work they compare favourably with the
men for diligence and efficiency. This is almost
unanimously the testimony--some even rating their
intelligence higher; but Mr. Sargent, Commissioner
of Customs, has the hardihood to declare that he has
got rid of his female employees; although some were
good clerks as a rule, they were less reliable and
efficient than males, and more difficult to govern.
Ile would be unwilling to trust the unravelling of
confused and erroneous statements to such, pursuing
the errors through a long series of returns, as he
had never yet seen the wo:nan equal to the task.
S. M. Clark, Chief of Printing Division, National
Currency Bureau, gives a curious account of his
examination in August, 1e,56. Mr. Redman was
then chief clerk, and Major Barker and Mr. M‘Keati,
two prominent fourth-clays clerks, composed the
Board. Major Barker commenced the examination
by saving, " You are from New York, I believe,
Mr. Clark?" and on learning that he was, the major
gave a detailed narrative of his first visit, graphi-
cally describing the disturbance created in his mind
by the noise and confusion of the great`eity ; to
which Mr. Clark• listened attentively, that the
reference therein to his examination might not
be lost on him. The narrative took half an hour,
and Clark was in despair, for if there was any
reference, he had failed to detect it. He was,
however, relieved on the close by, the narrator
saying to his associate examiners, ." Well, gentle-
men, I suppose there is ❑o doubt Mr. Clark is qua-
lified," upon which they all signed the certificate,
and the examination closed. The chief coiner of
the United States Mint, A. Loudon Snowden,
is almost as expert in coining grand sentences as
money, for he writes as follows :—" To those who
accomplish this great work will belong the honour
of having inaueurated a new era in the history of
our country. She will arise from the dust and cast
off her old garments stained with the corruption of
the times, and in a new and spotless robe march on
to the accomplishment of her great destiny—on
a second great proclamation of her emancipation.
It is in view of these important and vital considera-
tions I witness with profound satisfaction the
efforts of patriotic men at Washington to reorganize
the Civil Service of the United States upon a
sound and enduring bash ; and I do but speak
the words of soberness and truth in declaring that
he who most prominently identifies himself with this
reform, who labours most earnestly, and strikes most
fearlessly and effectively against the present defec-
tive and corrupt system, will secure a place in our
history, and in the hearts of all true lovers of our
country, that alone can be occupied by him who
does a great and enduring work in behalf of the
highest and noblest interests of our people and age."
John W. Douglas, collector of Internal Revenue,
Erie, removed one of his subordinates for the suffi-
cient reason that he was a consistent thief, and an
inconsistent preacher. Mr. Shriner urges Govern-
ment to dismiss all spies and informers who harass
the people and eat up their substance. Many offi-
cers advocate rigorous punishment in cases of le-
venue fraud. The testimony is sa vast, collected
all over the Union, from hundreds of officers of all
grades in the service, that it is impossible to do more
than cursorily glance at their evidence here. The
fuller opinions then come of former Presidents and
other prominent citizens, followed by extracts from
the most striking articles on the subject( in the
Press, among which we must express our surprise
at not being honoured with a place. Appendix F.
is devoted to the Civil Service of China, which is
of so interesting a character that we purpose to dis-
cuss itby itself in a future number. The Civil Service
of Prussia is next described ; then the English Ser-
vice; after which the French Service, besides two full
and complete reports on the Civil Service of France
and the United Kingdom. The clauses of the pro-
posed bill are then given, together with two speeches
delivered by the lion. Thomas A. Jenckes, the
first in January, 1867, and the other last May.

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