The workingman's advocate. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1864-1877, 1871-12-30


New York Tbaes
The civil service regulations, which 10 ~
into eject after January l, are receiving more dis
cussion than when first made public. The heads Of
bureaus in the several Departments, who have had
the selection Of subOrdinates. and who have been
more annoyed by the pressure for clerkships and
promotions than by the actual labor Of their ocea.
are generally ejOced and agree that the new rules
will give them better men than the present system
refornerp seem delighted At what they term great
political hlunder They think the active politicians
and the people will BE- opposed to the scheme, and
ren0mirmtioa. There are HRay plitlctms WIN
distrus the success OF any attempt TO destroy the
influence OF patronage and will yield only because
they have 70 An objection msde oy some VINO ar
hxed by the rules The reply Of the Commission u
that this point that received special consid
Grafton BY them. The evils likely TO result from
system that should prevent removals for political
reasons. any other abuse Of the removing power.
wA~ suaicent and this " secured In the Hanasr 81
probably be made for political reasons when there
could be no assurance that . new appointment
would secure offlcer OF the desired political
character. the hasis Of thin tAeory being that re-
mOvaIs are in most easen made for no other rea-
son than to make places for particular persons
that II b. desired 10 appoint The commissions OF
the members expired with the presentation Of their
report 10 the President, STt he Immediately In
formed themthat he det'pra L,e;r serytces and 3D.
viss Z Iqys.g hs ~ sasy . "a. tSrss ,2.s
an advisory board. The boar will nrst form the
officers u thu whole service int groups, those
being In one ggoupwhoee dnties are similar Who
ever enters one VI these groups will enter al the
lowest grade, and vacancies IN group above me
lowest grade will be oiled by promotions within
thaf aronp. I'm the Departments hera for the
most part, each bureau will form one group. The
Agricultural Department viii form one, the
New York Custom-house will form one, the
Boston Custom hoase another, and % on. The
Board will then arrange for the proper exAmina-
tons within each group. ana the examinations vii
bear proper relations to the duties to be performed
In the case Of the minor customs and other offices
where grouping is imprActicRhle, competition Will,
in cases Of vacancies, be opened At once TO the pub
nc AT any time when an ofhcer has doubts OF the
capacity Of one Of his subordinates It viii be com
petent to send him before the Examining Board, to
compete with Others for the position he nov holds.
When the system Is fairly IN operation, the worth
less material that may be found In any VI the de-
partments will gradually but not slOwly disappear,
without such panic being produced - would re-
suit from any sweeping application Of examinations
to all those now employed In the Department."
ONE Of the great projects of the present is
the connection Of the Black and Caspian Seas
by means Of canal, through which the lar
gest ship can sail The construction Of the
canal, it is said, will be begun in the spring.
The Ayahteh and the KOuma-large rivers
which drain the northern slope Of the Cav
easus--one falling into the Caspian and the
other into the estuary Of the Don-when
joined, WI open the Caspian to all nations.
Moreover, Russia will largely increase herAnlI
itsry strength By being able 10 combine at
pleasure the Black Sea and Caspian notillas.
Ii WAS one Of Peter the Greats pet ideas to
accomplish this work, and, during his reign,
several plans were contrived for its consum-
nation. In 1893, also, commission investi-
gated the probabilities Of successful termina-
ton of the attempt. II is now supposed that
in prehistoric times the plain Of Msnitz,
which now divides the two seas, was the bed
of branch connecting the two seas, and that,
by digging out deep valley line, which seems
to indicate the old channel course, a union
between the Caspian and Azof Seas would be
accomplished II this could be accomplished
Russia would gain very firm hold ON Central
Asia, and she is willing to make any effort to
consummate that. The length OF the canal
would he $40 miles, and six years would be
required for the completion. Something like
So, OOO, QUO has been mentioned a the prob
able cost
The wisdom Of the provision for the aboli-
ton OF lie system 81 paying percentage on
fines and fOrfeiturcs collected under the
revenue laws Is demonstrated by the figures
showing the working Of the Law in our prin
cipal ports Of entry. The figures given below
cover period from January |, 1874, to No
vember 81, 1870
Boston-AmSunt collected, tD7ea o.; col
ectors shAre, &4,g7O %; surveyors share,
&49T4 So: naval oficer's share, t4,s4S IS in
formers share, &15-ala 20.
New York-Amount collected, $476,6l4 IS; col
lector, S96 86l 80: surveyor, 6.sSs q navsl
officer, $9B,60s ls informers ;, eshks7 90.
Philadelphia Amount collected, III. 4Oa n col
81 50 Is infonner's, 3s.S.. 0a
Baltimore Amount collected, sss7s9 Is col
lector. 81 IA 10; surveyor, q, IA 10; naval Officer
Is; ~ % informers, ESI4 "
New Orleans-AmOunt collected. $97.6a " col
lector, a. 5dS -; surveyor. ~ 756 ~ naval officer
ts,664 81 inf0rmers. &6.x16 81
San Francisco lin cOinl-AmOunt collected,
ara ,4l6 81; collector. e147i6 81 surveyor. *l4,
10 g; naval officer. SANS "a; mforner's.
e40OT7 S.
The distribution Of vast sums, thus indicated,
Is fruitful source Of corruption, and explains
why such fierce and violent struggles period
NaAiy SaAC knaSc W scCoiU PS3aefoaaS.
Nor long ago the office Of hght-keeper ut
Black Rock, Conn, became vacant by the
death of Capt. 8. T. Moore, and his daughter
has been appointed TO the post. There is no
question as to her capability, for she has per
formed the entire service for the last IL years.
Capt. Moore was appointed TO the place by
President Madison in 1918, and. not belong
ing to those who resign, nor, until October,
to the few who die, retained II for SO years,
and was " years old at his death.
THE agent Of the Michigan State prison,
finding that the tobacco nations 10 the con-
victs cost nearly 5000 annually, suggested
to the chewers that he would give each one
who reIinquished the weed any ono Of the
standard magazines for the year. About 20
have made choice of the magazines-siy dogs
who niesu 70 secure their literature and then
beg the tobacco away from those who retained
the luxury
The Rev. VIM K. Alger, OF Boston, who
was oTertaken IN Paris " insanity, has 30
many friends in this vicinity that the state
ment OF two Boston papers Of Monday. rel
alive to his health, can but be interesting.
The advertiser says there Is now but little