The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1872-03-08
XLIID CONGRESS-.SECOND SESSION
SENATE.


for the erection of the public buildings at Al
bany, ST. Louis, Hartford and Little Rock, Al
kansas. l.a..
A resolution was adopted directing the Sec
Rotary of War to transmit report of the pro
| gress of the exploration now going ON in Neva
da and Arizona under the direction of the En-
| gineer Department..
Mr.. Chandler, from the Committee on Com
merce reported resolution directing that com
mittee to make thorough inquiry into the sub
jects of immigration and the treatment of i'm
migrants after arrival in this county; also int
the quarantine and health regulations at tn,
chief ports in the United States.
Mr.. Cole suggested that the inquiry had bet
ter extend also to the treatment of emigrant
| by railroad companies.
Mr. Chandler accepted the amendment. TIL,
| amendment providing that the COMMITTEES
should visit only New York, Philadelphia ane
Baltimore was adopted and the bill passed.
| Mr.. Ames, from the Committee ON Military
reported bill to provide for the disposition Of
that portion of the military reservation at For
| Ripley, Mimi, lying east of the Mississippi
river, which was passed.
Mr.. Chandler presented a memorial of the
National Board of Trade asking the passage Of
law authorizing American citizens to pur
chase foreign built ships and register them fol
| service under the American flag in our foreign
maratime commerce, and that all our foreign
| product needed for subsistence on vessels en-
gagged in foreign trade or in sailing or repairing
| drawn free of duty from bonded warehouses
| and to provide for the return to American reg
istry of all tonnage alienated during the war to
| foreign flags as the owners may desire. Refer
| red to Committee ON Commerce.
Mr.. Flanagan called up and advocated the
| providing for the cession by Texas to the United
| States for Indian reservations of States of the
| territory north and west of line drawn from
| northwest corner of Hardemon county, on the
Red River to the mouth of the Ceceas River,
vv1a anta t1a Pin nd fhn init
States to pay for the territory so cents per acre
| in 80 year 1-2 per cent. bonds; half to be re-
taineo in the United States Treasury to secure
any Indebtedness already created by the laws of
Texas the balance to be paid into the State
treasury to be constituted as part of the public
school fund.
The bill was laid aside and the Senate re-
sumed the consideration of the legislative APP
preparation bill. . l.
The amendment authorizing the employment
of forty additional clerks of class number one
in the land office, was tabled
The question being on the amendment appro-
priating $50,0OO to be expended by the Presi-
dent in putting in force the civil service reform
acquisitions, Mr. Carpenter moved to strike it
out and substitute the following:
All laws or parts of laws under which the
present Civil Service Reform Commission was
appointed by the President of the United States
are hereby repealed"
Mr. Trumbull moved to table the substitute.
Carried-yeas 40, nays 10.
The Republicans who voted no no were
Messrs. Caldwell, Cameron, Carpenter, Chand-
Ter, Clayton, Hitchcock, Hamilton of Texas,
Kellogg, Logan, Osborn, Pomeroy Pool, Ram
sey, West and Window. tE.l-.rl r.
The only Democrats who voted against it
were 4AI 4
Messrs. Blair, Cooper and Salisbury.
The question required on the original amend
ment appropriating $4,000
Mr.. Carpenter had already expressed his views
of this Civil Sarvipa Reform, and ha hnpa1 hot
the appropriation would not be made.
Mr. Sherman hoped the operation of the
scheme recommended by the Civil Service Com
mission would be confined to Washington, New
York and some large cities where the reform
was most needed, because if the President at
tempted to extend it over the whole country it
would evidently break down by its own weight
While he was in favor of a reform in the civil
service he was not confident it could be effected
on this plan, but Congress being already COM
mitted to it, an appropriation ought to be made
to give it fair trial if only to demonstrate its
failure.
Mr.. Logan said the system proposed by the
Civil Service Commission was a humbug. Two
or three days ago there was an examination in
one of the departments, when % persons COM
peted for the Office and one of the clerks in the
department told him before the examination
the name of the man who would get the APP
pointment. He Uogan) did not know how it
was done, but he knew the fact. AS an illus
tration of the folly of selecting public officers
by competitive examination, Mr.. Logan men
toned case which recently occurred in Hi
nois, where the Post Office Department sent a
man named Miller, connected with the depart
ment in Illinois, to examine applicants. By
the way, this Miller was a disgrace to the State,
but nobody had been able to get him out
lLaughterl. In this case there were two appli-
cants and in the examination each missed three
questions, but Miller reported in favor of the
man for whom the people had not pettioned
a
Miller went to make the examination. How
ever, when the department at Washington re-
eeiyed this report with specimens of the hand
writing it regretted Miller's recommendations
and appointed the other man. He Uogan) was
as much in favor Of reform as anybody, but not
of this kind. -,
Mr. Edmunds inquired what kind of a reform
he did want. f.
Mr. Logan had not fully considered the sub
ject, but could state some things he wonld do if
he had the power. Whenever man performed
his duties well he would let him alone and when
ever man did not he would turn him out He
would also make the term of public officials CO.
extensive with the Presidents S, unless where re-
movals were made for misconduct Further,
if an officer performed the duties m such way
as to make his neighbors generally believe hirn
dishonest he would turn him out
Mr. Edmunds thought it very remarkable
that the wisdom of the country, suppose1 to be
concentrated in Congress, having last yea. de-
liberately passed a law authorizing the Presi-
dent to make this experiment in civil service
reform, to threaten to abandon the effort and
repeal the law just as soon as an attempt was
made to put it into practical operation He
fully agreed with those who denounced this
civil service reform as o humbug and encroach-
ment upon the rights of the people; for his own
rights had been most unwarrantably infringed
on In the good old times when he went to the
departing hit and asked to have Smith OF Jones
appointed to Office because he was q friend of
his, or because he had worked hard to make
him Senator, or some other equally good rea-
son, the matter was generally arranged satisfac-
toriy without any impertinent questions as to
the fitness of the applicant for the place; but
now when he approached the head of the
department on the same errand he was told
that his recommendation was no longer sufR-
Gent to secure an appointment; that the Presi-
dent had taken the matter out of the hands OF
| the members of Congress and that applicants
were now required to undergo an examination
| as a test of their fitness for the places they
sought, as if there could be any better proof OF
mans fitness for an Office than that he had
| helped to elect Senator Laughter.
| In this way he (Edmunds) was stripped of
the feicitous Importance he formerly enjoyed
| brought down the common level and compelled
| to stand on his own merits alone. of course he
| felt this gross outrage. uaughter.) He spoke
only for himself. Hewas only stating his own
| would sympathize with him. Uaughter.) 1t
was painful fact, however, that in this coun-
| try there were a great many persons who
| thought differently. People who were neither
candidates for office nor foil overs of candidates
people who did not appreciate the merits and
| claims of the managers of primaries and other
political bodies who thought that postmasterS
| ought to know how to write and keep accounts
and ought to understand arithme tic. Nobody
| could see more clearly than he did the folly Of
| all this, but as these unreasonable people were
unfortunately in the great majority and as il
was their business the officers of the govern
ment were paid to do and their money that was
| to be collected and SPENT he feared they would
| have their own way. Uaughter.)
| Mr.. Carpenter protested fDr himself agains
| Mr.. Edmunds statement of the feelings and mo-
| tives of the opponents of civil service reform
Mr.. Edmunds said that he might have over
drawn the picture little, but in substance i
was true to nature,
After some fur6her discussion, without reach
ing vote the Senate adjourned.
l. HOUSE.
Mr.. Hooper of Massachusetts,, from the Bank
ing Committee, reported back adversely on thu
Senate bill for redemption of the temporary
per cent. loan certificates at the cate of IS, 000
900 a month, and moved that it be tabled.
| Mr.. Garfield of Ohio, opposed the motion
wishing it debated.
/ Mr.. Hooper insisted on the motion, Stain,
the report was unanimGus from the committee
After considerable discussion the bill was ia
bled by large majority.
The deficiency bill came up and the Hous
proceeded to vote on the amendments reporte,
from the committee of the whole.
After disposing of all the appointments to tn
deficiency bill and agreeing to one offered b.
Mr.. Dawes of Massachusetts, for the paymen
of a full days wages to laborers and mechanic
Is L. 4 ,I,re IL