The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1874-06-16

The fact that the House yesterday actual,
killed civil service reform leads us to som'
reflections upon the purpose and philosoph,
Of this much-lauded scheme. In THU
country Of abundant schools, where In
struction is so general, little is to bt
gained by preparatory examin atoms. The
disease Of our civil service is not intel
lectual, but moral The incumbe ats seldom
fail by incapacity, but too often by unscru-
pulous craftsmanship and personal dishonesty.
No examination can be a test of fat hfulness
branch OF qualifications admits of no other
proof at the outset than the certified re ,outa-
ton of the applicant, it might be as we'll to
depend on the same source OF information ! or
the less important school attainments ny
which so few are found to fail. President
jackson, who first introduced the spoils
system which has SO utterly corrupted
our public life, made the commences of
intellectual capacity for such duties the cor
ner stone of his argument. In defending
the system of rotation in Office" as it was
then called by its advocates, he said in his
first message to Congress, "The duties Of
all public offices are, or at least admit of
being made, SO plain and simple that men of
intelligence may readily qualify themselves
for their performance, and / cannot but be-
leve that more is lost by the long continuance
Of men in Office than is generally to be gained
by their experience" 1t seldom happens
that any of the thousands of clerks, male or
Ia in, he wants foil tn
master their duties in o few days. Of the
scores Of thousands of petty postmasters
scattered all over the country, appointed on
mere recommendation, nobody can recollect
an instance of mental incompetence. There
are frequent cases of dishonesty or embezzle-
ment, but none or next to none, of inability
to discharge their duties. The functions of
subordinate federal officers are not more diff
cult than those of supervisors and town clerks,
which are well enough performed, although
the incumbents are never required to pass an
examination. 1t would be thought ridiculous
to agitate for this kind of test in State
county and town officers
The unfortunate 'spoils system" can be up
rooted only by method which goes deeper.
The fit thing to be done is to render the civil
officers of the federal government as in
dependent of Executive caprice as its
military and naval officers. The army,
SO far as the regular officers are concerned,
has always been model Of upright admins
tration. But how long would it retain this
high and enviable reputation if the army
officers, like the civil officers, were subject to
removal on the election OF every new Pres
ident? The army officers can be removed
only for cause after fair trial. The conse-
quence is that they never elechoneer and sell
dom vote. General Grant never cast but one
vote in his life, and that was after he had dis
solved his first connection with the army If
the civil officers were made equally in
dependent they would be just as Indifferent to
party politics. If the civil officers were liable
cessive administrations elected by different
parties, and recognized their duty to render
faithful service under all, they would no
longer be the Jealous electioneering instru-
ments Of the President in power, and, what is
more important the vast hordes Of Office.
seekers who want their places would be
equally quiescent. The most active corrupt
and controlling element of our present politics
would abandon the field, because it would
have nothing to gain by the success or to
lose by the defeat of any party.
Previous to General Jackson's time no need
I was ever felt of what we call civil service re-
form, and nothing would have been regarded
as more needless and whimsical than the
literary examinations which callow reformers
hold forth as the sovereign specific for official
malversation. No civil service was ever
purer and more efficient than ours was before
the corrupting rule was established that ITO
the victors belong the spoils. There could
be no more conclusive proof CT the
failure of the examination remedy than the
fewness Of the removals during the first
forty years OF the government. All
appointments were made without ap-
plying any literary test, and yet the
removals averaged less than two year.
Nobody will accuse our earlier Presidents of
keeping incompetent or unfit men in Office,
and the fact that they found so few occasions
tor exercising the power of removal proves
the possibility OF a sound civil service without
preliminary examinations. Washington re-
moved but nine officers during the eight years
of his Presidency John Adams IN four years
removed ten; Jefferson, forty-two in eight
years Madison, only Eve in eight years !;
Monroe, nine in eight years John Quincy
Adams, only two in four years-in all barely
seventy-seven removals from civil Offices DUR
| ing the first ten Presidential terms, including
period Of forty years. If we could
re-establish this system which prevailed
under our early Presidents of making
no removals, except for dishonesty or in
capacity, all the new appointments could be
made after cautious inquiry and deliberation.