The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1877-04-20
CIVIL SERVICE HEFORM.
Interior Department Reforms.
TChjeaun Timss.1


WASHINGTON, April twenty-five
| employees, principally ladies, were dis
charged to-day from the Patent Office.
which makes forty who have been dis
missed from the Interior Department
under the new civil service rules pre-
pared by Secretary Schur1 and his as
sstants. The Patent Office board Of in.
uuiry sat secretly and passed judgment
upon the condemned clerks without
their knowledge. This judgment was
based upon specimens Of their work
procured In quiet way, in order to get
OF the exact character OF the service
rendered by them. A number of the un-
fortunate clerks have been requested
during the last two weeks to write the
commissioners or Secretary letter stat
ing the date and circumstances Of their
appointment, the nature OF the duties
| they were required to perform, etc. This
odd request puzzled some of them not a
little, yet not the slightest intimation
was given as TO the use to be made of
their letters. They were rather given
inferenthlly to understand that the
department. was interested in them, with
o possible view to promotion. To-day's g
discharges were made almost wholly
upon the merits of clerks as shown by
the face Of their letters and other work
In two or three instances, where certain
competent clerks had been little care
less in their letters, other persons were
selected from an alternate list for dis
charge by the board, and the negligent
employees Censured.
There was great CONSERVATION among
the Patent Office subordinates about
O'Clock this afternoon when 1t was
learned that star chamber court had
been sitting all day and considering the
question Of their discharge from or re-
tention in the government service. The
clerks dismissed were promptly notified
Of the action of the civil service in.
quisition. The Patent and Pension bu-
reaus having thus been weeded. the In
dian and Land Offices remain to be put
through that process in the interior
department. The number OF discharges
in the land office. judging by Commits
sioner Williams recent letter to Seere-
tary Schurz, will be almost equal
to the dismissals in both the
bureaus first named. There are
many old barnacles in the Land De-
partment who have grown gray
in the service, but have become inei1i-
cient through age, and for other. rea-
sons. Tt has heretofore been difficult
to get rid of this class, but it is the de-
termination of Mr.. Williamson to put
them through a rigid test, with view
solely to promota the efficiency of his
bureau. The fit8 competitive examina-
tion for the vacancy on the board of
examiners-in-c chief in the Patent Office
will take place tomorrow. This board
Of examiners for this purpose, consist
ing of Commissioners Sehaar, Assistant
Commissioner Doolttle, and Solicitor
Marble, will sit in the Interior Depart
ment library room and examine the
80 .~Ft t,r~
choose to enter into competition, to
the propositions asked. Those failing
to answer q certain percentage of the
propositions put to them will be at once
discharged. No questions or proposi-
tions will be put to these employees ex-
cept such as relate intimately to their
regular duties.