New-York tribune., 1878-10-05
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
GAIL HAMILToN's PAPERS.

/ world ms experience IN competitive eAdmuatOh'
June 20 he applied to the Department OF the In
terror for common clerkship, because he felt COM
petent to TIL the position, and had served three
years in the Union Army during our late Civil War
He received reply from the Secretary OF the In
terror June 3D. saying that he would be invited to
an examination on July 3. lie was not invited to
the examination, but all the same he presented
himself promptly AZ Washington. and then for the
first time learned that It was TO be competitive
examination The regulations require that the notl-
ticaton of competitive examination shall be made
" ten days prior to the cXamuaIOn.' Mr.. llertWig
was not notified AZ all On the 18th August, more
than month after the examination had taken
place. the notification reached him in a letter from
the Interior Department, saying that " the usual
notification was mailed to you in due time after re-
cept OF yoar application, aud that 1t failed to reach
you is not the fault of this department. You will
find sad notice herewith luclosed, having been re-
turned here through the Dead Letter Odi.e' But it
was the fault of this department." and not of the
Post Office Department, because the notice was I'M
properly and insulic.cntly addressed. Mr Hertwig
gave Lis full address. The Sccrctary's reply was
addressed properly and reached him promptly. The
" usual notification was addressed improperly,
solely through the fault Of the Interior Depart
mcnt, and did not reach him till he had been at the
expense of the journey from st. LOUIS to Washing
ton and return, which he would not have taken had
lie known the examination was to be competitive.
Some of the questions which required this long
and costly journey were
write in figures the following numbers:
1. Three thousand and six
-. Sevcnty-iye thousand two hundred and
four
In penmanship he was marked so a standard
of 100
His average was 77lO15.
The time for his examination was fixed at 10 am.
July 9, bnt the examination blanks were not issued
to the candidates TIL twelve minutes before II,
noon.
The number of candidates was 2i2, men and
women. The number of vacancies to be filed was
twenty-onc. The questions, with blank space for
answers, occupied nine half sheets of foolsc"p
paper The three examiners divided the papers OF
the several candidates among Themselves for exam
nation and the work of asccrtaning the result
took them about three weeks. The papers and the
ratings were then in the hands of the Secretary for
a day or two, and the appointments were imme-
diately made.
This Is not childs play, because it is something
great deal worse It IS not only extravagaut,
less clumsy and blundering oppressive and tyran-
nica to the candidate who has no redress, but 1t
l
did the old method. Who but must smile at the
careful stranng out of ten twenty -ilths OF gnat
where so indefinite a camel is to be swallowed aS
"penmanship 5O"3 Where is the inlallIble Pope
who shall say what perfect penmanshIp Is ! This
competitive examination simply put the United
states Government to the cost of examining 2lZ
candidates instead of 21. and left the final decision
in the hands of the Secretary just as arbitrarily
it would have been according to the old methods
observe that in the conduct of life competitive
examination is not generally adopted, even by those
who have absolute power to do II without waiting
for any Congressional OF other assistance When
college wants professor, when a railroad wants
president, when court wants a Judge, when mcr
| chant wantsa clerk when a church wants a pastor
they do not issue competitive examination papers
! and take the one who is marked highest. They
hunt up man and get him if they can.
| They Judge by reputation and recommcn-
| dation. The only competitive examination that
is worth while is that which exists by force Of its
| own fitness, and not 10y any external rules. Mr..
Eaton IN his report brings forward Mr.. Postmaster
! James of Ncw-York City, to butress his reform.
! On the contrary Mr. James is burning and shining
! light upon the supcrluOusnc,s of Mr.. EatOns re-
! FORM Mr. Eaton is labOring by commissions and
Congressional action and rules and rigdity, by high
| sentIment and great causes and machipery and
! New-York Post Office without much saving,
"by your leave" Mr.. James never waited upon
| Congressional resolutions made proclamation of
purpose. He went and did it. He, appointed by that
! corrupt President Grant surrounded 10y Grants cor
rupt Administration, took hold of the New-YOrk Post
| Office and did exactly what he pleased. He pleased
! to establish an efficient Post Office and nobody
hndered. On the contrary, even the partisan
leaders, the mercenary politicians all seem pleased.
| | never heard that any politicians complained of
| him for not appointing their friends or that he
ever complained of politicians for pushing their
| friends upon him. Both may have happened, but
the public has never heard of il. 1t is said that
when any such pressure is brought to bear either to
dismiss good OF to appoint poor officer, he SIMPLY
and steadily rcsiss it. That IS all If a man has
not the nerve to do this, he Is not fit for the
place. A man who clamors for rules to bind him
to DO the right thing is not worth binding.
Mr.. Eatons declaration that upon any other
theory than his all the Civil Service clerks must be
dismissed every four years. receives another blow
from this very Post Office. An interesting article
IN Sribaei's Monthly tells that only 1O4
removals had been made during Mr. Jamess five
vcars-by the way, then, it seems Mr. James hlmself
mas been in a year over tlme-and eighty of these
were for drunkenness. Mr.. Charles Foster, sr.,
tered as clerk in 1925, when the Postmaster lived
up stars over the Office, and closed the office when
he went to dinner! Nj. Fosters father was clerk
before him from 1908, and his son is now
| Superintendent Of tho Registered Letter Depart
ment, the rule that no TWO Of family shall be
employed in the department not having been
| brought to bear on him. Mr. John H. hallett lacks
but year of having served as long as Mr.. For
roster, sr.
! While procamations have been issued, aud rules
predicted and Civil Service Reform Commissioners
paid, Mr. James has been organizing his own Civil
Service without appeal to the newspapers. Promo