Daily globe., 1878-01-22
THE CIVIL SERVICE.
Forthcoming Message of Hayes--Postmas-
ters to be EIected--Tcynss of Office Changed
The SiIner Bill.

tcTS u Oc c4ItCCtStI-.AC5'USO/ " OHtCC SNttNvtSt
--THe 4SilUer Bill
Washington Correspondence N. Y. Herald.
The preparation of the special message on
civil service reform has not yet begun. The
President, it is understood, will send in with
it, as an accompanying document, a report
he will recommend legislation by Congress
to perfect civil service system. In the
House the message will go to the Civil Ser
vice committee, of which Mr.. Carter Har-
time engaged in study of the question, and
bill. Gen. Cox, of Ohio; Mr.. Hewitt, Mr..
Clarkson Potter and others will give him as
sistance. In the Senate Gen. Gordon, Sena-
tor Randolph and others are also interested
in the question.
1t is thought probable that the President
may recommend the selection of postmasters
in the smaller towns and for all the minor
places by popular suffrage, the Postmaster
General merely confirming the selection
made, but retaining the power of summary
removal, This proposition has good deal
of favor in both houses. It would relieve
members from disagreeable duty of recon-
mendiug great number of petty officers for
appointment.
One of the principal recommendations
will be, it is believed, the repeal of the laws
which make four years the term of Office for
federal officers. This regulation, it is found,
causes more Office seeking troubles than any
other. Under it even good officer must be
reappointed at the expiration of his term,
and is exposed to anxieties and to the in
trigues of rivals, whereasif the appointments
ran s'untn removed there would be no par
ticular time when office seekers would make
their efforts, and permanence of tenure for
faithful officers, which the President has SO
much insisted on in his letter and message,
would follow as a matter of course. The be-
lief is that without permanence of tenure no
reform is possible, and that while this four
year law remains permanence of tenure can
not be attained.
There have been rumors that the Presid-
ent would recommend in his civil service
message that cabinet officers should have a
voice in the House of Representatives, but it
is not at all certain that he will do so. His
theory Of administration, so far, has been
that the Executive should confne itself strict
ly to the faithful execution of the laws and
should leave to Congress the responsibility
of framing these laws, aided only by such
recommendations as the constitution allows
the President to make from time to time as
he sees fit. On this theory he has acted
throughout, and neither he nor any member
of the Cabinet has endeavored to exercise
any influence OH Congress, even on SO vitality
important measure as the
silver bill. It has been
understood by those in his confidence that he
has been of opinion that he ought to sign, as
matter of course, ,any bill presented to him
by Congress which did not involve what ap
peared to him job or an immortality, suct
as an attack on the public credit; and thai
such questions as the tariff, silver, interna
improvements, &C., coming under the heao
of business of the country, belong properly
to the Legislative branch, and should not b.
interfered with or influenced by the Execu
tive, with of course, the exceptions abov.
named, in which cases he ought in vete
message to call the attention of Congress tx
the fact that it proposes a wrong. If h.
now thought it desirable that cabinet minis
ters should appear in either House to pro
pose measures or defend them on the foo
he would no doubt have requested Secretar,
Sherman to prepare a substitute for th'
Bland silver bill and appear with it in th'
Senate. Section 248 of the Revised Statutes
expressly directs the Secretary of the Treas
ury to smake report and give Information t,
either branch of the Legislature in person o
in writing, as may be required, respecting al
matters referred to him by the Senate o
House of Representatives, or which shall ap
pertain to his Office" This is generally un
derstood to give the Secretary of the Treas
ury the special right to a voice in eithe
House whenever he shall think it expedien
to appear. Secretary Sherman's appearanc
in the Senate with new silver bill and
speech in favor of it would have a singula
effect on the Bland Bill.