The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1879-12-22
A CONTRAST WITH The aSPoLS" SYSTEM.
How the Fight for 's0pen Competition"
Was Won in England.
HOGARTH AND RUBENS.
Pope's Campaign-Fiction and Poetry
Literary Notes.


and Reforms and Their Bearing Upon American
Politics." is the long and comprehensive title of
treatise by Me. Dorman B. Eaton, which is pub
shed by the Harpers and contains the substance OF
report of the United States Civil Service Commits
sion that transmitted to Congress at the Begin
ming Of this month with the Presidents annual
Message. By far the largest allotment of space in
the Message it will be remembered was conceded to
the topic of reforming the civil service OF the fed
erai government Notwithstanding the patent fact
that popular interest in the subject has been almost
extinguished by what Mr.. George W. Curtis. in the
preface to this very book alliterativey styles the
.'inexplicably inconsistent conduct" of Mr.. Hayes
own administration. Beginning with assertion
In his inaugural address that such q reform is
paramount necessity" Mr.. Hayes soon dropped the
paramount" and subordinated the necessity"
majority of his early appointments in every branch
of the civil service were simple rewards for partisan
ship political of 1876 and the electoral
complications following. BY thus classifying his pro-
LESSONS at the start he incapacitated himself for
achieving what at heart he all the time really desired
Worse than that he subjected great and good cause
TO ridicule. the most deadly weapon with which
such u cause anywhere be assailed. tits his own
weak fault that the subject has fallen into afro
ply from which even Presidential Message cannot
revive it. But let him not be blamed too Sc
verely. Stronger than he is by nature have
succumbed to less partisan and personal pressure
than he encountered. and this last Message practi
cally confesses that he is sinner and would gladly
undo his mistakes il it were not too late Next to
its discussion of financial questions the most distin-
gushing feature of it Is the official transmission Of
this report of the Civil Service Commission the the
sis of which is the necessity Of frmness and self
sacrifice the part of the President and his
taries. more than on the part Of Congress. to
tory of such reform in the British Empire in its rea
tion TO the Cabinet and to Parliament Whenever
the subject really becomes paramount" in Ameri-
can politics-and some day it is bound to be-the
approval of this thesis by President Hayes at the
present stage of his term. after what has gone be-
FORE will be regarded of the chief curosities
of very curious administration. But for long
while, owing to the profound lehargy in which the
whole topic is involved it is likely to escape notice
In most quarters and to attract only trivial attention
even where 1t Is observed.
Our United States Civil Service Commission
created under President Grant. and Mr. George W.
Curtis its first chairman. When he resigned
that post. because of Presidential exception in APP
plying the civil service rules to the New York Gus
tom House. Mr.. Eaton became his successor. AL
most simultaneously Mr.. Kellogg, Connecticut
corset-maker, became chairman OF the Civil Service
Committee in the House Of Representatives during
the Forty-fourth Congress and took q much more
lively interest in legislation affecting his peculiar
fabrics than he did in his craftsmanship The subject
in charge of his committee found few friends among
its members. 1t began to be jeered the floor of
the House without Mr. Kellogg rising TO defend it.
From this indifference to the positive refusal Of
appropriation for the necessary expenses Of the Civil
Service Commission in carrying it's rules into effect
there was but easy step. This step soon was
taken. The augmentation was refused
ing the Presidents recommendation Of it. and has
since been granted. President Grant there
upon abandoned the whole concern and charged
Congress with responsibility for It's failure
President Hayes renewed the recommendation
in his Message of December 1877, as he has done
again during the present month. but vainly. The
skeleton of the civil machine still stands
with Mr. Eaton at the valves and levers chief en-
gineer. but without any motive power in the cylin
der, aud it will remain indefinitely until Presi-
dent. with equally alert moral perceptions moro
political courage than Mr. Hayes. rubs of the rust
oils the joints undertakes work it in earnest
and until the people educated up demanding of
Congress the necessary appropriation to set Its
wheels-in motion again.
Meanwhile Mr.. Eaton, 8 appears from this valu-
able volume. is devoting himself wisely to tho
tedious work Of popular education and he deserves
the credit of compiling the only consecutive history
OF civil service reform III the British Empire that
exists The pith Of long series of executive and
parliamentary reports reaching from 1853 to 1873
concentrated into one-third OF this manual o..
less than five hundred pages. Of the
other two-thirds one 10 devoted to re-
Wow of the English civil system down to 1858,
which is important for understanding Of tho
subsequent period. and one consists OF an exposi.
ton of the faults Of the American spols system and
the benefit which would result from adopting Brit
lsh improvements. Mr.. George w. Curtis writes
brief introduction. and turning to the end OF tho
book we are pleased to And an index thorough
that it is sure of place in every political writer's
library for handy reference. II the narrative parts
Of it not so intermixed with moralizinq upon
American abuses could commend 1t also for
historical text book in collegiate instruction.
Mr. Eaton divides British history in its relation to
the civil service prior to 1853 into two periods. The
first stretches from the time of the Conqueror down
to William Ill. during which the spoils of Office
distributed substantially at the monarchs per-
Sonal pleasure with q few nterudes when aristo-
sratic interference popular revolts or political
revolution curbed or suspended his will. The ex-
tortion Of the Magma Charta by the barons was an
example Of the first; the uprisings headed by
Wat Tyler and Jack Cadc illustrate the second
and the era of the Commonwealth and Cromwell
comprises the third of these intcrludes. This may
be styled 1.-THE period of despotic patronage" The
second. which may be styled 'thc period Of par
lamentary patronage" begins with the creation OF
the Cabinet by William III. In 1893 ana extends to
Sir Charles Treveyan's and Sir Stafford Northcotcs
civil service report in November. 1858. under the
Ministry of the Earl OF Aberdeen 1t also is diver
sned with interudcs. but unlike the preceding po-
Rod the of progress suffered complete
lapses. Whatever was gained. as by the statute of
Anne. forbidjing post officers to NEEDLE with
elections. the statute of George III. establish
ing the tenure OF the Judiciary. that of % George
Ill. excluding excise. customs and postal officers
from parliamentary suffrage. those of 40. so. 81
and Sc George ILL.,. fixing subordnatcs salaries and
initiating approximation allowances. never
surrendered. Through almost infinite mazes Of cor
ruption and contempt there q steady advance in
the civil service toward the purity and indepen-
dence IL has finally attained IN every of it's