The Evening critic. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1881-1885, 1881-08-20

THE NEW YORK Nation informs an
anxious public that the first meeting of
representatives of the civil service reform
associations, organized in different parts of
the country took place at Newport on
Thursday. IL was agreed to recommend
and to employ every honorable means for
the purpose of securing the passage by Con-
gross of the bill introduced in the Senate by |
Mr.. Pendlcton, providing for competitive
examinations preliminary to the appoint
ment of persons to subordinate places in
the Government service, and the bill intro
duced by Mr.. Willis, of Kentucky, in the
House of Representatives, prohibiting the
levying of assessments for political pur-
poses upon persons in the employ of the
Government The former Is simply the |
legal embodiment of the system already
tested in several offices in Washington and
in the New York Custom-house."
Now it is by no means strange that Carl
Schurz, in his capacity as editor, should still
cling to the hallucinations that bcsct him,
night and day, while in the capacity of
Secretary. He is under bonds to his con-
science to follow this Wiil-o'-thc-Wisp till
he reaches the stcpping-off place and drops
with moan into the eternal abyss. Rcaliz-
ing his personal obligation to himself, we
have no disposition TO interfere with his
innocent amusements. 1t always softens
down the aspertics Of life to feel that one
has mission.
The great trouble with the distinguished
Mr.. Schurz and his brass band of roforma-
tory colleagues is that they have not the
faintest conception of the details of Depart
mcnt life. Mr.. Schurz, though he would
rather die than acknowledge it, managed
to amass more misnformation on this SUBJ
.cct during his official life than he can
neutralize by years Of practical research.
While he was skctching his civil-servicc
reform in an atmosphere of clouds and
philosophy, his bureau chiefs were run
ming things" and laughing at his pet delu-
sion. a.Ul
l 1t certainly is singular that trained and
sensible business men should have under
taken to put their fingers in thispie. They
know the value Of experienced clerks. fla
large New York merchant has clerk who
can enter moro goods, make more bills and
ship more freight correctly in half the time
, he can get anybody else to do it, does Mr.
Merchant feel it is his duty to sec that this
cmpolyee can extract cube root or bound
the State of New York? If confronted with
this view of tho question, the merchant
would scoff down the comparison and yet
that is Just the size Of it.
/ Why does Government spittoon- cleaner
S need to know the binomial theorem, or the
distance to the moon? Why demand that
: young man who copies letters into book
should understand physics and name the
p Presidents from Washington down?
a The whole mistake of this sort Of argu-
q ment consists in its utter inability to secure
q the end desired. 1t fails of practical results
,f Examinations must be confined to the ma
+, ture of the duties to be performed. Every
man is engaged in this life, except the
professional tramp to perform specific
u kind Of work, and retained ac
a cording to his fitness for the job
: A hod-carrier is not expected to quote
: Milton, and a poctical critic is not asked to
VI tote bricks to the top of a four-story house
Il Confne your civil-service requisites within
the limits of the work to be performed. A
, few years ago, Dorman b. Eaton, the apostle
, of this whole business, wrote letter on the
|, subject. He butchered the Queens Eng
n lish thoroughly enough to send him to jail
q for manslaughter. John Routt, then Second
@ Assistant Postmaster General, told his Sec
n retary to say to Eaton that if he had clerk
who couldn't write better letter than that
he would discharge him on the spot.
a The whole principle is wrong. MOI
70 many months since an old gentleman by
&c the name of Lowery died in the service O.
J. q century of experience. He was the Of
o fetal eyes of the Postmaster-Gcneral. Every
@ estimate of the Department was based or
his statistics. He knew that business anG
that was all, and he was paid to know jus
= that. Men can be found in every Depart
, ment, thoroughly trained in the laws ant
= precedents governing the questions they
!. have to deal with, but it is doubtful
- whether in ono case out Of twenty thcs'
: same individuals could compete with
> beardless college sophomore in the routin,
D of scholastic examination.
- Now Mr.. Schurz wants to divest thes
appointments of politics, What does h
;s propose to do with the secretaries and tn
a. under secretaries, and the consuls, and th
"a revenue force, &C., &c.? There is only on
10 remedy. He must take politics out of a pO
q litical campaign, and remove the hope O
v reward as motive force in political strug
70 giles. Until that is DONE he is fghtin
n. wind mills The virus of politics will ru
/. through every vein of our executive sys
n. tenn. Examinations will continue to be
n sham and fraud. From the Cabinet Office
to the lowest menal on the pay-rolls tn
trail of the serpent of Influence" is owe
Id il all.
u The Future of the South.
10 Hartford Courant.
nj 1t is impossible for any intelligent STU
- dent OF events to longer doubt that the pC
IN litical conditions heretofore existing in th
g. southern half OF the Union are undergoin
= II process of ofmodifcation which may hav