Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1881-12-15
THE DEBATE ON CIVIL SERVICE RE-
FORM

1
well politicians may reason about the inn
portance of reform in the civil service, all
or nearly all of them continue to employ
the old methods as soon as pressure is
brought to bear upon them. Indeed there
is no instance yet OF any such consistency
in this regard as might encourage the pub
lie to expect genuine. and radical change.
Thus we find Dawes pretending to
be as DESTROYS of reform as anyone,
but nevertheless opposing the only
proposition for reform which is before
the Senate. He stands for that large
class of politicians who hope to postpone
all changes during their term by protesting
the utmost eagerness for it in the abstract,
at the same time that they do their best
to kill every definite attempt to produce
it. Mr. Dawes objects to the idea of
Central Board of Examiners, because, as
he says, it would never amount to anything
unless the Administration supported it
heartily. Mr.. Dawes therefore evidently
does not believe that it would be heartily
supported by the Administration, but he
does not give the grounds of his skepti-
cism. OF course he is fully aware that his
attitude is in effect the same as though he
had said 81 am in favor of everything in
this bill but the enacting clause. Strike
"that out and l shall be ready to support
:" it warmly The only thing to which
he objects is the vital principle of the
Pendleton bill. If that is removed he will
be for it.
And it is to be feared that Dawes is in this
connection representative man. At first
the politicians merely laughed at Civil Ser
vice reform. They thoughtit was no more
than fantasy of the doctrinaires and
theorists, and that it would be forgotten
in little while. But as it acquired force,
and began to influence public opinion, and
as all attempts to argue it down were con-
spicuous failures, and as the probity and
common sense of the nation came more and
more clearly to recognize the proposition as
wise and to regard it as necessary, those
who knew that all their prospects depended
upon the maintenance of the spoils system
were compelled to seek less obnoxious
mode of effecting their purpose. So Civil
Service reform was taken up formally and
put into all the party platforms and Pres
idential candidates, even while promising
offices right and left for support, wrote ell
oquent letters of acceptance declaring their
unalterable purpose to carry out this re-
form and stump speakers waxed indignant
over their memories of the old bad system,
and INDUCED in glowing anticipations of
what the future would bring forth and the
people were assured and satisfied, and
voted for these embryo reformers. But
when the battle was over every place. hold
er found that he had hopelessly committed
himself to the maintenance of the old sys-
tenn, and as the votes of the people would
not be needed again for some time there
was little hesitation felt at the general re-
pudiation of the fair promises of the cam
paign which followed.
When the next contest approached,
Civil Service was once more brought to the
front, and the familiar game was played
once again. Yet all this time the real re.
formers, who are seldom the ofice-seekers,
persisted in agitating the question, in
ventilating the abuses of the spoils sys-
tenn, in showing the enormous waste which
it entailed, in making disagreeable COM
PARSONS between American and English
governmental methods. So the popular
feeling continued to grow, and there was
less inclination to accept professions the
sincerity of which all knew to be very
doubtful. 1t was necessary to do some
thing soon. There must be an appearance
of legislation. Thus we come to the prep
aration of laws for the introduction of re,
form, but whether we shall ever get be.
yond this stage remains to be seen. The
fact that these longsought methods of re.
form had been tried with distinguished
cess in the New York Custom house
and Postoffice, made the position of the
spoilsmen the more difficult. They could
no longer say, as they had at first, that
though these methods might answer in
England, they were unsuited to "our
institutions" That argument was de.
feated by the fact that the new methods
had actually been established upon Amer
lean soil, and to the conspicuous improve.
ment of public business Thenceforth it
became necessary to assume complete SYM
pathy with reform in the abstract, and to
fight concrete reform tooth and nail
And this seems to be the present pro.
gramme. There is no longer any open op-
position to Civil Service reform All the
politicians are ready to declare that they are
longing to see it fully iaaugurated. Bat at
the came time they viii assert that thus far
no practical plan has been proposed, and
that it would be great mistake to adopt
any system which could not be maintained.
And we are afraid that it will take these
gentlemen great many years to find the
perfect system for which they are yearning.
The search for the Holy Grail will be
nothing to their prolonged and difficuli
quest. For they will be very particular
In fact they are bound to be, in the inter
est of the country, and they would b.
neglecting their plain duty if they accepted
) hastily scheme which could not stand tn,
test of practical application. By pursuing
this subtle method they doubtless expec
to postpone all important and considerable,
changes for generation or so, and by thai
time it will not matter TO them what i
done. Perhap' the people will before tina
have abandoned all hope of reform il
despair. Perhaps some great nntiona
$ question will arise to dwarf and obscure al
lesser issues. In short great many thing
may happen to divert public attention
only time can be secured, and meanwhil
4 the best and surest way to obtain time
$ to affect q fastidiousness which will refus
e all propositions that fall short of idea
e completeness. This is what the peopl