Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1881-12-14

sestions in reference to the agricultural de-:
velopment Of the country. The steady increase
Of our population end the consequent addition
to the these engaging in the pursuit Of bus
dignity md impertanee. IL sommissi owa9s
suggestions touching its capacity for greater
usefulness deserve attention az it more and
more Commando itself to the interest which II
Was created to promote. ;.
/ - PENSIONS.
! It appears from the report Of thg conmissi4n:
er Of pensions TINT s{nce 1850, 78S, 06$ original
ss Ss s ss1 as ssln s e. sse
sion 9oll, 77,5ss have been rejected and sban-
dDneh Being thirteen per cent. of the whole
h!!ihber of claims settled. There are now pend
ing for settlement 265,575 original pension
claims, 227, 04O Of which were fled prior to july
1880. These when allowed will involve the
in case of an invalid, anti from the date 81
death OF Termination Of prior right oh all
other cases. from all the data obtainable it "a
estimated that fifteen pei cent of the
number Of claims NOW pointing will be rejected
or abandoned. This would show the probable
re!eetioh of $4,000 cases and the probable ad-
mission Of about $4,000 claims. all OF which
involve the payment Of arrears of pensions.
With the present force employed, the number
Of adsuaications remaining the same, and no
new business intervening, this number of
claims, $4,000, could be acted upon in q period
of six years and taking JanusrS, I, 1854, IS j
near period, from which To estimate in each
case. the average amount of arrears, it is found
that every case allowed would require for the
hrst payment upon it the. sum of $3.50.
multiplying this amount by the whole number
of probable admissions, will give $3.50, 600, 900
a. tne sum required for the first payment
ANS represents the sum which must ba paid
upon claims which were fled before July /,
1850, and which ats how pending, and entitled
to the benefit of the arrears act. From this
amount, $3.50, 0O0, 900, may be deducted from
$4,000, 600 to $15, 5000, 900 for cases where the
thn DYING there is no person who under
sion, leaving $295,000,00O as the probable
amount to be paid in these estimates. No &C
count has been taken of the $500 cases filed
since June so, 1880, and now pending, which
must receive attention as current business, but
v winch DO not involve the payment Of any ar:
this number it is estimated that So per cent. will
be allowed as has been stated. With the pres
ent force of thu pension bureau; CTS clerks 1t is
estimated that it will take Six years
to dispose of the claims now pending.
It is stated by the commissioner of pensions
that by anadditioD of $50 claims INCREASING the
adtudicating force rather than the mecchanicaD
double the amount of work could be accom-
plisted 80 that these cases could be acted on
within three years. From consideration of
Justice speedy settlement of the claims now
on the files Of the pension Office may be urged.
1t is no less important on the score Of economy
lnasmheh as fully one-third of the clerical
force OF the Office is now wholly occupied in
giving attention to correspondence with the
thousands of claimants whose cases have been
on the files for the past eighteen years.
CIVIL SERVICE.
In my letter accepting the nomination for
vice president, stated that in nv Judgment no
man should be the incumbent of an Office the
duties of which he is for any cause unfit to per-
form, who is lacking in the ability, fidelity or
integrity which proper administration of such
Office demands. This sentiment would doubt
less meet with general acquiescence,
but opinion has been unduly divided
the various reformatory schemes which have
been suggested and Of certain proposed regula-
lions governing appointments to public Of
fees. The efficiency of such regulations has
been distrusted mainly because they have
seemed to exalt mere educational and alb
and even special fitness for tue particular work |
in hand. It seems to me that the tests that |
should be applied to the management of the |
public service may properly conform in the |
main to sneh as regulate the condition of sue |
cessful private business. Original appointments |
should be based upon ascertainted fitness. !
The tenure of Office should be stable: Positions |
Of responsibility should go far as practicable be
filed by the promotion of worthy and efficient |
officers. The investigation of all complaints !
and the punishment of all official misconduct |
should be prompt and thorough. The views
expressed in the foregoing letter are those
which will govern my administration of the
all intelligent and patriotic citizens, however
divergent in their opinion as to the best !
methods of putting them into practical OPERATION
For example, the assertion that the original ap-
pointment shoul1 be based on ascertained fit
ness is not open to dispute, but the question of
ually obtained is one which has for years
excited interest and discussion. The measure
which with slight variations in it's details has
lately been urged on the attention OF congress
and the executive has for its principal feature
the scheme of competitive examination, save
for certain exceptions which need not
here be specified. This plan would apply to ad-
mission into the service only in its lowest grade
and would accordingly demand that all vacan
cies in the higher positions should be filed by
promotion alone. In these particulars it is in
conf ormity With the existing civil service sys-
tenn of Great Britain and indeed the success
which has attended that system in the
argument which has been urged for its adop-
ton here. The fact should not, however, be
overlooked that there are certain features of |
the English system which have not generahH
been received with favor in this country even
among the foremost advocates of civil service |
reform. Among them are first, tenure of
Office which is substantially life ten
ure. Second. limitation of the maximum
age at which an applicant can enter the service
whereby all men in middle life or under are.
with some exceptions, rigldly excluded; third. a
retiring allowance upon going out of service.
These three elements are as important factors
of the problem as any of the others. To elm
a most radical change in its theory and
practice. The avowed purpose of that
system is to induce the educated young
men of the country to devote their lives to the
public employment.by an assurance that having
once entered upon it theynever needleave it and |
that after voluntary retirement they shall be
the recipients of an annual pension. That this
system as an entirety has proved very success
fu! In Great Britain seems to be generally con-
ceded, even by those who once opposed it's
adoption. To statute which should incorpo-
rate all it's essential features I should feel !
bound to give my approval but whether it
would be for the best interest of the public
to fix upon an expedient for an immediate
extensive application which embraces certain
features of the English system, but excludes
or ignores others of equal Importance. NAV be
strenuously doubted even by those who are i'm
pressed as am with the grave Importance of
correcting the evilswhich inherit from the present
methods Of appointment. For example: The
English rule which shuts out persons above the
age of rs years from large number of public
employments should not to be made an essen
tial part of our system. It is questionable
whether the attainment Of the highest num-
Der Of marks al competitive examination
should be the criterion by which applications
for appointment should be put to test, and
under similar conditions may also be questioned
whether admission to the service should be
strictly limited to its lowest ranks. There are
very many characteristics which go to make q
model civil servant. and prominent among
them are probity, INDUSTRY, goodness,
good habits, good temper, patience,
order, courtesy, tact, self-reliance. manly
Difference to superior officers and manly con-
slderations for Interiors. The absence of these
traits is not supplied by wide knowledge of