National Republican., 1882-09-12
Our Civil Service.

medicines would it not be well to be sure
that the patient is sick? The genuine
advocates of improvement in the civil
service are to be respected for their pub
lie spirit and should be aided by all in
authority in their inquiries upon the sub
iect The machine" reformers, who
have nostrums of their own for political
ills which exist chiefly in their own inn
agination deserve the sneers they receive,
and are hindrance to the work in which
they pretend to be interested. That
thereis no room for improvement it would
be foolish to pretend. That those who are
responsible for the transaction of the
public business could be Indifferent to the
character and fitness of their appointees
would be as unnatural as it is untrue.
That influential persons should abstain
from efforts to provide for their favorites
presupposes the millennium.
In every public Office at Washington
and elsewhere are employed certain per-
sons without whom, or others of equal
capacity, the public business could
not be transacted. They retain their
places from year to year, and as they drop
out from one cause or another, tn cir
places are filled by promotions of persons
who have acquired the knowledge re-
quired for the places. There is as much
method, discipline, order, and expertness
in the public Offices as in private banking,
railroad, or manufacturing establish
ments. The loud professional reformers
who assert to the contrary of this are
either ignorant or reckless of truth. But
Independent of the work requiring train
ing, there is work which may be done well
with no other qualifications than sobriety
industry, promptness, civility, and fidelity.
Copying, filing, searching, arranging, and
stamping of papers, and many other in
ferior clerical duties, may be taught in
week to new appointee. Messengers,
laborers, watchmen, and others are
merely to do what can be told them in
a few sentences. The trained clerkships
are not tossed about among influential
politicians, as the public is falsely told by
INSCRIPTIONS and untruthful professional
reformers. 1t is true that there is con-
slant pressure for even these places, and
it is true that there are some public men
and more private citizens of influence
who are not only eager to displace good
clerks with favorites of their own, but
they would, if permitted, thrust in men
totally unfit for the work. The remedy
for this is found in the moral purpose
and strength of mind of the Cabinet min
listers who make the appointments.
If man who sits at the Presidents
council-table has not moral courage and
firmness enough to say to Senator, a
Representative, a railroad president,
an eminent clergyman, or merchant
prince who may importune him that the
efficiency of his department forbids re-
moval of an expert clerk to make room
for an untried man, then the fault is not
in the laws, but in the execution of them.
If "a man is shown to be thus weak and
is nevertheless retained in his place, then
the Chief Executive would be blamable.
AS to the lesser employees we have
named above, no doubt that from among
them, as they develop the right qualities,
the clerks of the first grade could be more
safely selected than under any catechism
that can be framed by the clique of re-
form politicians who seem bent upon
seizing the clerkships for small class
neither more nor less deserving than
thousands of others.
1t is fair and proper that these aborers,
messengers, ,watchmen, and others, whose
clerical duties are simple, should be taken
with some reference to equal privileges to
the States, and that they should not be po-
litical wranglers of the opposition. Sena-
tors and members Of Congress who do
not carelessly recommend unworthy peo-
pie are as good sources of information as
can be had for Republican States Dem.
ocratic Senators and members should not
be aided in their political contests by be-
ing able to bestow upon their workers u
places for their friends.
Sensible people while investigating
these matters should not fail to investi
gate the machine reformers. They will
be found unreliable and not infrequently
malicious and insincere. 1t is most de-
sirable that the heads of departments
and public offices throughout. the lane
should be relieved of all demands anG
) also of all inconcenient pressure for changes
They in turn ought to sift out all drone
and unworthy and Objectionable EN-
/ ployes, appointing in their places mel
and women from the States leas
: represented. In the intercourse be
tween the executive officials and Sena
: tors and Congressman, the latter shoulC
give Information, and not commands, and
. in turn, the former should presume tn
/ respectability, honor, and good judgmen
g of the representatives of the people, an,
4 require something more than the abus
+ of their rivals or the assumptions c
: theorists to overthrow the presumption
e A Congressman's advice may be take
5 without creating an obligation on hi
part to vote for department measure
and the needs of a department as to az
preparations may be responded to with
y out creating an obligation to give plac
to one or more of his dependents.
The best check we can think of agains
= , the evil fruits of weakness in a depar
;. ment and greediness in Congressma
. would be an annual report to the Pres
y dent of all appointments not Presider
y tial, with a SlCOrn statement as to the Unfit
y" ences which led to each one, with prope
- penalties for false oaths. This woul
:, make every man publicly responsible Il
" " his recommendations, and every offici'
" who appoints would have TO give goo
=" raocnnc t,nrnfnr nhig yritb IN,