Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-12-15

CiviI-serviee Reform in Congress
II we may Judge from the way in which
the question of civil.service reform has been
taken hold Of in Congress, some measure
which shall put the civil service of the coun-
try on a fixed and honest basis will be the
outcome of this session. In the Senate Mr..
Pendleton's bill introduced and discussed at
the last session, has been taken up Mr..
Dawes has reintroduced his bill of last session
as a substitute for the Pendeton bill, and Mr..
Hawley has brought forward bill forbiddiug
the receipt or solicitation Of political contri-
buttons by members and members.elect Of
Congress and all officers aud employees of the
government The civil service committee of
the House has reported a bill based on that
which its chairman, Mr. Kasson, perfected
and drew during the recess, and Strait of
Minnesota has introduced more rigorous
bill for the same general purposes. Mr.. Pen
detons bill, as is we'll known, is based, as
nearly as is consistent with our American in
situations and methods on the civil service
system of England. 1t is announced that
the Republicans will take this bill as a basis
and make such additions to it as are necessa-
ry to make it a stronger and more practicable
civil service measure. Mr.. Hawley's bill
makes it crime for any person to enter
public building for the purpose of urging
contributions or assessments from clerks or
other employees. 1t is also made crime,
with heavy penalties attached to discharge
any employee or lower his rank for either Civ
ing or Withholding any contribution in mon
ey or for giving or Withholding his vote for
any person or measure on any occasion what
ever. The Kasson bill provides for scheme
of examinations, though not competition, for
a fair appointment of officials among the
states and congressional districts, and for a
fixed term of office, Removals are only to
be made for infdelity to the government, in
temperance, habitual profanity, inattention
to or neglect of duty, incapacity, disobedi-
ence, disrespect to superiors, and other sim
| liar reasons.
Carping critics at Washington are saying
that this interest, or pretended interest, in
civil-service reform is only put on for effect,
and that after few weeks the whole matter
will be allowed to drop, and that the outcome
of the session in this direction will be simply
nothing. Some Of the Democrats notably
Brown of Georgia and Voorhees, of Indiana,
declare with bluntness and candor which
we cannot help admriug in a way, that they
should prefer to wait until the Democrats
have had chance at the spois and got their
own followers into Office before enacting any
measure of civil-servlce reform. In this con-
nection one thing is evident, and it is that
the possibility of Democratic ovorturn in
1884 ought and undoubtedly will make the
Republicans more ready than ever before to
enact some measure which, in case of such an
overturn, should prevent the whole civil ser
vice of the country from being turned topsy.
turvy and the whole Democratic party of the
country turned into horde of hungry office
seekers bowling 20 have every government
office in the country vacated and filled by
men whose only recommendation is that they
belong to the Democratic party. The mat
ter is about as bad as it can be as it is, will
the same party remaining in power year af
ter year, but it would be Intimately wors,
with another party coming into power. One
of the worst features of a Democratic resto
ration would be this sweeping overturn in thu
civil service, and with this made impossibl,
one could contemplate with comparative com
placency the ups and downs of political par
ties.
But, all selfish considerations aside, tn
people demand reform in the civil service
as matter of principle, of national policy
And they demand too, that the reform shall
be genuine and thorough. They will not b.
satisfied with any temporizing or half-wa.
work. Some measure might be adopted
which shall make the civil service of the coun
try open to every worthy asprant, no matter
what his political creed, which shall proven
any competent official from being turned GU
of Office at any mans caprice or behest, AM
which shall prevent any man, no matte
whether he be President senator, or war;
politician, from using the patronage of tn
government to build up his own political for
tunes We have faith to believe that Their
is Republican good sense enough in this Con
gress to secure the enactment of such a meas
ure. If it proves that there is not, the gen
tlemen of the Forty-Seventh Congress ma.
be sure that the people will keep at work un
til they have elected Congress which cal
discern the signs of the times.