Morning journal and courier., 1882-12-29
Friday, Dec. 29, 1882.
PROGRESS OF GREAT REFORM.

PROGRESS OF GREAT REFORM.
 The Civil Service reformers have lived to
 see the Pendleton bill pass the Senate,
 and they have not had to wait very long
 either. Considering the obstacles it cannot progress. After much talk the bill will prob- ably be adopted in the House.
 The vote in the Senate is interesting. Thirty-nine voted for the bill and five against it. The five who voted in the negative were Senators Brown of Georgia, Call of Florida, Jonas of Louisiana McPherson of New Jer- sey and Morgan of Alabama. Senator's Bar TO of Georgia, Beck and Williams of Ken lucky, Camden of West Virginia, Farley of California, Harris of Tennessee. Pugh of Alabama, Ransom of North Carolina, Voor- hees of Indiana and Walker of Arkansas were paired, but would have voted against the bill Thus fifteen Democratic Senators opposed it. On the Democratic side Senators Bayard of Delaware, Cockrell and Vest of Missouri, Coke of Texas, Davis of West Virginia, Garland and Walker of Ar kansas, George and Lamar of Mississippi, German and Groome of Maryland, Jackson of Tennessee, Jones of Florida and Pendle- ton of Ohio, fourteen in all, joined with the twenty-five Republicans who voted for the bill. Some of those who voted for the bill have apparently changed their minds or their policy since they made speeches against it. Among them are Senators Cockrell, Gar land, Plumb, Vest and Walker
 As passed the bill is practically the same as that originally reported by Mir. Pendleton, and is declared satisfactory by Mir. Dorman B. Eaton, who drafted the bill. It authorizes the President to appoint three Commission CTS, not more than two of which shall be of the same political party. The Commission CTS, at his request, are to aid him in prepar- ing rules for carrying the act into effect, and these shall provide for open competitive ex- aminations, for testing the fitness of appli- cants for the public service that all ap- pointments within certain limits shall be made from among those graded highest as the result of such examinations that ap- pointments shall be apportioned among the States and Territories on the basis of popula. tion; that there shall be period of proba. tion before any absolute appointment that promotions shall be from the lower grades to the higher, on the basis of merit and com. petition, and certain other provisions intend ed to preserve the independence of subordi- nate employees The limits to the operation of the act are that it applies at first only to the departments at Washington and to srsch offices under the Secretary of the Treasury or Postmaster General as have more than fifty employees, and afterward to such offices as the President may direct.
 Judging from the letters of the Washing. ton correspondents great many members of Congress, including some of those who voted for the bill in the Senate have no faith in the reform aud think it will never amount to Probably these gentlemen are surprised that it has already made such prog ress, and probably also they will be still more surprised when they discover that the people of this country really mean to have the civil service reformed.