The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-01-06
CIVIL SERVICE REF0RM.

Concerning the civil service reform DILL
which finally passed congress on Ihurs
day, ,hc Ottawa Republican gives forth THIS
Bursbian utterance;
The democratic press Is almost unit IN
opposition to the passage OF the DILL why
Because the democratic greed for office can
onlv be supplied by adhering to the present
custom. Even the Ottawa FREE TRADER,
which harris upon the one string OF CIV,
service reform throughout every political
campaign. shows its chagrin ana stupidi'y
at one and the same time when II says that
the proyisiops of the bill are "bosh, anu
tba, at Will take twenty years to weed out
The present official force Of the government
and get in a new SET" A careful reading
of the bill will convince the editor that MS
conclusions are far.fctehed and thar inc
Icompetitive examinations are not connncu
TO only offices of the lowest grades.
Though twenty democratic senators ana
40 representatives voted tor 1t, the s'ate-
ment is pretty near the truth that the
democratic press Is pretty near unanimous
N oppositlon TO "the" bill; and "a careful
reading of" it will show that II there Is
any honesty in their professions OF friend
shin for civil service reform such opposi-
ton is unavoidable. For as reform
measure the bill Is palpable sham IL IL
is not strictly true that "the competitive
examinations arc confined to Offices Of the
lowest grade" it IS SO in substance anu
effect The scheme of the bill Is that ap
plicants from the outside shall only be Tor
offices of the lowest grade, and tor these
there is to be a competitive examination
All other competitive examinations are
confined to inside officers when there arc
openings tor promotion, which are only &c
he made from lower officers TO the exclu-
sion Of outsiders.
And herein lies the peculiar vlciousnes'
of the bill The vice OF our civil service
a, present does not lie wholly or IN part II
the want of fitness OF the lowest grade OH
GERS. The chief rottonness Is half o dozeI
degrees above. 1t is notorious that there
arc TO day on the government pay.rolls htty
thousand supernumeraries and incompe
TENS pine-tenths of whom are in TIT
higher grades They are exmembers o
congress- or WORKOUT and lad.aside OLE
political hacks and servitors whom tn
party has broken down IN its service, lik
poor Frank Lombard, and whom 1t feel
under obligations TO provide for by attach
inc them somewhere as barnacles to tn
ship of state. They are called Judge, ant
colonel, and general and professor. The.
have high.sounding titles and dignlfie'
bearing, bu. turn them out and they perisl
like canary birds. There Can be no In
movement in the civil service until Thu
class can be reached. There is no provis
ion in the bill that comes within gunsho
of meeting their case. The Pugh amend
mcnt was in that direction, but wss promp
!, ly killed by strict party vote. AS 1T ha
, finally passed, the bill is, with a few e1
cept,ons so trlfine as not to be wort
noticing, nothing but re-enactment Q
, laws already on the statute book, all tall
} OF paying any regard to WHICH mas pee
the standing theme for coarse jokes In col
press for half dozen of years past.
The patent weakness Of the bill lies
the fact that 1t contains. as the present la'
, IN force of which this is but q duplica,
: contains, nothing which will compel tn
8 enforcement of its own provisions; an
! while 1t provides, as the present law pr
! vides, that removals shall be made onl
: 'for cause" what shall be "cause" Is NJ
8 explained, and the way is left open
4 trlckery and evasion to accomplish whit
n may not be done directly. But the gre'
J. lack OF this bill, and all bills heretofol
:, passed on the subject, Is a provision requi
/. ing the commission to look into the SER
o Ice as now constituted and weed out II
l. supernumerarie and inefficients. Any bi
protesting 10 aim at civil service reforl
1 nhn,,