New-York tribune., 1883-03-11
GOSSIP Ar THE CAPITAL.
WHAT is TALKED OF IN WASHINGTON.
UIvIL SERVICE, oFFICE-BROKNG AND NEWS
PAPER TOPICS.

general outpouring from the town and now nleln-
bers are scarce enough to pass for tourists. lnoSo
who had appointments pending IN the department.
spend their last hours going around reminulhg 'no
Secretaries and Commissioners OF tna' h'"o
appointment" and suggesting that II wou'u % 4"
good idea 10 hurry it up before the C'ii "ei''00
Commission comes in. 1t Is not likely ho"onoi'
that these efforts met with much success 0
heads of departments who are responsoie ioi 'nV''
employees and the quality of their Work ie'' 'n'
necessity OF business methods ana the plrs'-
ure of reform sentiment long pslo'o 'io
Concressmsn who are not responsible TO he public
for tb man tbev succeel in thrustng into the pub
lie service; and with the Civil Service Commission
already in .ession. many arbitrary changes are not
probable.
Washington is entering apparently, upon INC uIn
est recess 1t has known In number OF years No'
in many years has there been new thlru o. 'lo
Senate coming in without special session OF the
body Last year Congress sat into August Inc
year before the recess opened peacefully enough
with special session, but the sgnatioh o. CohA-
ling and Plat brought on fierce pohtlcal war
which ended in the shooting of the President III
1850 there was the long session of Congress- anu
the Presidential election, which always renecls Is
excitement into Washington. The year pcloio'
1879 there was the exciting contest between fresi-
dent HAYES and the Democratic House over the pay
of The deputy marshals, and there was sP'oi"i
session in consequences of the refusal of the House
to appropriate the money. In 1878 tn"re was 'no
usual long session, with the Potter investigation.
II, 1877 there was only brief special session OF
the Senate, but the Army bill had failed 10 pass
and President HAYES called special session of Con-
cress for October Is to make the appropriation
The year before thai was another Presidential year.
of DpmOcratiC
in Congress. And so the list ccuid DC
nrolonped Washington will settle down in the
carly spring into the quiet of midsummer
There will be the ordinary routine of department
bu <iness and the Hercs will go about the streets
searching for passengers. II the President snouiu
take trlp to Florida the official quiet VIII Dc IN
creased. But with a new tariff to consrrue anu "
new Internal Revenue law to put in operation there
will be plenty of work, if little excitement.
The Civil Service Commissioners are IN town.
buslly consulting together, and thus far prlnclpa'
occupied in house hunting, like ordinary unre-
formed people, Their presence here has naturally
caused q good deal of talk over the law under
which they are acting. 1t Is an interesting
fact which ought to go on record now at
the beginning of this experiment. that all Of the
important difficulties in he law which have been
discovered by the experienced and practical men
here IN the departments, so far as have been abe
TO find them ont are the result If the muddlng ana
meddIipg by the self-ca.led practical" men IN
Congress, whereas If the law had been lett ~ the
shape in which the so-callcd "unpracuca' men,
the reformcrs framed it, few of the Criticisms no"
made would have been heard The chief OF these
difficulties is the clause requiring appointments III
the departments here to be appur Toned among the
States and Territories according to pop
ulatIon. The remainder of the paragraph
Is so delightfully."- Congressional as to leave
no doubt OF it's origin. 1t says; Every apPhoa-
ton for an examination shall contain among o'hot
things. a statement under oath, setting forth his or
her actual bona fde residence at the time OF making
the application. as well as how long he or she has
been a resident Of SAID piac-." Probably nowhere
outside of Congress would an Application be de-
.cribed as chez or "she." Tho difficulties OF
carving out this provision can only be appreciated
by those who have given the subject attention
The provision only apply to future appoint
ments of course and a result the places III the
departments cannot be really equaiZ 81 between
the ~tates until the present generation OF oihcehoiu
ers dies out. For example, the District OF CoiumDla
would he entitled under the census of 1850 to eleht
appolntments IN the Treasury Department II they
were decided according 10 population The DlAtrcl
has actually 42S n the departments Plainly only
the hand of death Will make over the public service
!
idea is " rong in itself The Government ought TO
be a liberty to select its clerks merchant would
d, it, without regard to the place they come IRON,
but only with regard 10 their fitness Ii may have
escaped the notice of the senators who voted IN this
| provision that it is one OF eight when the
! President Is to carry out las nearly as
the conditions Ofgood administration will warrant"
If he Commissioners should report to the President
that this provision could not be executed without
embarrassing good administration IL Will be in
bis power to order that IL be disregarded. Mr.
Eaton says that the law does OF, IN his opinion.
necessarily require examinations to be made for
promotions in the service. lie thinks that at the
beginning, any way. it will be enough to set the
machinery III motion for appointments only. Some
of the most sincere believers in the system in the
departments, and men of experience, believe that
the application of examinations to promotions
wOuld do more harm than good. When hundred
men are examined for appointments, the ninety nine
who are unsuccessful go away, but when the same
number are examined for promotion they remain,
accumulating perhaps, body OF men dissatisfied
with the system.
The most conspicuous instance of congressional
meddling with the law il in the salaries The bill
originally proposed $4,000 each for the Comms-
sioners and the Chief Examiner The Senate cut the
Commissioners down to $500 and the Chief Ex-
aminer to SO 900. The Senate struck out also the
appropriation mot to exceed 100000 to compensate
examiners throughout the Union for extra work In
volved, the law requiring examinations in every
State and Territory, instead of allowing the country
TO be divided up into a number OF good-sized dis
tricis, with an examiner in each. Already two ren
of peculiar qualifications, Mr.. Burt and Mr.. Graves,
have declined the place of Chief Examiner because
the pay is too small and the situation respecting
that Office Is one of serious difficulty The abuse
that was heaped upon Mr.. Burt by newspapers
which have always derided Civil Service reform
has been repeated with Mr. Graves in smaller meas
ure not only in the newspapers but III private talk.
One high Official here heard TO utter nonsense of