Morning journal and courier., 1884-03-01
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. THB CIVIL SERVICE. A Glimpse Of Its Present
 Conditions. WORKING OF THE REFORM ACT, The Report Made By The
 Commission. FIGHTING IN THE SOUDAN. English And Rebels Ready
 For Battle.
FIGHTING IN THE sOUDAN.
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL

The Civil Service Act-Facts Contained
 in the Commissions Annual RepOrt-A
 Generally Satisfactory Review of It a
 Operations.
 WASHINGTON, Feb 29.-The annual report of the Civil Service commission was sent to Congress to-day. The report proper covers forty printed pages and is devoted iefy to 8 presentation of facts and explanations needed to describe the purpose, methods and operations of this new board of the ex- ecutive service. The ultimate purpose, the report says, of the civil service law is plainly declared in it's title, which is to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States. One of the results to ba attained is to put 8 stop to extortion from those in the public service by political assess ments for the purpose of paying expenses of parties or candidates. It is too early the commissioners say to speak with defniten ess of the effects of these rules bearing on this evil The influence of old habits and theories affects conduct long after new standards of duty have been accepted. NJ case of viola tion of the rules and no information calling for the removal of government officers or employees have yet come before the commis sion. An investigation nowin progress tends to show that the law has been violated by private citizens in surreptitiously sending circulars into the departments at Washing ton by which contributions were solicited from employees for political purposes. The commission are satisfied that but trif1ing sums have been secured and that this illegal practice ceased upon public atten- tion being called to it. Threat of punish ment under the law has greatly increased the sense of freedom in those of public service to pay or not to pay political assessments and has consequently greatly diminished the amount paid. The practice of former year. of opening in the large cities assessment collection bureaus to which partisan tax gath erers summoned government employees has purpose of the law, the commission say, is to establish a system of examinations for ascertaining the fitness of applicants for doing public work, to take the place of that vast machinery of patronage largely based on, official favor and political influence which had been the most effective means of entering the executive service. In
 other words, 8 merit sy stem of servics is to be substituted for the spells system. After reciting some of the worst consequences of the old system, the system of free and open, competitive examinations is pointed to as the proper and necessary thing to supplant the past examinations of the spells syst em. Of the practical working of the new rules be- tween July Is, 1883, and January 16, 1881, the period during which vacancies have been filled on the basis of competition, the report shows that 3, 547 persons have been examined for the department, customs and civil ser vice. Of this number 2.O44 passed success fully the examination and 516 have been ap- pointed to the service. It appears from statistics accompanying the report that the number of applicants examined hay ing only common school edu- cation has been 2,272 and 65 per cent. of those who have entered the service through competitive examination were edu- cated in the common schools alone and that the service has not been filled by boys and girls direct from these schools, as the average age of those appointed has been about thirty two years Of ths 8 542 persons examined or appointed the politics of not one has been known to either commissioner at the time of his examination except in the case of four or five personally known to one of the comn1is sioners.
 Included in the report is summary of questions taken from letters of postmasters and collectors of customs at twenty of the principal cities of the country in reply to request from the commission for 8 frank ex- pression of opinion as to the practical effects of enforcing the new rules at their offices. The quotations show that quite generally these officers believe the enforcement of the rules is favorable to the appoint ment of better class of en- ployes in offices where political or personal considerations have been the controlling influence. The commission suggests that as subordlnates at tpostofices and custom houses are no longer appointed on the basis of a party list consistency not less than the eff ciency of the service forbids the application of that list for the selection of collectors and postmasters. No new change, however, in the civil service, they say, is now needed for fairly testing the new system. In the closing paragraph of the report the commission de- clare that tin every stage oJ it's work it has had the constant and unwavering support of the President"