Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-03-01

! vice, whether under the form of nolitica1 ae-
sments or otherwise, for the purpose of
must come to an end.
Third. Selections for the executive service
on the basis of official favor and partisan in :
nuehce must be suppressed by requiring ex-
anlnatlOns and other adequate tests of char
acter and capacity as conditions of entering
this service.
Fourth. True responsibility and indepen-
uence OF Legislative and Executive Denart-
ment. under the Constitution must be re-
stored and preserved.
Rules and of the civil service law en-
second heads
The report says that it is too early to
speak with dehniteness of the effects of
these rules. The influence of old habits
ana theories affects conduct long after
new standards Of duty have been accent
ed. Though a violation of either ruIe is
made good cause for removal, the utility
OF such rules must in some degree rest in
their power as precepts, for obviously
only gross forms of their violation can be
easily proved. The first step toward the
protection Of all rights is a distinct recog-
nluon of them and a public acknOWl-
edgment of a duty to protect them,
That step at least has been taken. In the
lace OF pledges at once formal and public.
II VIII require more audacity to invade.
and there will be reader courage to de-
lena the freedom which it is the object of
the hrst Two rules to guarantee. No case
OF violation of either,in the particulars re-
Ierred to, has been laid before the COM
mission. Whether in the period since the
civil service rules went into effect there
mas not been diminished tendency on
the part of Federal officers to meddIe with
the political action of citizens. and a more
vigorous and general condemnation of
the practlce by the public, are
questions to be decided upon a
careful observation of the facts which are
as open TO all others as to the members of
the commission.
Upon the subject OfpOlitical assessments
the report says:
An investigation now being conducted
by the commission tends to show that the
18th section Of the act has been violated
by private citizen from each of two
states IN the form of surreptitiOusly send
ing or carrying circulars into departments
aU W ashlngtOn by which contributions
were solicited from those in the public
service IN aid Of a political fund. These
states ana one or more of the employees in
!hese departments appear to have assisted
IN the distribution of these cir
culars, but apparently without knowing
their contents or the purpose of their dis
tri6utIon. We are satisfied that but
trl1lng sums have been secured, and this
Illegal practice appears to have ceased
4p0n public attention being called to it.
inquiries have justified the conclusion
That the amounts for the corresponding
periods collected from the same number
OF Federal officers since the act
went into effect have not been
more than from one-half to One-fourth
as much as formerly, and that while
a feeling of complete safety in de-
clining to pay is by no means attained
this diminution in the amount COL
lected would otherwise measure the
proportion Of the whole amount before Sc
cured, which was paid by reason of fears
of removal or hopes of promotion. The
evils of the spoils system are set out at
length, and the defects of the civil service
system practiced during President Grants
administration are pointed out and its
failure eXplained.''