The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-03-26
A Startling Discovery.

WASHINGTON, March l9.-The South.
ernspOiIs hunters have discovered novel
| point in their examination Of the civil
| service regulations. aud it il one which
| they intend 10 enphasize To fire the
Southern heart" against tile civil service
| system. The regulations which have
been adopted by the Civil Service Com.
missioners provide that no person shall
| be permitted to make application i"r y
clerical p'sition iU the Post Office De.
| pnrtment who is oyer 35, aud that no
| person shall he permitted to make appii.
cation for y position in the Treasury
Department who il over 4j, unless in
either case the applicant may chance to
have b. en- an honDrably discharge d Un on
sOldier or sailor. a strict Interpretation
Of this rule would exclude any PRISON
| who was in the Confederate army from
| clerical position in the P.nt Office De
| partment if he was more than III years
| 0f age in 1850, or from service under the
Treasury il he was nlnre than 81 years"f
| age when the war began. The discovery
Of this fact has created a very marked
excitement among the Southern men.
Mr. T. A. Burke, Of the New Orleans
| Times Dcmocrdt and manager Of the great
Expn-irion, who il here, Is credited with
! thiR di~coyery. He says:
why, the civil service regulations
| diyfrancbise every ex Confederate. The
| average age OF enlistment in the Conted.
crate army was from fifteen TO twenty
years. There certainly must have been
| very iew pniistmenta under fifteen years,
but you will see by these regulations
that, IA twenty four years have elapsed
al nrr
within which person can become an
applicant for n position in the Post Office
Department is fixed at thirty FIVE years
| of age, unless he is n discharged Union
| soldier, no one who WAN in the Conteder
ate army can come within th-.e regula
lion. if he WAS more than ii years OF age
when he enlisted, ana it is under the
Post Office Department thnt the vast
majority of the appointments are 10 he
made in the Southern States aud no
| one who was in the Confederate army. in
t. like manner, could secure an appoint.
ment under the Treasury under the civil
service rules who WAS over 81 when the
| war began. Such proposition would
make u terrible havoc in the ranks Of
the Southern office seckers. 1t would
bar our people pretty nearly ell out.
The elect within such limitations would
be rare exception 7"
"What are yOu going to do abort it?
That's the point. Ii these rules are
To be rigdly enforced We shall demand
u re-exanlinalion under the civil service
ayrtem Of all the Federal officials who
hold office in the Suuth. Ii you take
even hasty glance nj the civil service
requirements you will see that very few
of the persons now holding office coulG
be re.aPpninted under any such cond.
tions. There is probably npt one TWEEN
| tieth part Of those in office who could
paos HI examination under the civil
| service system. We shall bring this
question prominently To public notice,
and do moi know of any other way n
which We can make the demand known
Should that he refused, our ouly remedy
would be either to insist upnn a modifi
cation of the regulations or q reorgani.
zition of the Board of Civil Service
Commissioners. 1t il pretty vital
question for the people of our section,
anu do not believe that the people of
the Country are quite ready to admit that
man is to be deprived of service under
the Government because he served in the
Confederate army"