The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-02
A Refutation of Misstatements Concerning
Cost of Examining Applicants-Some of
the Benefits of the System.
Why the Popularity Of the Vice-Presi-
dent Is Rapidly Passing Away.
Incidents Showing the UnfitnesS of Secretary
Lamar for the Place lie Holds-Con-
dition of the Public Debt
THE CIvIL-sERvICE COMMISSION.
Mr.. Thoman Resents the Effort to Thro,
Discredit Upon Its Methods.

Discredit Upon Its Methods.
Special to the indianapolis Journal
WASHINGTON, June 1.-Some of the Demo
cratic newspapers in the West have lately been
trying to throw discredit upon the Civil service
Commission, and its methods, by publishing
statements to the effect that the cost of exam
lining each applicant for a position is something
like five or six hundred dollars year. recent
article appeared in a Cincinnati paper, in which.
by some wonderful method of arithmetic, the
writer demonstrated conclusvely. to his own
mind, that the commission expended almost as
much upon each successful applicant for place
as the salary of one of the minor grades of clerk
ships would amount to. Judge Thoman, who is
the Democratic member of the commission, be-
came very angry when his attention was called
to this article to day He said: Such lies are
absurd. They have no reason for existence, and
are beneath the contempt of respectable men.
Congress has appropriated for the Civil-service
Commission, during the two years which it has
been in existence about $45, ,OO0 During that time
we have examined upwards Of II, 600 applicants,
and more than 1900 have been appointed to
places in the civi. service. BY this it will he
seen that the average cost of examining each in
dividual has been about four dollars, and the
average cost applied to each successful applicant,
it will be seen, has been somewhat less than six
teen dollars. The benefits which have accrued,
and the savings which have been made to the
government, are incalculable. / have no hesi.
tation in saying that the bare monetary saving
sion has amounted in the past two years to more
than enough to pay all the expenses of the com
mission for the next twenty five years to come
''In what wayg" he was asked
I'm this way, he replied Before the COM
commission was created it was the policy of
the officials in authority to yield to the pressure
for place from congressman and others having
retainers to reward. If vacancy did not occur
one would frequently be made to supply the de-
mand. If a vacancy occurred it would be filled
Immediately. No attention was paid to
the actual needs of the service. The only
thing that was looked into was where place
could be found for some faithful political worker
Since the Civil service Commission came into
existence this is all changed. Now, instead of
overcrowding the service with useless clerks and
employees, none are appointed except to meet the
absolute demands of the public business. Vacan-
cies which occurred some months ago, in many
instances have not been filled, because the
services of those who previously filled the places
could be dispensed with. Were it not for the
civil service law, these places would not be
allowed to remain vacant over night Again,
during a presidential campaign in the past, it
was always the practice to load the rolls with
the names Of hundreds of men, just to win sup
for& &11 kho%, :~lA 49,
During the last presidential campaign not an
extra man was placed in position anywhere in
the classified list because he must first run
the gauntlet of a civlservice examination.
These absurd stories of the cost of the examina
tion of each man are not worth noticing; but
wish, for the purpose of comparison, that it
were possible to make some calculation on the
other side