St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-10-26
Civil Service Changes.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 25.-One of the
Democratic bureau chiefs is the authority
for the statement that the cabinet officer in
whose department. he is has assured him
that the president is going not only to ap-
point an entirely new set of civil service
commissioners, but is going to make great
changes in the rules. There is no doubt
that there will soon be an entirely new
civil service commission and probably one
if not two, members of the commission will
be selected on the ground of long expert
ence and a full knowledge of the require
mentS of the departmental service. 1t is
said by officials in the departments who
have been connected with the applications
to thecivil service commission that entirelack
of practical acquaintance with the needs of
public service has been great disadvantage
to Messrs Eaton, Gregory and Thoman.
The president is undoubtedly looking care
fully into the working of the system, with
the view of remedying all defects, not only
by the appointment of thoroughly capable
commissioners, but by the improvement of
rules for the making and unmaking of
which he has ample power But the OBJ
lection which nineteen Democratic poll
ticians out of twenty make to the existing
rules is that they do not afford the appoint
ing officer
SUFFICIENT DISCRETION
in the selection of suitable persons, are in
sincere, as one may easily satisfy himself
by few minutes conversation with the
obiector The objector says examination
may be fair test of scholarship, but it is
no test at all of other qualities equally i'm
portant in clerk. This may be assented
to without reservation, but it is weak i'll
dictment against the present system. 1t
certainly cannot be that out of the four
persons certified by the commission to the
appointing officer one is not a suitable per-
son for appointment. Furthermore the
original appointment is only probationary,
and clerk has to give six months of work
before he gets his regular appointment, and
still, in addition. the clerk may be removed
summarily without reasons at any time dur
ing or after the probationary period. The
complaint that the present system compels
the appointment and retention of improper
or unsuitable persons is obviously dia-
phanous. Equally unsubstantial is the OBJ
lection from bureau officers that they can
not get the men they need through the
| CIVIL SERVICE MACHINE,
but could get them if that were out of the
way. In the majority of the cases the head
of department is an eminent politician
| WHOSE SuDOTullldGGS Ttll0N6 uiui VI pTdCtiCdl
details and whose mind, therefore. is left
free to contemplate things from the politi-
clans point of view. But the bureau Off
GERS, even if they were enthusiastic politi-
clans before entering office, soon find them
selves obliged to carry on great administra-
ton machines, and they are compelled to
give the public service preference over po-
litical consideration. They have to as a
matter of self-defense. If the bureau Off
GERS could select clerks entirely untram-
meled by outside influence they would prob
ably select better clerks than either the old
fashioned spolls system or new-fashioned
competitive system furnished to the public
service. But these bureau officers never
can be untrammeled. If they were
not restricted by the civil service commits
sion they would be restricted by the COM
manding wishes of the politicians, as the
heads of the departments or the politicians
in congress. Before the commission existed
the bureau officers were even less free than