St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1886-09-12
THE OWL SERVICE SQUABBLE
Ex-Commissioner Eaton Makes
Reply to Bishop Ober1y.
The Latter, He Says, Was Ignorant,
and, Therefore, Innocent.

New YORK, Sept. lin letter to the
Times ex-Civil Service Commissioner Dor
man b. Eaton says:
In a former letter / promised to answer
specifically all the charges which Commls-
sioner Oberly has made. The first ana prln-
cipaI charge is that partisan considerations
prevailed in the matter of making special
rule approved July %, 1854, in conducting
examinations and in making general ceftih-
cations Hereunder for the position of special
examiners for the pension office. Concern
ing the certifcations and appointments for
pension examiners, the one popularity about
them was this, that when the commission
made the certificationS for their appointment
il found it necessary to certify the names of
all applicants on its registers, instead OF only
the four marked highest as the rules required
in other cases. The appointing officer could,
therefore, at his discretion, with which they
could not interfere, select from the whole list
instead of being compelled to take one from
each set of tour.
THIS RULE OF FOUR
w as rigidly enforced in every case until July,
1884 save one exception for imperative res
sons was always made as 10 few technlcal
places in the state department On the 'tn
of that month, and the last day of it's session,
congress adjourned, having suddenly passed,
that same day, an unprecedented act creating
$50 new offices TO be filled, or which the occu-
pants were to be called pension examiners
Contrary TO all precedent and TO the law as 10
the other class of examiners, these new exam
liners were, by the express terms of the new
law, to hold Office for only one year, and yet
the civil service rules, if they could be held
TO cover them, required probation OF SIX
months even before complete appointment,
and the civil service law if held 10 cover the
new places, rigidly required the appoint
rents 10 them TO be apportiOned among the
states and territories in the ratio of proper
ton Mr. Oberly declares, to use his own
words, that it was provided that these omcers
should be appointed under the civil service
act by examination and certihcatlon. rms
statement is without the shadow OF founda-
ton. He is
IGNORANT AND THEREFORE INNOCENT
of the fact that there was so much doubt on
the points, even nearly year after Repuo-
hcan president had decided in favor of the
jurisdiction OF the commission, upon my pre-
sentation of the legal points in favor OF that
view. that Il member of the cabinet of Presi-
dent Cleveland at the instigation of the DEM
ocratic pension commissioner, Gen. Black,
actually submitted that very pension twice
within the same month to Democratic Atty
Gen. Garland, and apparently the late Mr..
Oberly knows nothing of it. The attorney
generals opinions, now before me, are dated
respectively May and May IS, 1885. I sug-
gust that MIR. Oberly get copies and read
them Thus in May, 1855, Democratic
commissioner of pensions grasped for that
unlimited party patronage winch hepuOll-
can administration had denied to its head of
pension Office Dudley. in 1854. Such was the
need of prompt action. The first duty was at
all hazards to prevent the spoilsmen captur-
ing the places. 1t was next essential to I'LL
them with the utmost promptuess. 1t would
be disastrous to occupy several months in
operating the technical machinery of
the commission for that purpose.
1t was midsummer vacation time
and the commission had not
single person examined or even al applicant
for filling any one of them. 1t was plainly
impossible TO complete these examinations
and then go through the slow process OF GER
tifying by tours for all the vacancies.
IT WAS PLAINLY UNJUST
to set off place Of one year to one state
against appointments to other states for an
indefinite time The request for certifcatiens
to till these vacancies came to the commission
July 8. In that exigency the only thing it
could do was 10 certify in the usual form the
names Of thirty-tWo applicants for the before
existing class Of examiners which 1t was
hoped was fairly qualified, and it did So
There was anxious discussions of the per-
picking situation. President Arthur was
consulted. He was always firm and faithful
for reform policy. On the 2Sth of July the
commission advised the adoption or the
special rule referred to- which Commissioner
Oberly holds up to public censure OF partisan
grounds in his letter 10 the Times. This
policy resulted in reasonably filing places
1eitil competent examiners. The enemies OF
reform wrrr defeated of their spells and in
their hopca OF disered1ting the commissioner.