The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-08-12
DEIESTARLE WARFARE.
Exposure of q Sample Lot of Republics
and New York "Tribune " Falsehoods.

Exposure of q sample Lot of Republican
and New York Tribune " Falsehoods.
Nothing could be more detestably
mean than those efforts to break down
Civil-Servicer reform simply because the
administration OF it is in Democratic
hands which consist of gross misrepre-
sentation of every thing done and at
tempted. The New York Tribune con-
tanned an article on ''nullifying the Civil
Service law" which hardly contained
truthful statement or a fair inference
from beginning to end, and the writer
was probably aware of that fact 1t be-
gins by saying that the ''course" of
Democratic officials to nullify the law
is ''shown by their method of reorgan-
izing the examining boards" After
stating-what is not true-that the
rules forbid the appointing officer from
having access to the list of eligibles, it
says: 1.-The first thing the Democratic
officials did was to reorganize the ex-
amining boards and 10 have their
private secretaries and chief deputies"
made the chairmen and secretaries
This will do for specimen.
The Democratic Officials meaning
the appointing officers, do not organize
or reorgaLize the examin ming boards.
That is done by the Civil. Service Com
mission at Washington. 1t has entire
control of the machinery of examina-
tions. The constitution of the examin-
ing boards here and in other cities
which the Tribune criticises was deter
mined by the Republican commission
of which Mr.. Eaton was the head, and
was not revolution of the existing
practice when the Democrats came into
office" but was precisely the practice
always pursued. The members of the
board in the cnstom house here are ap-
pointed, not by Mr.. Hedden, as this
reckless writer says, but by the COM
mission on the nomination of the Col
lector, Surveyor and Naval Officer, and
the present beard was appointed by the
Eaton commission. The chairmen and
secretaries are not ''made" by the
democratic officials" but by the COM
mission on the nomination of the men,
bers of the board itself, and the present
commission has refused to confirm
these where they are private secre-
taries and chief deputies" establishing
rule for the first time that such
officers shall not serve in that capacity.
After utterly mlsrepresenting this
matter of organizing examining boards
the Tribune says: "The new Civil
Service Commission not only winked
at but openly abetted this method of
evading the law. 1t changed the reg
ulations to permit Collector Hedden to
oust the old officers of the examining
board" This though Collector He'd
den has nothing directly to do with
constituting the board or choosing its
officers and the commission has speci-
fically put a stop to the practice, al
ways possible before, of having private
secretaries and special deputies serve
as the officers of the board. As to
the eligible list and appointing officers,
the abuse came in under the Republic
an commission, and the present COM
mission is the first to propose making
the rules forbid the appointing officers
to have access to the list of eligibles.
In short, this commission is fighting
against abuses which it inherited and
which sprang up under the law before
the Democrats came into office. The
only purpose of reckless misrepresenta-
tions of this kind is to discredit the re-
form itself and help to break it down.
1t is mean kind of warfare. but too
easily exposed to be effectively. Y.
Times.