The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-09-12
EATON TO OBERLY.
THE REPLY OF THE EX-COMMIS.
SIONER TO
The Charges OF His Successor That
Partisan Consideration Prevail.
ed in the Commission.

New York, September 1l.-In
letter to the Times Ex-Civil Service
Commissioners Dormsn B. Eaton says:
La a former letter / promised to
answer specifically all the charges
which Commissioner b9rly has made
in his lett r in the Times of the 18th
of August:
First-The first and principal charge
is that partisan considerations pre-
va led in the matter OF making a
special rule approved July %, 1884, in
conducting examination DIS aud in max
ing general certifcations hereunder
for TIE position of special examiners
for the PERSON Office.
Now lei as return to Mr.. Oberly's
main charge, concerning the certifca.
tions and appointment FIR pension
examiners. The one popularity about
them was this, that when the ctm-
mission made the ceItifications for
their appointment it found it necessa-
ry to certify the names Of all the ap-
pliCants on its registers, Instead of
only the four marked higbe as the
rules required in other cases. The
appointit g officer could, therefore, at
his discretion, with which they could
not interfere, select from the whole
lists instead of being compelled to
take one f,om each set of four. In
the facts which made the spt cial rue
involving the general certificatioIs
necessary is tie complete answer to
Commissioners Ooerly's indictment
Let US under; tand these facts. AS a
member of President Grlnt's commits
sion 1 helped 10 enforce rule which
provided for the cert fications OF only
three names at once, and, approving
that rule, proposed TIE same provis-
ion for President Arthul's rules. 1t
was approved by the commission, but
was dis proved by members of his
Cabinet. One of Them, at least, fas-
o'ed general certificatiOns in all cases.
No one of them favored thr,e only,
aud several, it is believed, favored
many more than four names on GER
tifita,e. The commission re gsrdsd it
as fortunate that only four as general
rule were, by compromise, provided
for in the Iues. This rule OF four was
riyidly or forcsd in every cfse until
July, 1884, save one exception,
for imperative reason, was al.
WAYS made as to a few techni-
cal places in the State Department. Ga
the 7th instant of that month, and the
las day of its ieyiop, Congress sd-
journe6, having suddenly passed that
same day an unprecedented act Gre
ating 100 new offices to be filled, OF
which the occupants were to be called
pension examiners, who's, service was
to be in the fl I'D and whose duties, to
be performed in full measure in the
outset, were to be the inves igation
and report ng upon claims for per-
sions, each examiner acting independ-
ENTITY for the locality OF his assign
ment 1t was plain, therefore, that
matured judgment as well as 1me ex-
peliencs in lie were qualifications far
more important than in the cle,ical
work of the before existing clsss OF
pension examiners who served un-
der the eyes of the chief a. Wash
ington. The prac ice bad b en- to as
sign these Office examiners to the
field after adequate experience show
ing practical capacity. Contrary to
all precedent and 10 the law IS to
the other c!a Of examiners, these
new examiners were, by the express
terms of the new law, to hold office
fer only one year, and yet the civil
service rules, is they could be held to
cover them, required probat OF
six months, even before complete ap-
pointment; and the civil service law,
if held to cover the new places, rigid
ly required the appointments to them
to be apport'oned among the States
and Territories in the ratio Of proper
ton. The purpose of Congress W, to
have a great amount of work done
within the year before s next session.
Members and treat politicians, hold
ing that the act and 1u'es did not
cover the new places, and believing
the commission Cou d net fill them
seas onabIy, had enough applicants,
whom they were pressing upon the
President and his Cabinet for filling
these pla es ten times over. What
was worse still, there YVES ground fer
ave sol citude lest it might be
held by the Attorney General
that no examination was required
for these. And here lot us cor
rect one of those strange, careless
misstatements on which the whole
fabric of Mr.. 0berly's indictment aud
the peculiar theories rest. He de.
clares, to USE his own words, "That it
was provided that these officers should
be appointed under the civil service
act by examination ard certifcation."
This statement is without shadow Of
foundation. The prop osiion of the
Commissioner is even ludicrously alb
surd. He is ignorant ana therefore
innocent OF. the fact that there was so
much doubt on the points, even nearly
year after Republican President
had decided in favor OF the jurisdiction
of the commission upon my presepta-
ton OF the legal points in favor OF that
view, that a member Of the Cabinet OF
President Cleveland, at the instigation
of the Democratic Pension Commits
sioner, Gen. Black, actually submitted
that very question twice within the
same month to Democra ic Attorney
General (Garland) and apparently the
late Mr.. Oberley knows nothing Of it.
The Attorney Generals opinions, now
before me, are dated, respectively,
May and May %, 1885. l suggest
that Mr.. 0bsrly get copies and
read them. Thus, in MAY,
1885, Democratic Commission
or of Pensions grasped for that I'M
limited party patronage which Re-
publican administration had denied to
its head Of Pension Office, Dudley, in
July, 1884. Such was the need OF prompt
action. The frat duty was at all hsz-
ards to prevent the spoilsmen captur-
ing the places. 1t was next essential
to fill them with the utmost prompt
ness. 1t would be disastrous 10 oc-
cupy several months in operating the
technical machinery of the commits
sion for that purpose. II was mid
summer vacation time, and the COM
mission had not single person ex.
amined or even an applicant for filing
any one Of them. To meet the stern
conditions of apportionment, exami-
nation, after due notice given, must
be in such numerous and remote
places as to acc ,mmoda!e the country