New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-06-12
OBERLYS SOP To THE MUGWUMPS.
TINKERiNG WITH CIVIL SERVICE RULES.

GREAT SCHEMES OF REFORM" PROMULGATED
AFTER THE sr LOUIS CONVENTION.
Washington June II (speciaD. Commissioner operiy'
who, before no merged his political Identity in tno O',i
Service Commission, accounted ono Oh tho snio"u
est manIpulators Of the Democratic machine IN linoS'
and afterward displayed considerable skill In the same
direction in Albany where he first fell under the no'ce
OF Mr. Cleveland has Just demonstrated that his rgn.
hand has not yet lost Its cunning He has gwen ou'
to-day, with much parade, scheme or re-classlhoa'
of the Civil Service which Is to take In the Hau"
Mail Service and everything else heretofore eAo"uo
from Civil Service rules. This s, OF course 'uD
thrown out to the Mugwump whales, who are supposed
m no looking around for something OF the kind hndnS
that Civil Service conspcuously absent among the
chief features of the st. Louis platform
Mr. Oberly goes into elaborate details to show how
eager the President Is to have these reforms carred
out He quotes letter OF his, which Is stated 10 nave
been written as far back March 81 last, In which
the President IS alleged to have suggested the need OF
better and uniform classification Of the employees
in the different departments @The importance OF
thIsp no wrote, sis entirely obvious. The present
imperfect classfcatons, hastily made apparently WIN
but little care for uniformity, and promulgated ator
the last Presidential election and prior to the nsta&
ton of the present Administration should not na'o
been permitted to continue until this time"
Tho President then, according to Mr. Obeflys state
ment, added ,
wish the Commission would revise these classifca'
tlons and submit to a plan which VIII as fr as pos
sble make them uniform, and which viii especnhy re'n
edy the present which permits persons TO enter
grade In the service department. without any eA
animation which, in another departments, can only %
entered after passing such examination THIS unilA,
should be done by extending the limits OF the eiasSa
service rather than by contracting them
Nobody knows better than Mr.. Oberly hnseh 'h"'
the President never gave thought to this mater'
or one word Of request until nstgated thereto oy ME-
Obery himself Who without consultation with ather
of his fellow commissioners, prepared rough drat'
OF proposed change Of rules and took t out 10 inc
President at Oak Wow campaign caro- 'Hs'
about the time that Speaker Carlisle and BOSS ocot
OF Erie were holding their celebrated tariff CONFERENCE
Mr. Cleveland handed back the rough DRAFT thus pre-
pared to Mr. obery, telling hm to walt until the po-
htical horizon cleared little.
Bishop Oberly has waited. He has waited I'LL
after the ST. Louis Convention and now gives out, to
catch the Mugwumps, programme which would have
been buried in gnomlny and derison II 1t had been
mentioned at st. Louis.
Another not unimportant feature OF tho delay Is
that even II tho President should approve the new
rules they could not be put into practical force until
after the election, and In the meantime would serve
TO keep the few Republicans who are still LETT In Onoe
quiet and to spur up the Democrats TO Increased eA-
ertiOn. o,
shrewd Bishop Oberly-unsophisticated Mr.. Cleve-