The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-08-15
The Civil Service.

Two OF the members of the civil service
commission-Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Lyman
have recently given to the public some in
teresting and valuable observations on the
workings OF the civil service law. In long
letter to the Boston Journal the former,
while admitting that the law has defects, is
by no means perfect, and is by no means a
panacea for all governmental ills, considers
that it Is "a vast Improvement over the old
spells system. That competitive examina.
tion always results in the election of the
most competent person he does no. claim,
but he does claim that it SO results much
more frequently than did the old system. If
the heads of bureaus were absolutely un-
trammeled in the selection of their subordin-
ates, that is. If they were free to choose in
every case the person who in their opinion
would most satisfactorily discharge the du-
ties incumbent upon them, then in Mr..
Roosevelts opinion, it would be perfectly
safe to leave the choice with them. But it
is perfectly we'll known that under the spols
system the heads of departments never in
reality enjoyed any such freedom. Their
subordinates were practically selected by
congressman, who, no matter how good
their Intentions. were not in position to
Judge accurately of the fitness of the men
they recommended for the places they
were destined to fill. But this practice not
only took away from the responsible heads
the power of appointment, but it even to
great extent deprived them of the power of
removal, inasmuch as the removal of SUBJ
ordinate with, powerful backing behind him
might jeopardize the tenure of the chief of
the department.
Concerning the examinations, Mr.. Roose-
welt says they are simple and practical and
wherever there are defects the COM
mission are taking means to remedy them.
The public has been given wrong impress
sion about these examinations by the publ
cation of questions designed to be used only
in special examinations. in such way as to
give the impression that they were the ques-
tions used in all the examinations. Mr.
Roosevelt sums up his defence ofathe system
in these words:
my four months in Washington have
made me more than ever most Jealous be-
lever in the merit system. do not see how
any man can watch the effects of the spoils
system, both upon the poor unfortunates who
suffer from 1t and upon the almost equally
unfortunate men who deem that they benefit
by 1t, without regarding the whole thing in
Its entirety as curse to our institutions. 1t
is curse to the public service, and IL is a
still greater curse to Congress, for it puts a
premium upon every Congressman turning
spoilsmonger instead of statesman. A large
NUMBER Oh our Congressman remain states
men, ana 90 most admirable work, but 1t is
IN spite OF, not because of, the spoils sys-
tenn"
commissioner Lyman tells the Washington
Six O'Clock Club that the way to improve
the public service is to improve the public
servants. The country has been in the main
well served In the past, not because of the
spells system lbut in spite of it. This only
goes to show, according to the commissioner.
that 1.-THE great mass of people in this coun-
try are worthy to hold office, and it is only
now and then that man gets into an Office
who is disgrace to It," But be thinks we
are gradually, by process of evolution. get
ting at better service than the country Sc.
cured under the old plan. He would have
the men on top, the responsible heads of de-
partments, appointed by the President as at
present, but he would have the subordinates
appointed and promoted ON their ascertained
merits without regard to party politics. The
talk about the danger Of creating an office
holding aristocracy seems to him puerile
enough, in view of the character of American
young men, and of the fact that among the