Morning journal and courier., 1889-05-28
WASHINGTON NOTES.

The Presidents Preparations For the
 Summer-Deer Park-The LIsI of El-
 tg1bles For Appointments to be Made
 Public.
 WASHINGTON, May 27.-Lively prepara- tions were begun at the White House and in the families of the Presidents cabinet to day for the coming summer. Mrs. Harrison will get her summer wearing apparel and personal effects generally ready to be moved up to Deer Park, where she and the President are to have cottage and are to enjoy the pres ence of ex- Senator Davis of West Virginia and number of other friends with whom they have been during the past five or six summers. It is probable that they will spend next Sunday in their cottage. Deer Park is on the line of the Baltimore and Ohio railroad, is about five hours from Washington and is most charming spot. The President can leave the White House at 2:30 o'clock on Saturday afternoon, and, ,lesv- ing Washington at 3 o'clock on the limited express can take late dinner with his fami- 1Y at an altitude of probably 5000 feet high CT than the nstion's capital. The President does not expect to spend Sunday in We3h- ington from this time on till about the mid tant and urgent work. He is in very good health, but is, of course, fatigued, and es the hot weather comes on his physical strength wanes with that of other citizens.
 General Schofeld is acting secreta1y of war in the absence of Secretary Proctor. This is a return to the old practice of the department before the difficulties arose between Secretary Lincoln and General Sheridan that were be- queatbed to the le3t administration. General Benet, the chief of ordnance, acted during the recent absence of the secretary on account of the absence also of General Schofeld, but in future the latter will act as the head of the department in ceses of emergency.
 The civil service commission hes made an important alteration to one of its rules by providing that hereafter the list of eligibles for appointment to the government service, and their standing, shall be made public. This action of the commission hes been ap- proved by the President. In an interview Commissioner Roosevelt, speaking of this change in this rule, said it was a reversal of the commiesion's policy hitherto. For what were then deemed excellent reasons, the com mission when it was first established had the eligible list kept secret, the idea being that this secrecy would prevent politicians from bringing pressure to bear upon any public officer to secure the appointment of given man on the eligible list.
 It has, however, in practice, he said, re- suited very frequently that politicians were able to get hold of the standing of appli- cants on tho eligible list while the outside public and all but the favored applicants themselves remained in ignorance of it, so that the commission are now inclined to think the regulation has not produced the results intended and which at the time there seemed excellent reasons to think it would produce. When we find we have made 8 mistake we shall simply reverse our action. It was believed, with what seemed good req sons, by the original commission that score cy in the matter of the eligible lists would work we'll, Now we are inclined to think that on the whole it has worked injustice and the commission is going therefore to make the eligible lists and the standing of each applicant public and tIy how it works, re- serving to itself full liberty to alter the course if it is found to work badley.