Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-24
A FARCE IN COMMITTEE,
Charges Against the Civil Service Board
Easily Disposed OF.

Washington Correspondence New York Times
WASHINGTON, Feb. 20.-Itis long time since
any committee Of either house of Congress has
had to deal with such puerile charges" pre-
sented with SO little reason and backed up with
such lack Of proof, as those which the civil
service committee of the House took up last
night at the instigation OF Mr.. Frank
Hatton and Representative Ewart, who would
find it more profitable to attend to his diIapi-
dated fences In North Carolina than to display
his ignorance Of the doings of the civil SER
vice commission. The committee had been
in session only very short time when it be-
came evident to everybody in the room that
Hatton and Ewart had no case against the
civil service commissioners and only q very
hazy notion of what they were talking about
Ii 1t had not been for the earnest desire of the
commissioners to meet any insinuation their
accuSers could make, the committeeman would
have turned the eX-POstmaster General and
the Congressman out OF the place and promptly
closed the hearing. for they were dIsgusted
with the performances Of HattOn and Ewart
and did not hesitate to say so.
When Commissioner Lyman. who was the
first witness called, was put upon the stand
Mr.. Ewart examined him at great length upon
the old charge that his relative. A. c. Camp
bell, an emplOye of the commission. had given
copy OF obsolete examination papers to a
ton in one of the departments. The North
Carolina Congressman paid no attention to the
regular established forms OF examination
and the wide latitude and irregularity of
his questions provoked repeated pro-
tests from members OF the committee
MIR. Lyman. however, was ready to answer
any question, and all the commissioners de-
sired the prosecution to have every opportun-
ity to make up case if il could. So Mr. Ewart
was permitted to go on as he pleased After
his attempts to show that the Campbell case
was very bad had led the committee to the op-
posite conclusion Mr.. Ewart undertook to
show that Commissioner Lyman had been
guilty OF favoritism toward his daughter. The
committee in disgust objected to going into
this subject, but Mr.. Lyman asked leave to
answer MIR. Ewart's questions. He showed that
his daughter. who was eighteen
years old, had applied to be examined
under the civil service rules. Before
she was examined the rules were
changed SO as to require applicants to be
twenty years of age. The commission had al
ways held that the question of eligibility should
be determined under the conditions applicable
when an application was made, and Miss Ly-
man and Others Ill the same category were duly
examined After Mr.. Ewart had asked all sorts
OF questions about this subject and had wasted
about an hour OF the committee's time some
body asked when Miss Lyman was appointed.
The answer was that although she had passed
the examination she had never received an ap-
pointment
The committees patience nearly gave out
at TINS evidence Of the way their time was be-
ing frittered away for nothing, but Ewart was
allowed to go back to the Campbell case and
ask a lot of additional questions OH that al
ready exhausted topic. Then Ewart and
Hatton still further Disguised the committee by
asking for a postponement of the hearing
Commissioners Roosevelt and Thompson were
anxious TO 20 upon the stand, but Hatton de-
clared that he didn't care to examine them.
The committee did want to hear them, how
ever, and Mr.. Roosevelt made a statement
and answered some Of Ewart's absurd ques-
tons. Finally Mr.. Roosevelt made an emphatic
demand to know whether any charges were
made against the present commission, and if Sc
what the charges were. Mr.. Ewart promptly
capped the climax of his perform nee by re-
plying that there were no charges whatever
against the present commission. Mr.. Hatton
however, asserted that the commission had
manipulated the law SO rs to violate its spirit
The committee agreed with Mr.. Roosevelt that
II the prosecution really had any charges to
make they should put them into something like
/ definite shape.
Commissioner Thompson also made a state.
inent on behalf of the commissions, going ovei
| the eamPoeu case III a very clear aud decisive
way. and then the chairman, Mr. Lehlback
| dismissed all the witnesses aud adjourned the
| committee, subject to the call OF the chair
Several members of the committee expresset
/ their disgust at the way Hatton and Ewart hat
conducted the so-calied prosecution" ant
commented upon the perfectly evident fac
| that the attack upon the commission was reck
/ less and unwarranted
| The ROUTE TO BUFFALo.-The best route Il
Buffalo l. by the baltimore and Ohio railroad
| Passengers taking the vestibuled limited leay
ing Washington daily at 4:20 p.m., make con
nection at Philadelphia with Leh,gh Vale,
train carrying Pullman sleeper, arriving a
Buffalo next morning at 1I:Ia-Adrt