Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-04-25
STOOD BY THE LAW
The c. Service Act Debated
in the House.
ITS ENEMIES GIVEN A KNOCK. OUT.

IN the Senate-Teller Proposes a Solu-
tion of the silver Probltm-Omcial
Notes.
WASHINGTON CITY, April Is The friends
and enemies Of civil service reform made
themselves known in the house yesterday
10 the plainest manner. There was no beat
ing about the bush, and what ives said was
put In plain United States" II it was
true, as asserted by Grosvenor the other
day, that four-fifths of the members of both
parties were opposed to the law, said oppon-
ents let an excellent opportunity go by to
prove their faith by their works. for upon
the radical proposition made by Houk TO
strike out the appropriation for the civil
service commission in the Legislative, execu-
tive and judicial bill there were but 81 yeas,
while 100 voted nay. The debate took place
in committee OF the whole. and the first at
tack on the appropriating clause was made
by Cummings of New York, who made the
point of order that it had no business in the
bill, as the commission was neither legisla-
tive, judicial nor executive
Cummings Opens the f ght.
Butterworth called attention to the fact
that the title of the bill included the words
"and for other purposes"
Cummings replied that the commission
was Tor no purpose at all. 1t should be
named the great supervisory commission of
the government and turned loose upon the
land. Its usurpations were getting mou-
strous. As conducted it had been a scandal
to the government Instead Of combining
itself to the simple duties as indicated by
law, 1t came before congress in the bill as a
legislative, executive or judicia institution.
The apparent ignorance of some of these
commissioners had been largely displayed
What they lacked in intelligence and expe-
rience they made up in arrogance and super
ciliouSness. The insolence of Office was
never better exemplitied The first COM
missioner gave more ungramTnatical SEN
tences in his letters than were to be found
in English as she is spoke" None of the
commissioners knew anything about the
law except Mr.. Roosevelt ''the brilliant and
accomplished cowboy" and he did nothing
Cummings point was overruled
Perkins Opens His Battery.
Perkins of Kansas offered an amendment
exempting ex-soldiers from the provisions of
the civil service law, and said ne knew the
people were not in sympathy with it, More
than this he believed the weakness of the
that law; and if Democratic success shou Ia
come in the next election, it would be be-
cause the administration in power did not
stand by the working Republican rather
than by its professions Of civil service re-
form. The amendment was ruled out
Biggs of California denounced the civil
seryice!sa c2Itending that al admuistra-
ton should have its friends in office
A
Houk of Tennessee moved 20 strike out
the entire civil service clause, and this
brought McComas of Maryland to his feet
He said that this was, il not humiliating,
a pretty serious business, and especially for
the Republican party, which lected a Re
publican president on a Republican plat
form. Democrats belonged to a party that
could take both sides of a ques ion and give
a pledge and absolutely break it The Re-
publican party had never been able to break
its pledges without paying the penalty. This
was a cowardly attempt to nu liify existing
law; and the Republican party had never
been party of notification This back-door
way of attacking the civil ser vice commits
sion by attempting to starvs it out was
mean and cowardiy, dishonorable and I'M
worthy a great party which had Won u
victory on the promise to fulfill Its pledges,
after the Democratic party had failei To
keep theirs
Nothing Non CommittaI About Bouk.
Houk denied that it was rowardly to
strike out the appropriation. If there was
anything COW ardly about the whole matter,
1t was this attempt to smugglu through an
increased appropriation when the system
stood under indictment If man was GO
ing TO be read out of the Rspu blicsn party
for attacking a system which had proved
Itself Intellectual, there would not bs cor
porsi's guard left. He denied that the Re-
publican party had ever conce we'd the idea
of indcrsing this fifth wheel of Il wagon. 1t
had declared for good civil ser vice reform
but ii did not want this nor senSicul sy5-
tenn.
A Plea for Party Pledges.
Mckinley of Ohio earnestly opposed the
motion to strike out the appropriation. His
only regret was that the appropriation COM
mittee did not give to the civil service com
mission all the appropriation it ask cd for
the enlargement of the civil e-vice Ii the
Republican party of this country was
pledged to one single thing more than an
other it WAS the maintenance of the civil
service law. 1t was not OILY according to
the tenets Of the Republican party, but ac-
lican party throughout the United States.
Now. when the Republican party was in
control of all the branches of the govern
ment, it was proposed to Writ lally repeal
this law, when for four years, during
Democratic administration, nobody on the
Republican side had ths temer ty to rise in
his place and ask for the nullif cation of the
law. They thought 1t good enough for a
Democratic administration, and he said to
his Republican friends that it was good
enough for a Republican ad ninistration.
The Republican party must take no back
ward step The merit system vas here and
here to stay.
Butterworth endorsed every word Nc
Kinley had said. Nothing sma cked of mon
archial forms so much as the spols system
Riggs Speech Was a Feature.
The speech of Biggs of California was the
feature OF the day, so far as the Democratic
side OF the question was concerned The house
was In perfect uproar, while he was talk
ing all the members having crowded down
into the aisle to get within sound of his
voice He claimed that Thou as jefferson
was the father of the spoils system and said
that Cleveiand's civil service reform ideas
had nearly left him without party. Alto
together twenty-seven members of the house
took part in the debate, fourteen of whom
were opposed to the civil seryies law and
the other thirteen in favor of it OF the
former class seven were Republicans and
seven Democrats, while the friends of the
law were eleven Republicans and but two
Democrats.
THE Republican National Committee.
WASHINGTON CITY, April 25 "A call was
issued to-day for meeting of the members
Of the executive committee of the Republi-
can national COMMITTEES, to be held here on
Wednesday, Nay z, next Senator Quay,
General Clarkson, General Dudley, NJ. f.
DeYoung and the other members of the ex-
ecutive committee will be here on that date
to talk over party matters and outline plans
for future party acion