Telegram-herald., 1890-12-02

4 COMPARISON OF THE RExOSnS
aasr PresiaeRks AFtauF aEa CisssAAed-
n systxaa ~ FssktteAl Asse>s-
neats = bstss DoAs
Asag VITA


report Of the Ciya Service Commlssioa
sA0es tat tie classified service has
grown 80 A. - include over 5000 pso-
pie. The report gives the ngufes Tor
the departmental service At Washing
t0n, for the entire period danag whieh
the law has been IN force, = period u
nearly seven years, and says;
ssTne number OF reslgnatons and re-
m0xAls have 10 be given together, be
cause il Is impossible 10 dlderensiAte
the voluntary from the forced reslgaa-
tons. or the is removals and resig-
nations during the first year Of the
present administration, ninety-One
were Of appointments made during the
previous administration. In other
words, of tie 400 appointees who
came into the departmental service
through civil service examinations dur
ing Mr.. Cleveiand's administration. 81 !.
little over 3 per cent, were removed,
or resigned during the tlrst year Of the
present administration. Similarly, OF
the SIS sppo.ntees who entered
the service through these eX-
aminations during President Ar
thurs administration, about thir-
ty-fiyeyor between 7 and per cent.
were removed or resigned during Presi-
dent Cleyeland's first year. the proper
ton being about the same. During the
last y. II OF President Arthur's Admin
istrat.On twenty-five removals or reslg-
nations occurred, or between and
per cent. All of the force had at that
time been appointed under its own Ad-
ministration, and 10 is evident that the
difference between the percentages IN
this case and the percentages during
the first year OF President Cleveland 5
Administration and OF the present Adj
mmistration affords the probable meas
ure for removals which could by any
possibility have been for political reas-
ons. This difference is barely per
cent. 1t IS so small that it may be en-
tirely dlsregarded. for it is likely TO
have arisen from other than political
causes.
In the departmental service at Wash
ington the figures show that the ques-
ton of politics has been practically
for the past seven years the law, as n
whole, had been faithfully and honestly
observed In the departments, although
having been subjected TO the strain OF
two changes of administration.
When we turn TO the customs and
postal services, the result is less salts
factory, because of necessarily less
rigorous inspection.
After further review of the opera
tons of the commission during the last
fiscal year, the report SAYS
at can not he too often reiterated
that while the law may not work with
ideal perfection, actual experience for
seven years has shown that 1t produces
on the whole better governmental adj
ministration than the patronage system
does. What Is more important, II I'M
measurably betters the tone of political
life by making the mass of government
employees simply what they purport to
be, that is. public servants and not adj
herents of the party in power, organized
into disciplined bodies for its support,
and stralning every effort TO secure Its
continuance and supremacy.
1.-THE merit system Is the American
system, the unaristocratlc system; and
no system could be less American and
more undemocratic than the patron
age system which it supplants.
"Tne portions of the CIVIL Service law
interdictIng political assessments, while
they have not succeeded in entirely
stopping the evil, have undoubtedly
much abated il. However, there IS one
point particularly where the law is sys.
tematlcally eYaded. The commission
in the course of its Investigations, has
| found that both in 1883 and 1890 there
were certain campaign committees OF
the dominant party, for the time beng
which procured full lists of the various
employees IN the department service and
of their home residences, and then
sent letters soliciting campaign sub
| scrlptlons to them at their homes.
These letters were signed by men
not IN the government service,
| acting for the different cam
palgn committees. In some instance:
| these agents even visited the clerks IN
person at their homes. There seem:
little reason why an outsider should be
allowed to solicit a clerk at his home
and Forbidden to do so in a Govern.
ment building, and the committee is OF
amended so as to forbid the sollcita-
ton of Government employees by out
sldefs in any way, at any time or IN any
place. If the Government employe:
wish to contribute to their parties. lei
them do so voluntarily; but they should
not be permitted to be harrassed by out
side parties who desire to spur them uI
TO make contributions.
Weak clerks, when solicited by out
sders who are not in the government
service, but who stand high IN the
ranks of the party 10 which the ad
mlnlstrstion for the time beng belongs
often feel that they jeopardize their
places if they DO not plaoate thepeOple
| soliciting them. As matter of fac
| the commission believes that the feal
exists in a great number OF cases. and
| that many clerks are practically com
PEELED 70 contribute when they do no
wish to by the solicitations Of campo e
| managers VINO are not IN the govern
| ment employ. aud whom, therefore
| the lsw can not At present touch. The
/ commission, in view Of these fscts, feel
/ convinced that al considerations oi
/ public policy warrant the extension o.
the forbidding political assessments 8
as TO prevent = government employs
Be ng solicited BY any one, At any time
for campaign purposes.
1 The comm ssi0n's decision 20 MAKE
I public the eligible lists has worked al
N rsbiy, and has given the greatest sat
/ isfscuon."
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