Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-12-29

says Of them that ''their room
was more valuable then their bungling assist
ance." This sentence refers 10 the changes
made Immediately after the present administra-
ton took office. between March 4 and Nav I,
1889. the latter being the date on which the
railway mail service was classified. According
to the only authorities accessible to the COM
mission, there were some ]. 500 removals or
over during these eight weeks, at least third.
and perhaps o half, Of the employees appointed
during the preceding four years being removed
at this time. All of those employees had been
appointed under the patronage system. The
Postmaster General speaks of their removal as
being due to the fact that their room was more
clear, then, from the Postmaster Generals own
statement, that under the patronage system Of
making appointments q very large proportion
probably half-of those appointed are of
such poor quality that even after several years
service they do their work in a manner SO
bungilng as to render their presence in the de-
partment drawback, not an advantage. Com
pairing this with the results achieved during
the hast year and . half under the
system OF open, competitive examinations the
enormous superiority Of the latter is obscry able
at glance from the Postmaster General own
report. Ofcourse no system works ideally well.
The present or merit system must be compared
with the old patronage system which ii has sup
planted. Nobody could point out more forci-
bly, than the Postmaster General has done in
the appointments usually made under the pa
tronage system. Our records show that but q
small fraction Of those appointed under the
merit system has been dismissed. 1t is there
fore obvious that under the new system a much
more satisfactory set Of appOintees is supplied
than under the old.
THE INSPECTORS.
The same holds true in regard to the exami-
nations for the inspector force of the postal
service. The commission is strongly of the
opinion that in most cases this force can be best
supplied by promotion of men already in the
Post Office Department. which contains in the
neighborhood of 1900 classified employees.
The commission, however, is confident that it
can supply reasonable number of good post
Office inspectors from its open examinations.
and is surprised to learn that the Postmaster
General does not regard these examinations as
satisfactory. They are Of the same kind as
fore these employees were classified, with the ex-
ception that from being pass examinations they
are now made competitive. If they were good
to test the merits of applicants then they are
surely good to test the merits of applicants
now. We have merely gone a step further and
used them to test the relative merits of the ap-
plicants. OF the seventeen men appointed
from the commissions lists to these places dur
ing the year and half that has just elapsed
sixteen are now in the service. Only one has
produces such results cannot be said TO be in
effective or to work badly. In any event the
commission is convinced that it will be most
detrimental to the public interests to 20 back
to the old method of treating the appointments
OF these post office inspectors as so much
patronage. More effort has been made to have
these post Office inspectors put back under the
patronage system than has been the case in re-
gard to any other branch of the classified
service. Every member of the commission has
been approached by influential politicians ask
ing that post Office inspectors should be ex-
cepted from examination. and in almost every
instance where the request has been made it
has been based upon the ground that the post
Office inspectors in Office when the service was
classified had been appointed chiefly for politi-
cal reasons. One of the commissioners has him.
self seen letter in which a very prominent
political leader was urging this change and
urging the appointment Of a post Office in
spector in his district frankly for the reason
that he wished to know about the political at
titude of the various local postmasters and for
the further reason that the post Office in
spector, owing to the nature of his work
was fitted to be particularly useful
POLITICAL ALLY AND SUBORDINATE.
Another Of the commissioners was frankly
told by political leader OF great importance
in a certain state that he wished the inspectors
to be excepted from examination because from
the nature of their Office they were calculated
to render such very important political service;
and inasmuch as the previous inspectors. then
in office, had rendered this service to the out
going administration the gentleman referred to
desired that their successors should render
equal political assistance to the incoming adj
minstratiOn. The commission, on the con-
trary. recognizes the abuses that have grown
out Of the system of appointing as post office
inspectors political agents in the past, and
thinks it would be extremely unwise to again
public employees which should be wholly re-
moved from partisan politics certainly this is
such an one.
The commission is glad to find itself in
hearty accord with the Postmaster General in
his expressed desire for an improved classifca-
ton of the whole post Office clerical force, for
a better common spirit and purpose among all
classes of employees, and for the adoption of
some just, general and certain place of promo
ton which will encourage men to new exer-
ton. The commission is convinced that no
work which it would undertake has in it the
promise of better results than the application
and supervision of regulations providing for
uniform and just methods Of promotion
throughout the whole classified service. While
legislation is needed before the best results can
be attained in some branches of the service
yet with the hearty cooperation of heads OF
departments much can be done without leg;s-
lation.
We have the honor to be
Your obedient servants,
CHAs. LYMAN,
THEODORE ROOSEVELT,
HUGH 8. THOMPSON,
Commissioners.
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