Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-02-15

Washington as q community in not interested
In the fortunes or mishaps Of individual civil
service commissioners, or of boards of commits
sioners. !. has sometimes happened that the
scts Of such boards have been injurious to the
interests Of the population Of the capital az
well a. unjust on general principles, and in
such cases they have been freely criticised. The
establishments Of the so-called examinations for
promotion il an instance in point In attempt
ing to give voice to the local sentiment
The star has been and will be for or against
Individual commissioners and boards according
to its judgment Of the tendency Of their acts
for or against the welfare of the capital and
its people. An investigation Is to be had into
the acts Of the commission preceding the
present one, into the acts of the present COM
mission, and into facts to be submitted by the
commission which in its opinion call for legis-
lative encouragement and development Of civil
service reform. The commission claims that
snch an investigation cannot fail to be Of serv-
Ice N advancing the progress Of the improved
Bystem, and has placed itself in the
position of counting such an in
quiry. No friend of the reform would
feel 1t necessary to screen individual commits
sioners from investigation, il they had lodged
instead Of facing their enemies boldly. No.
body 10 to be screened aud nobody has asked
70 Be screened, and the capital and the nation
will hope that the investigation may investi-
gate. In the absence OF personal interest
either in the commissioners or their accusers
Washington's main concern has been in respect
to the bearing Of tho controversy upon civil
service reform generally, and the stable tenure
OF Office for efficient government employees,
upon which the prosperity of q large
element OF the citys population de-
pends. Those who have been prominent
In discovering or devising matters Of
personal accusation against the commissioners
have also, % q rule, been outspoken in opposi-
ton to the merit system, and have favored the
rs-establishment Of the spoils system, the most
moderate among them advocating a change OF
government employees with every change in the
head Of the department in which they are en-
ployed The people are benefited, but the
politicians fret under the merit system. There
IL always heavy pressure upon the administra-
ton to violate or evade its civil service reform
promises. This fact renders friends Of the
merit system spprehensive Of the effects Of
attacks upon the commission which logically
have nothing to do with the merits Of the re-
form. When q spokesman who desires the en-
tire overthrow Of the present system accuses q
commissioner of personal shortcomings and
upon that accusation bases an illogical attack
upon the system, the evident motive Of the
accusation discounts il to the civil service re-
former, and his natural impulse in the absence
Of evidence is to believe that the accusation is
untrue or exaggerated Moreover personal |
attack of this kind is backed by the |
sympathy OF all the spoilsmen and |
the mere fact of bringing it is |
twisted into an argument against the merit |
system. 1t is only in this way that Washington |
10 interested in the assaults upon the commits |
sioners. II they are trifiDg in themselves and |
conceal an effort to overturn the merit system |
or threaten that system in mere qualification |
Of Q personal animosity on the part Of the ac-
cussrs, Washington, whose interests are en-
dangered, will surely view the latter as its
enemies. The investigation to be held will
probably develop, with other things, the
motives and views Of the accusers of the COM
missionsrs.