, 1891-04-09
TRACY HAS A SCHEME.
How Labor at the Navy Yards
Should be Secured.
he Says the Man With a
Pull Must Give Way
To the Man Who Knows How
TO Do Good Work.

BosToN, April S.-The largest politi.
cal gathering of the kind held 10 Boston
for years was the first dinner of the Re.
publican club of Massachusetts, held in
M-sic nall this evening. Covers were
laid fer $40 besides the guests and speak
ers. President Roger Wolcott presided
and among the prominent guests were
Secretary OF the Navy Tracy, Lient. Hale,
Congressman Walker, Lodge, Greenhalgo
and Morse, Ex-Governor Ames, Senator
Aldrich, Ex-Governor Bracket and Gen.
Banks. Secretary Tracy, In a speech,
paid a high tribute to the Republican
party and the present administration and
defended the fifty first congress against
the charge of extravaRance. The secre.
tary then gave a detailed account of the
work in which the navy department was at
present engaged and concluded as follows;
One last point in naval affairs
remains to be considered-the question of
the employment OF latOr at the navy
yards. For fifty years this has been a
weak spot in the naval administration.
Whatever the marty in control of the
RONtInulGuNs II sctul5 hilnGTlO u nave
been powerles to exclude political influence
in the employment of navy yard labor. 1t
is not enough, apparently, that mechan-
les and wOrkmen in government shops
should be Republicans or Democrats,
they must wear the collar of the bosses
who run the local political machine. The
practice is a source OF decentralization to
any party that attempts to use it.
dazt notify 70 paNraruuuart garvt.n I'D
debauching to local and national politics.
1t is an ulcer to the navy administrative
system, and | propose to cut it out"
The secretary said the details of the
system he proposes to adopt are being pre-
pared and IN a short time will be IN full
operation. The essential features, as ap
piled to navy yards, are: First-The sp-
pointment, at each yard, of a registration
board to register all applicants for en-
ploymeDt in the department of unskilled
labor to be selected as required on the
principle Of first come, first served, with
reference only to army or navy veterans,
or men having families to support. Sec
ond-The registration of all applicants
for positions of skilled labor under the
same rules of preference and employment
on trial according to merits. Third
The selection of foremen upon competitive
examination. The board will consist of
officers of the navy engaged in conducting
the work of the yards. The secretary
added that having begun in this way he
does not propose to stop until the prin-
ciple of efficiency and worth is the only
test OF navy ward employment. He is
satisfied that the plan can be carried out so
that it will remove all suspicion of machine
politics from the navy yards, that econ
ony and efficiency OF work will be pro-
NOTED, while the community will be sure
that the navy yard in its midst, instead of
being the focus of local political in
trigue, is the place of employment
OF a body of independent and self-re-
specting ~workingmen, whose only road
to promotion lies in good work. Whether
the present civil service law is the best
that could be devised to improve the civil
service of the country, | do not know.
But do know from personal observation
in my own department that persons
appointed under the system are I'M
questionably more efficient. as a whole,
than those selected under any system OF
patronage; and | know, further, that no
Republican charged with the RESPONSE
bility of administering one of the great
executive departments of the government
eau be true to himself, to the faith of the
Republican party and to the people if he
fails to employ any and all means within
his power to elevate. pacify and render
more efficient the civil service of the
country.