St. Landry democrat., 1891-01-31
Civil Service Reform ard the South.

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|~;-r;1 c.ar,,ioe Reform ard the South
viva IVA
The \, O. Plcayune comments laVO-
80, o;r;1 cnrv;no ra
raUIy on All dlllCio WI ~i'lA 1Ni WV
f,rr, Inv Hon ThPO Roosevelt in the
- 49, ,+lort;o NIo,+hlv
February Issue OIL INC ]t'''h' ~ '""A '''''
LOT the CURRENT Se"''
Welt is one of the Government commits
a., ;-;l co,r;oo zvstop, on1
Slone[S VI tiie 'i'li 0'' NV =!
,vo ounta briefly from his article.
lie says
The purpose OF the civil Service COMMISSION
is to secure an absolute non,partls#n pnuIlr ser
vice: to have men appointed 10 ana retained Ill
office wholly without reference to thtIr ponies
IN other words, we desire to make a man : non
Cstv and capacity to do the work to which he Is
assigned the sole tests OF his appointment ana
,.p;rntlon. In the departmental service ut
Washington we have succeeded III putting a
nearly complete stop to removals for political
purposes. Men are retained III the depart
!ncnts almost wholly without regard to poll
ties. But it has been a matter OF more dIhrUlty
to get them to come forward and enter the CN-
;.nllIatiOnS without regard 20 politics.
During ting last year the NAtlon-
al Civil Service Commission has been able TO 10
= niece of work which seems to me to dpStlN Z
1irf cuar attention as an object lesson i'll rrac-
zeal civil service reform. For the first time
>ince he commission fairly began operations Ill
1853. we have succeeded in getting such nunl-
Der of applicants from the southern states to
enter our examinations that these States have
iuw received their full share OF appointments
in the departmental service ut Washington; aud
the most gratifying feature about TINS Is tldl
the great bulk OF the men and women thus ap-
pointed to positions III the Government service
from these States are politically opposed to the
party i'll power.
When the present com
mission took office, in May, 1889. it found that
the Southern States stood at the foot of The list
as regards the number OF appointments they had
received. the Gull ST. ties i'll particular being very
far behind. For over It wear We worked III vain
to remedy this inequality. We would mold cX-
aminatlons in the Mort h ,oi, IIauy hundreds on
applicants, whereas i'll thc south it would be
with the tmoSt dlfficulty we cuull rnTlrr "A
scant half dozen At last n chance was rjy.u
lis which we seized eagerly. Congress b,lsecu Il
law authorizing the appointment OF some coo
additional clerks in the departments at Wash
ington aud we took advantage promptly OF
this circumSt to yet the Sou, hCr uU as lev
tl with the rest Had we relied purely Oh The
regular examinations advertised III tIe ic2yuiur
way, the North would have received an utIeriY
usprupUrtionate share OF these SIX hand c,i an
p0intments, aud the South would have, been
left so far behind in the iIuportiOuInelt that it
would have been practically impossible ever TO
get it up again. But as soon as me law WAS
passed we arranged or two sl,ecia! series o. cX-
amina ions to be held in all the Southern
State,, notably the Gulf STATES AT th,, same
time we advertised these examinations and me
reasons for holding thtLn ill all lhe southern pu
pers and, to call public attention to the subject .
i held at the office OF the combustion rItet ~.
at which a large number OF the CunLrcs>.llrn
from the ditIerenu Southern States, tOgct her
with many or the rtpOrtc.S OF the various
southern papers, We're present. 70 these
Southern Congressman and reporters set tort ii
the situation, laying especial STRESS utUu the
fact that the mans politics OF creed had moi L.
Ing to do with his entering the classified service.
and adding that no ''lntiuence" OF any Kind
would help all applicant, as had required TIE
Congressman to DE present merely i'll order that
they might advertise these facts til their
several districts. We began our examinations
at the end OF Jul y, 1890, continuing them until
the beginning OF October More men cameinto
them from the southern States tnan had come
into the Civil Service Commissions eXan!la-
tons during any three Yeas OF its previous his
n}G in III h1uSl"la "aS TIE lrlest re-
the Union, having mad only ABOUT nal. Of the
Der she stood among those s,teS At Inc H oG If
tng liSt, hayng had Two more 'han se was Ell
three hundred of the six nuncireda ppointmt 'i
ctiv Level With the NoSt TpT sang ano't eX
ln h,ssa Eyery one was examined, marked and
thing but the record he himself made in ne '', rx
ni anu chnI e t Uses 0ui OF ten the p