The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-07-28
CIVIL SERVICE MATTERS.
What Commissioner Roosevelt Has to
Say About Changes
BOTH PARTIES ARE BALANCED.
Cla,sifie< Oficer& Should be Removed
from Politics-A Discussion of the
Benefit To the Service That Has
Il, ,suIted from tho introduction.

WAsHINGToS, July 2s Civil Service
Commissioner Roosevelt discussing yes
terday the current changes in depart
ments and the general comments which
those changes had elected from both po-
litical parties said "Well, am not in
sympathy with the outcry for wholesale
dismissals from the clerical force In the
departments in order to even them up be-
tween the two parties. The published
statement that 90 per cent. OF the clerical
force in the departments in Washington is
Republican is all nonsense.
There are In the departmental force
about 500 persons all told who are sub
ject to competitive examination. OF
these about 1890 now in Office have been
put in through the examinations OF the civil
service commission, wholly without re-
gard to political consideration, and are
about evenly divided between the two
parties The remaining 1900 represent
those still In oflica from among the 5000
who were originally classified In 1883 by
order OF Presi ieat Arthur
And Ars Mainly Republicans.
They also or,prpsent 1000 who are incl nded in
VIC tihsHihttlloti. Ol 1000 DY Dlfler OF Irtsl-
dent Cleveland. the great bulk of whom are
Democrats. Probably about the same
proportion Of these ,wo classes are now in
Office, or, in other words, Of the 400
persons now i'm the departmental service
about three-fourths are Republicans and
one-quart Democrats.
In addition 70 this, there are about
400 excepted places such as chiefs of di-
- tt,piac nd k..
and 2D00 aborers and others below the
classified service, making 3l)1 in all. The
great majority of them are changed with
each administrator. It is fair to assume
that nearly all Of these places either are
or sooa will be filed by Democrats
1t is probably fact that in the entire de-
partmental service here in Washington
the
Parties Are Now Substantially balanced.
I'm the railway mail serv.cs there are
about 1000 PLACES. Here also the parties
are on a practical equality.
About 50 per cent Of the Republicans
were discharged between 1885 and 1889 and
Democrats put in their places
"On tke change OF the administration in
1889 and prior to the time the civil service
law went into eff CT. nearly one-half Of
these Democrats were turaed out and re-
placed by Republicans, dividing the force
about equally between the two parties"
Mr.. Roosevelt said he protested as
strongly rs he could against the dismissal
OF this large number OF Democratic postal
clerks at the time, although the reason
given was that they were, displaced i'm
order to reinstate previous clerks who
themselves had been
Dismissed nv the Previou. AJp,,,;.s..,,,. a
Nothing but harm," he SAID. "can ever
come from turning out one-half the peo-
pie in office on the theory of equalizing
the representation of the parties. The
only honest way TO act Is when an Office is
Classified to treat it as entirely removed
from politics The working Of the civil
service law itself il honestly enforced will
speedily bring about state of things
where Democrats and Republicans alike
will be treated wholly without regard to
their politics.