The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1894-06-12
DISTRIBUTING THE OFFICES.
How the Official Patronage Is Dis.
peifsed-The Inequality OF the Dis.

How the Official Patronage Is Dis.
pensed-The Inequality OF the Dis
IA button.
III rpet's Weekly.
The civil Service Commission ha.
prepared from the official register q, |
"E.He Book" "a statement, which vii
appear IN the annual report Of th,
commission, SON TO be issued, shown.
the appointmon mt OF offices at the de
p~artInents ut Washington among The
States and Territories. Under the
civil service law the Offices, without
regard to their value, are apportioneo
according TO population as shown by
the last census. This principle has
always been recognized. Even under
the spoils system 1t vas known /; and
to-day the United States Senate, which
is governed by no law in distributing
offices, makes an superintendent among
the Senators, allowing to each Sena-
tor appointments drawing salaries to a
fixed aggregate. In the case of the
Senate places, though, the fact that
one Senator, representing a sovereign
State, is as good as another Senator is
recognized, aud : the Senator from
Texas and the Senator from Virginia
share alike.
There are still twice as many offices
under the pat system as there
are under tho civil service laws in
Washington. The exact number of
the former is 1866, and Of the later
1881. Now tie law which applies to
the distribution of the civil service
appointees . e not apply to the
patronage appointeos; and although
tho appointment clerks in tho depart
ments claim tnat they apportion the
Offices as near y as possible according
to the population of the States, the
table prepared by the Civil Service
Commission shows hat the distribu-
ton is far from equitable. 1t does not
appear either that the States OF the
South, which are unquestionably Demo-
cratic, fare any better under this adj
m~inistration, or that the Republican
States of the North were any better
treated under the Republican admin
istration in ltct, no political limo can
be drawn. The Offices seem to have
been distributed chiefly according to
the "inluenro" or pressure which
could be brou. LIT to bear, and naturally
the greatest influence came from tho
States which were near Washington.
BUT most sing a OF all the facts shown
tby this statement is the enormous
amount drawn from the public treasury
by the people in Office who claim
Washington Is their residence. Ac-
cording to The statement of the Civil
Service Com mission the District of
Columbia now has 2347 of the l1,746
places in the departments, and draws
81, LOG, 001 Of tlc $l3, 594 1913 compensa-
ton. New York has places which pay
better but tt ough New York has far
exceeded her quota of public offices,
the Empire State has only 1853 people
in place, and they draw only ST, 706-,
OS2 compe l%sation. Pennsylvania
1 In, ,,, q III NS1 HlNs~ ,nl.. 40 -l
l%llionis 1904, 235. These four States
and the Distr ct Of Columbia together
draw $6,251, l6l annually from the
Treasury-nea rly one-half of all that
is drawn in salaries in the Washington
departments. And yet three of these
four States have less than their quota
of places. New York is entitled to
lll4, and Ia" 1853; but Pennsylvania
has 80 less t.Ian her quota (9S5), Ohio
~ less than her quota (GS9J, and
lllionis 240 less than her quota (7lS).
The District Of Columbia is entitled to
43 places, AMI has 234I.
The States which gain by this IT,
regularity OF distribution arc Mary
land, which is entitled to l95 appoint
ments, and which has 552 Offices. ag-
gregating SO, 100, 023 in value: Virginia,
which is cn"itlcd to 81 Offices. and
which has so places, with salaries ag-
grcgating L.. G6,SIS; Maine, which is
entitled to Ia offices, and which has
l63, with compensation ~aggrcgating
$232,55O: West Virginia, which is en-
titled to lib Offices and has us, and a
Tow other OF the States which have
been able to bring stronger pressure
to bear than nave the States in the far
South ~ tn, West. Bat tho great
balance to v hich the majority Of the
States contri butte belongs to the Dis
trict of Columbia. 1t is represented
by men and nOmcn VINO were in many
cases appointed to places many years
ago, and who nave become so identified
with the Di, trict that they are O