Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1894-03-10
- CIvlL aERvIoE 10.

I
THE CIVIL SERVICE FARCE.
The American people are patient and
long suffering. II they were not extra
ordinarily patient they would long ago
have risen In their might and forever
smashed that institution which, as at
present constituted and operated, is an
absurdity, the Civil Service Commission.
1t does one good to hear such plain
talk as this from the SIS. Louis ReDl,b-
Jic, which comes to the defense OF Mr..
CARLISLE against the recent report OF
Mr.. ROOSEVELT, Of the "farcical and
fraudulent Civil Service Commission, "
in vigorous and healthy style. Il says;
i'm it Mr.. Roosevelt takes the view that
the commission is better Qualined 70 luuge
OF the efficiency Of Treasury employees IMAM
is the Secretary Of the Treasury. III is
John c. Carlisle who has the experience,
knowledge and ability for the proper 0lS-
charge OF the duties Of the Office, but it's
Roosevelt who is % manage 10. IL is Car
Isle who has assumed the responsibility
out 70 IS Roosevelt who is 70 exercise the
authority in the conduct Of the department.
To must have been this strange contention
OF the commission which Mr.. Cleveland
had in mind when he referred not long ago
20 the "QuerulOus lmpractcaOlhty' OF civil
service reformers.
The hone is strongly expressed that
Mr.. CARLIsLE will continue TO exercise
the authority which goes with bis re-
sponsibHity and invariably enforce his
own opinion iD his own department If
he is not allowed to do so and to select
his own aides and assistants, then the
Treasury Department might as well be
turned over to the civil service com
mission and run machine fashion, or
allowed to run ITSELF AS the Republic
further points out:
"Au thathe THE Secretary is compelled
TO do under that law Is to replace any civil
service empl0ye he may discharge with an
other taken from the eligible list The
trainers of the civil service law had saving
sense enough TO see that 20 take away
from the responsible heads of departments
the power of removal would lead 70 end
less confusion and largely destroy the eff
cheney of work and the sense OF responsl-
bihty lt lis quite clear that tney never
contemplated such an assumption OF power
as this of Mr.. Roosevelt aud his commits
sion. Crediting them with a sincere de-
sire for the reform Of the civil service, we
must credit them with q desire 70 avoid
such q conflict OF authority between the
commission and heads Of departments as
would Inevitably lead to negligence Of duty,
falsehoOds, examinations and recrimlna-
tions, decentralization and Differentiation"
III the trainers Of the civil service
law had had a little more Saving
sense" they would have made the law
already plain enough TO the ordinary
mind-so explicit that even a civil ser
vice commissioner could not misconstrue
f. tt would have bean better, how
ever, 20 have passed no such law at all.
Another example Of its working is
found in the case Of the Democratic
postmaster at Hamilton, o. This mans
name is LomlAN and when be took
charge Of the Office be gave members
OF his own party the preference in the
appointments he had to make. A Re-
publican editor brought charges against
him and the civil service commission
thereupon despatched its chief clerk to
Hamilton TO investigate. The latter
found Postmaster LomIAN guilty of
being a Democrat and Of appointing
Democrats to Office, whereupon Civil
Service Commissioner ROOSEvOLT wrote
at length 20 Mr.. LoHMAN dwelling
upon the onormity Of his offense, which
consisted solely I'm selecting as his as
sistants men whom he knew and could
trust and who were 10 sympathy with
him policy which every business man
pursues.
As the REGISTER has time and again
pointed out there is nothing, whatever
in the civil service law TO prevent the
discharge Of every employe Of the gov
eminent high and low. The sole re-
onirament IS that those who fll their
places shall have passed the civil serv-
ice examination. That is all. The
construction put upon the law by the
Civil Service Commission is absurd and
its enforcement as in the case Of the
Hamilton postmaster simply brings the
law into deserved contempt