Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-09-23
The Civil Service System Extended
to a Large Number.
TEXT Of The PRESIDENTS ORDER
Secretary OIney's Communication
Recommending the Action.
THE NUMBER AFFECTED


President has extended the civil service
system in a modified form to all consular
officers whose compensation, directly and
through fees, range from 81 600 to 81, 500,
being about ne-half of the total number
Of the consuls who receive over st. 600 a
year. This is done by reviving in SUBJ
stance an old order Of 1873 By the terms
of the new order vacancies i'll the consular
service may be filled, first, by transfer or
promotion; second. by appointment Of quail
flied persons formerly in the employ of the
State Department., and, lastly, by direct
appointment by the President Of persons
found qualified after a non-competitive ex-
animation.
Text of the Order.
The following is the text Of the order:
EXECUTIVE MANSION,
September 20. 1895.
1T being of great Importance that the
consuls and commercial agents of the Uni
ted States shall possess the proper qualif-
cations for their respec tive positions, to be
ascertained either through a satisfactory
record of previous actual service under the
Department of State or through an ap-
prCpriate examination:
1T is hereby ordered, that any vacancy
In consulate or commercial agency now
or hereafter existing the salary of which is
not more than $500 nor less than $1,000, or
the compensation of which, If derived from
olncial fees, exclusive Of notarial and other
unofficial receipts, does lot exceed $500
nor fall below $1,000 shall be filed (a) by a
transfer or promotion from some other po-
sftiOn under the Department of State of a
character tending to qualify the incumbent
for the position to be filled; or co. by ap-
pointment of a person not under the De-
partment Of State, but having previously
served hereunder to it's satisfaction in a
tending qualify fn 40 M
sition to be filled; or &C. by the appointment
of person who, having furnished the
customary evidence OF character, RESPONSE
bility and capacity, and being thereupon
selected by the President for examina ton,
is found upon such examination to be quail
fed for the position.
For the purposes of this order notarial
and unofficial fees shall not be regarded,
but the compensation of a consulate or
commercial agency shall be ascertained, If
the Office is salaried, by reference to the
last preceding appropriation act. and if the
office is not salaried. by reference to the re-
turns of official fees for the last preceding
fiscal year.
The examination hereinbefore provided
for shall be by board of three persons
designated by the Secretary of State, who
shall also prescribe the subjects to which
such examination shall relate and the gen.
eral mode of conducting the same by the
board.
"A vacancy in consulate will be filed
ment cannot be made in any of the modes
indicated in the second paragraph of this
order. GROVER CLEVELAND"
Secretary Glney's Communication.
The executive order was based on the fol-
lowing communication from Secretary Oh
ney to the President, bearing date of the
18th instant:
complaints of the consular service of the
United States. of the incompetency of con-
suls, and Of the Injurious consequences
to great public interests, are not infre-
quently brought to the notice of the de-
Partment, sometimes by direct communica-
ton. but more commonly through the me-
dunn of the public press. That they are
not always we'll founded is clear, and in
stances are by no means rare in which
interested parties indulge In the severest
condemnation of officials whose only fault
has been proper adherence to the line
OF their legitimate duties. Merchants. or
others. who demand that public functions
shall be ignored or exceeded for the pro-
motion of particular and private ends
ought to find themselves disappointed, and
If they are. may be expected to rail with
be their tool. Nevertheless, the consular
office is of great Importance in its rela-
ton to the commercial interests of the
country-every consul should, so far as
practicable, be chosen for his special fit
ness for the particular position in which he
IS TO serVe-and 1t cannot be denied that,
while complaints against consuls are in
some cases unWarranted, there are only
too many others which cannot be so re-
garded. 1t is contended by boards Of
trade, chambers of commerce and other
like bodies all over the country that if
our consular service were what it should
for their fitness for the duties to be dis
charged by them, the results to the trade
and commerce Of the country would be of
the most favorable character. The con-
tention seems reasonable in ITSELF and is
supported by the practice and experience
or Great Britain and other European coun-
tries Congress has, to some extent rec
ognized its business by the statutes provid-
to be appointed upon satisfactory evil
dence of qualification, derived through ey-
aminations or otherwise. By the act of
1854 these officials. originally limited to
pupils, are designated as consular clerks
and limited to thirteen in number, and
are not to be removed from office except
for cause stated to Congress in writing
1t Is pertinent to note, also, in this con-
nection, that at the last session Of Con-
gress bills to improve the consular service
by securing competency and fitness in it's
officers were introduced into the Senate
by representatives Of both political par
ties 1t is the executive branch of the gov
eminent, however, which might be ex-
pected to be most strongly impressed with
the defects of our consular service and
ing them would most naturally be Initiated.
The Order of 1866.
Hence 1t is not surprising to find that In
1856 the Department of State promulgated
an order requiring all applicants for con-
sulates to present themselves for examine
ton at the department. Neither the origi-
nal order nor any copy of it can now be
found. But the board of examiners con-
s:sting OF the second assistant secretary of
state, the examiner of claims and the off,
Ger in charge of the consular division, met,
organized, and held examinations under
proved seven as satisfactory. The other
two were held not to be qualified, one be-
cause lacking in knowledge of foreign Ian
guages, and the other because of general
1t does not appear that
more than one examination was held under
this order of 1866. and the next step taken
in the same direction seems to have been