St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-07-21
A POPULAR REFORM.

A POPULAR REFORM.
The rise and progress of civil serv-
ice reform in the nation and in the
states is one of the singular phenom-
ena of legislation. 1t at no time has
had the appearance of a spontane-
GUS, popular movement. There has
been no extensive discussion of it
among the people 1t has not been
party issue like the tariff, or a
question dividing parties like the
silver coinage. Its active promoters
have not been men who, on the one
hand, were active politicians, nor
on the other hand were they iden-
titled with the plain people of the
country. They We're of that class
of our people who are referred to by
the opponents of the law as the Wis
ionaries and doctrinaires and closet
philosophers. Every step of prog
reSS everywhere has been strenuous
1y resisted, either openly or covertly,
by that influential class of our fellow
citizens who assume the function
of managing our public affairs. No
inconsiderable proportion of the
press of both parties has opposed it
in season and out of season.
In spite of this the reform has
made steady progress, building it's
foundations firmly under it's feet as
it went along. This would be only
possible where the movement had
the support of public approval; even
if it were only tacitly shown, and
did not make itself felt in public
clamor. 1t was a great silent force
that compelled the reluctant obedi-
ence of the men who would gladly
have seen the reform throttled.
Usually the law has been imposed
upon the people by their representa-
tives. Congress and legislatures
have enacted the various civil serv-
ice reform laws of the nation and
states without referring them to the
voters for their approval. In Illinois
the experiment of the referendum
was tried. 1t was, we can believe,
without any friendly motive that
the civil service law of that state
was formed, containing more strfn-
gent provisions than either the fed
eral law or the laws of any of the
other states. We may we'll suspect
that the politicians of the legisla-
ture, who assented to it's passage,
expected that the very provisions
designed to give it efficacy would
render it unpopular and result in
it's defeat.
The law provides that it shall not
be operative in any city until sub
mitted to the voters and approved
by a majority of them. 1t is we'll
for the cause of the reform that the
referendum was adopted. If the mo-
tive of this provision was based on
a confidence in the unpopularity of
the law among the voters, the re-
suit of the election in Chicago, where
the majority in favor of it's adop-
ton exceeded $4,000, must have been
a severe disappointment 1t is we'll,
we say, that the referendum was
never before been made clear, that
the civil service reform has it's rest
ing place and finds it's strength in
the approval Of the mass of the
people. The Chicago election amply
demonstrates this. When one reads
the accounts in the press of that
city of the shameless corruption
and disregard of the rights and in
terestS of the people, shown by the
common council, regardless of what
party dominates it, one would con-
clude that that city was the traffick-
ing politicians paradise, and that
there the reform, that promised to
rob the politicians of one of their
chief sources of strength, would be
beaten out of sight.
If anywhere in this country civil
service reform should prima facie
seem to be unpopular with the peo-
pie, it would be in the city of Chi
cago; and still, when, at a special
election, the question was submitted
to the voters Of that city, the law,
stringent as it's provisions are, was
adopted by an overwhelming ma
jority. This disposes in the most
conclusive manner of the claims of
the opponents of the reform that it
is not popular with the people. The
politicians of Minnesota who, in the
last legislature, throttled the efforts
to provide this state with this re-
form, may we'll take to heart the
lesson Of the referendum as applied
to it in the city of Chicago.
The Minneapolis Tribune has in
cluded the name of Gov. Merriam
among it's supporters, and all is for
given.