Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1896-05-14
OUT OF POLITICS.
Vast Significance of the New Civil
Service Order.

service Oruer.
Nearly 10000 federal officeholders,
says Washington dispatch of May
to the Chicago Times-Herald, will go
to bed tonight to dream sweet dreams
OF permanent retention of their places.
Nine out of ten of them are democrats,
and Grover Cleveland is the man they
have to thank for their good luck. The
president today issued the most sweep
ing civil service order known in the
history of the government. Twenty
nine thousand three hundred and nine
ty-nine government employees were
placed within the civil service CLASH
fication at one fell swoop. 1t is almost
a clean sweep of the desirable places
under the government, and when the
republicans come into power next
March, if they do come in as they now
confidently expect to, they will find
that Mr.. Cleveland has carefully pre-
pared the way for their coming by
throwing the sacred circle of his sol
emn civil service reform about the
heads of $4,000 or $4,000 more good
democrats. There will be precious lit
tie left for the republicans to fight
over President Mckinley will be able
to appoint the members of his cabinet,
of course, though some surprise has
been expressed that Mr.. Cleveland did
not include these offices in his big grab.
Each cabinet officer may appoint
private secretary and a confidential
clerk, and that will be about the eX-
tent of his patronage. If he is real
good and very lucky he may be able
to get a man or two in as laborer, but
that is about all. The president will
be able to appoint. the foreign minis
tiers and consuls and the presidential
EOstmasters and the collectors of GUS
toms and the United States marshals
and district attorneys. But this is
about the extent of his power. The
fourth class postoffices will afford a
grain of comfort to the faithful repub-
licans who are looking for places, but
these offices are distinctly local, and
there are not enough of them by sew
eral thousand per cent. to go around.
Mr. Cleveland has left little else for
the republicans to seize. In Washing
ton there is practically nothing at all.
The heads of bureaus are still outside
the civil service, but the chiefs of diVi-
sion and everything below that grade
down to mere day laborers come under
its rules. Of $4,000 or 10000 federal
employees in the capital city only few
hundred remain outside the charmed
circle. 1t is the same throughout the
country in the customs service, the in
ternal revenue bureau, the postOffice,
the railway mail service, the supervis-
ing architects force, everything that
President Cleveland could get his hand
on has been taken in and tied up.
Well informed officials say that 80 or
50 per cent. of all the employees pro-
tected by today's sweeping order are
democrats.
The sweeping nature of today's order
may be judged by the figures. Until
today the civil service included 5000
employees of the government. In one
order the president adds to the list
more than half as many as had been
put in during the thirteen years that
have passed since the first civil service
order was issued by President Arthur.
Of the 100000 employees of the govern
nent more than $4,000 men are now
protected by the civil service, and Of
the $4,000 who are not included $4,000
and more are fourth class postmasters,
who are not retired, according to ira
Gition, until the expiration of their
four-year term. The remainder are Ia
borers and employees of Indian agen-
cies and things like that which no one
would sit up nights looking for. Con-
trary to the general impression this
sweeping order does not necessarily
stand for all time. The incoming pres
ident may, if he wishes, revoke this
or any other civil service order issued
by his predecessors. That is a matter
wholly within his discretion. But it is
generally conceded that no president
will care to exercise his right to revoke
these orders, and to take backward
step in civil service reform. Therefore
the order issued by President Cleveland
today, which is thought to indicate alb
sence Of hope on his part that the dem
acrats are going to have mucn to say
about the presidential election is likely
to stand for all time
Manufacturers report that ten tan