Omaha daily bee., 1896-12-11
REFORM IN CIVIL SERVICE
Annual Meeting of the League is Opened at
Philadelphia,
CARL sCHURz DELIVERS ANNUAL ADDRESS
shows the Progress of the worl.
Under Cleveland ana Points out
that There is Much Left
to lie Done.

PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 1O.-The annua
meeting of the National Civil Service Re
form league was begun at the Hotel Waltor
today. The delegates represent the princi
pal cities in the country. The executive com
mittee chose George McAneny and A. S
Frlssell both of New York secretary and
treasurer respectively. After the usual
committees were appointed a recess was
taken for lunch. The guests were: Theo-
dore Roosevelt, Dorman b. Eaton, Everett
p. Wheeler, II. W. Glider and Henry vii
lard, from New York; Charles Bonaparte
from Baltimore; John r. Proctor, from
Washington; n. @. Davis and c. b. Wilby,
Cincinnati; w. C. Ackerman and Colonel w.
]. Ella, Chicago; l.. b. Swift, Indianapolis
Rev. w. f. Lord. st. Paul; Henry Hitch
cock, st. Louis; Herman Justi, Nashville,
Tenn, and the following from affiliated
societies. Pittsburg, Citizens Municipal
league, George w. Guthrie and ID. ID. Bruce;
Chicago Municipal Voters league, Edwin
Burritt Smith.
Richard Henry Dana of the Boston Civil
Service Reform league was the first speaker
in the afternoon. His topic was, THE Post
office as Party Spoils."
He was followed by Charles Richardson
of this city, who read a paper on Civil
Service Reform in Philadelphia"
Hon. Sllas Burt of New York spoke on
THE New System in New York" and S. h.
Bowker of New York read a paper on The
Self Organizing Power of the American peo-
Pile
Police Commissioner Roosevelt of New
York chose for his brief remarks Results
of Reform in the New York Police Depart
ment." He was listened to with marked at.
tention. He said he had for twenty months
hna 4r,t 20 rnfn hat. f,, fro, 40
body, the New York police, and added: 81
have had a chance to test once ana for ell
the practicability OF the system OF civil
service reform and want to state, with all
tho emphasis of which am capable, that not
only is it the best practical system for get
ting good results out of any civic depart
ment, but the only one. Speaking fer the
of the New York police commits
| wish to state that we could not
have done our work-we could not have be-
gun to do it, had we been hampered by
questions of the distribution OF patronage"
President Carl Schurz delivered his an
nual addrcs, at tine Music hall tonight. Mr..
Schurz spoke hopefully of the cause of civil
service reform. He compared the condition
of affairs as he asserted they existed be-
fore and since the adoption Of the merit
system. He declared the sgols system suf-
fered a double defeat in the last election.
In this connection he referred in a compli-
mentsry manner to the national democrats
for whom the struggle had no victory, but
the victory OF the cause which they believed
to be the cause of national honor and well
fare" Reference was made to the growth
Of the civil service system. The number of
positions in the national civil service placed
under the rules. which was $1,000 under
President Arthur twelve years ago, has now
risen to nearly 90, 900, while the number OF
excepted places in the branches of the serv-
Ice covered Is reduced to less than 800. Had
l,,, Ii. l..
the name of President Cleveland would for
h' order of May 6, which added mere than
40 600 places to the classified service, for
sver stand pre- eminent in the annals of the
,ivil service reform movement. Referring
10 some OF the objections raised against the
merit system, the speaker said the statistical
showing presents itself that since the COM
)etitive system was introduced in the ma
onal service, only little more than IL per
cent of the men appointed under 1t were col
ege-bred men, and outside of the places de-
handing scientific requirements hardly more
han per cent-that in fact the service is
more open than ever to persons of the So
allied humber classes. OF the public perv
Ints under the national government who
hould still be put under civil service rules, |
he minor postmasters, Mr. SchurZ said, were
he most important class. OF these there are
bout 67 900. Nothing had done so much to
;eep the spoils idea alive in the popular
mind as the change of the village pCstmas-
er with every change of party in power. |
ar Schurz spoke OF Presidcnt-eect McKin- |
eys emphatic declaration in favor of civil !
ervice said If the incoming administration |
Wished to signalize itself by some con-
picuous advance of the merit system, it's |
mbiton could not permit itself to be sat |
SIZED with merely adding TO the competitive |
chedule a few hundreds or thousands of |
Jerks. 1t would have to aim much higher. |
t would have at least to accomplish the solu- |
ion of the postmaster problem, which was |
he next in order.
Officers for the ensuing year were elected |
s follows: Secretary, George McEneery; |
relsurer. A. S. Grissel; executive commit |
ee, Carl Schurz chairman; Morefeld Story |
BOSTON; Sherman S. Rogers, Buffalo; Will |
lam A. Aiken. Norwich. Conn; Edward NJ |
heppard Brooklyn; William G. Low, Brook |
yn; Charles j. Bonaparte, Baltimore; Ever |
Il =. Wheeler. Silas Burt, d. b. Easton !
,dward Carey, Richard Watson Glider and |
William Potts, all OF New York City: Merrill |
Nyman, jr., Cambridge, Mass.; William ID. |
'oulke, Richmond, Ind; Richard II. Dana, |
'oston; Luclus b. Swift. Indianapolis, In;
Ierbert Welsh. Charles Richardson, Phila-
elphia; John w. Ella, Chicago. President
nd vice presidents will be chosen and the
lace of holding the next meeting agreed
pom tomorrow.
.LLISoN NOT A CABINET CANDIDATE