Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-11-30
No BACKWARD STEP
VIII Be Taken By Nr. Mckinley in
the Civil Service
According to President Proctor, OF
the Civil Service Commission.
de Says the President-Elect is a
Sincere Believer in the System.
An Interesting Review and Com
ment.

/ tolQc6IS believer III J-4O ~ oOSAA4'
An Interesting Review and Com
ment.
From the Chicago Record.
WASHINGTON, d. G, November ~
President Proctor of the civil service
commission. is confident that Maj McKin-
, ley will take no backward step i'm the r.
form of the civil service. He says that
Mai Mckinley has been one of the
strongest and most consistent advocates
OF the merit system and the test of eff
cheney iu appointments and promotions,
and while in. Congress ten or twelve years
ago made speech i'm which he used this
expression: THE sooner politicians learn
that civil service reform has come 10 stay,
the better for them and the country
There could not be a better record in
this respect than Mai. McKinley's," said
Prof. Proctor yesterday, and the country
may be assured tnat he will take no back
ward step. Every President from Arthur
to Cleveland has carried out the spirit
and the letter of the law. There has been
no waverAg ard no evasion, and from
man like President Mckinley. who has
been a consistent and sincere advocate
and believer in the merit system, what
else could be eIpected?'
] called President Proctors attention to
the popular impre sion that President
/ Harrison revoked, or at least suspended,
civil service order of his predecessor
, That is mistake" he replied. zone
President cannot revoke what another
President has done. Gen. Harrison could
not revoke what President Cleveland did
in extending the classified service any
more than Inc could revoke his approval
of the legislation Of Congress. Alr. Cleve-
land could not revoke it himself. What is
done under the civil service law is done
finally, and even if Mr.. Bryan had been
elected he would have been powerless.
. Congress alone can suspend or revoke the
law. Furthermore. President Harrison
never tried TO do so. Reports TO the con-
trary are due TO a misrepresentation and
do him an injustice. The circumstances
are these:
During the winter of 1859 President
Cleveland issued an order extending the
civil service rules TO include the railway
mail service intending that it should so
into effect on the lst of February. before
the close of his term. BY an inadvertence,
however, the date was uxed the LIST Of
April nearly thirty days after his sue
cessor came into Office, which was the
subject of some criticism. But it was a
clerical error. There was only one COM
missioner of the civil service at the time.
and large amount of work to be done,
owing TO the spring examinations. Mr.
Lyman, the single commissioner. told
President Harrison that it would be inn
possible for the clerical force OF the COM
mission 10 get the registers and other pa
pers ready in time for the order 70 so into
effect on the Isl of Apr. President Har-
r.son inquired how much time was neces-
sary. Lyman replied that he must have
at least thirty days and ought TO have
six weeks 1t was then the middle of
March. and President Harrison. at the
suggestion of Commissioner Lyman. post
poued the date for President Cleveland's
order to 20 into effect from the LIST of
April TO the list of May. He could do this
without violation of law, because the or
der had not gone into effect but if IL had
become operative on the LIST of February
according TO President Cleyeland's inten-
tons, he could not have changed it,
Postmaster General Wauamaker took
advantage OF this interval" continued
Prof. Proctor. "and made 1900 changes i'm |
the railway service for the benefit of poll
ticians, which l think was a great mistake /
and the records of the Office leave no
doubt on that question. The reports from |
the railway mail sevvtc show that dur /
ing the year l>s9. before those 800 changes /
took place the ratio OF errors by railway /
mail clerks was one TO 1881 pieces of mail /,
handled. In 1880 the year following. the |
ratio increased to one error for 2.S24 pieces /
of mail handled. Since then under the |
merit system and promotion for efficiency /
the ratio has decreased until it is now |
only one mistake for 10000 pieces of mail I
latter"
Prof Proctor is one Of the strongest |
advocates of the proposition TO include /
fourth-class postmastcrs i'm the classified |
service. or at least to take them and all |
other offices out Of politics. so rs TO en- |
tireiy abolish the use of official patronage |
TO reward political service. lie has a |
plan 10y which be thinks that village post .
masters can be appointed without refer |
ence TO political considerations and with !
out the Intervention of representatives in |
Congress. Whenever there is a vacancy |
he proposes that every patron of the Of
fee De asked to nm out and sign a blank .
petition addressed TO the Postmaster Cen
eral and setting forth, first, the distance .
of his residence from the postofice; sec
ong. the average number of letters he is /
IN the habit of receiving per week; third, |
the number of newspapers he takes. and.
finally. the name of the man he prefers !
for postmaster. This would be equivalent !
to an election and would give the patrons !
Of the office the privilege, as well as the
responsibility of selecting their pos.mas-
ter. II he turned out to be bad or IN
efficient man it would be their fault. but !
il would remove the mail service from
pCAucs.
Prof Proctor thinks also that there /.
would be no difficulty in persuading good !
men to accept small postotiices # tSey !
were assured of permanency. At present !
there are many offices which II Is difficult |
to fin because the compensation is small |
o.. d the trouble and labor are considerable. |
But if 1t was understood that a mar |
might retain an Office during good he |
havior a better class of postmasters could |
be obtained.
RAIN OF LITTLE BENEFIT.