Evening star., 1896-10-23
PRINTERS AND CIVIL SERVICE.
Some Comment ON the Action of the
international Union.

Some Comment ON the Action of the
International Union.
To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The news Of the action of the 1nterna-
tionul Typographical Union, at its recent
annual convention at Colorado Springs, in
recommending that the employees of the
government printing Office be taken from
under the classified civil service rules, will
be read with regret by every true friend
of labor, organized and unorganized, and
especially of the former.
A trades unions reasons for being are to
see that members of certain craft receive
fair compensation for labor performed, that
they are not forced to work an unreason-
able number Of hours, and that, under
any and all circumstances that r1ay arise
in the course of his employment, every
member. even the humblest, shall be ac-
corded fair play.
and many others formerly unknown. are
assured to the rnemte ers of the Typograph-
1cal Union by the substitution of the merit
In place of the spoils system In the gov
eminent printing office, and no man Is ask
ed to discontinue his membership In the l.
T. u, nor is he Disseminated against be-
cause of such membership. In answer to
the question, Are any non-union printers
employed In the government printing Of
hee?" propounded to three different em-
pioyes of that bureau, the writer received
the same answer-"None."
With the knowledge of what an i'm
portant factor in an election the "Organ-
lied labor vote of the country is, and the
general feeling of sympathy toward trades
unions possessed by most people, Is there
any ground for believing that fair treat
OF this branch Of the government service
by any Of our great political parties?
How can any self-respecting workman
favor return to system under which he
hnl6 to kh@ rryfIl
price of some political leader, rather than
by the competent and faithful perform
ance of his duties? Having honestly earned
his wages, does 1t not seem an imposition
that he should be called upon to contribute
goodly lump-sum for political purposes
at elections-purposes which he has good
reason to believe are nearly always far
from honorable? AS rule too, all are as
sessed, and thus many man is placed in
the pftiable position OF contributing to the
success OF principles whose adoption he
believes would be harmful 20 the nation
The world over, the best investment a
workihgnan can make of his spare earn
fngs is the purchase Of q home. But what
man will do this when he knows that, no
matter how hard and faithfully he works
the next election may him dismissed
because he entertains views on political
and economic questions at variance with
those of majority Of the voters of the
country upon certain day in November?
Is 1t not CALLING to him, as a subordi-
nate. to receive orders from men nowise
his equal in knowledge of the mysteries
of his craft, or, as a foreman, to be prac-
tcaily bereft of the power to dispense
with the services Of a thoroughly incompe-
tent workman. and. when told to fur
Tough" a certain number of his men. be
denied the option of retaining the compe-
tent and dlsmissing the incompetent? Is
IT conducive to freedom of thought and
action to make ones daily bread depend
upon the retention or supposed retention
OF certain views
anu is there any difference in principle be-
tween bribing the floating vote outright
at the polls and holding out subordinate te
government positions as a reward for par
ty service? Honest, reputable workmen
Know what q large proportion of this ele-
ment noats, like scum upon wave into
government employ. The world over, the
auoptlon OF the merit in place of the spols
workmeE. ' "a
darling idea with members of trades
un1on.i Is the abolition of the present sys-
tem OF giving municipal, state and national
Work 10 private contractors, and in its
place the substitution of system by which
work of this character shall, be done by
the city or state, under the direction of
poards OF works. The printing fraternity
mas long desired the erection and operation
OF a state printing office in every state in
tne Union. The government printing Of
nee presents splendid field in which to
demonstrate that states can do their own
Gone under private contract WHERE. of
course, the contractor expects to make a
proht, and almost always does As long
as party service (or, in many cases, mis-
servlce), and not professional skill shall
be the test of entrance into the government
printing office. private firms will be able
10 DO the work cheaper than the public
ana the advocates of state printing offices
VIII nave no object lesson for the voters of
the different states of the Union, who it is
to be expected, will continue to present sys-
TEN. under which the contractor reaps the
hons share of the benefits. If anything
government printing that have been at
tanned in other branches of industry by
the London county council, the success of
state printing offices Is assured, and this
the letting Of contracts for all classes of
state work by state officers.
The friends of the merit system of en-
ployment in government offices meet one
deeply-rooted suspicion among the humber
members of society that it is a subtle
scheme to bar them from participation in
Its benefits, by making the entrance exam
nations consist largely, If not principal
ly, Of questions which one who has only
had a common school education cannot an
swer. Any one who will take the trouble
to read the annual reports of the civil
service commission, or even the little pam
phlet OF instructions to applicants for ex-
animation, can readily see that this is not
the case. In the instance of the govern
inent printing Office let the facts speak for
themselves: OF 466 compositors examined
in 1895 30S passed; of 62S examined in 1896
43G passed. OF 72 pressmen, stereotypars
and electrotypers examined in 1885 Al pass
ed; of 81 examined in 1896 81 passed. In
the relative weight attached to each SUBJ
ject of the examination for compositor
practical questions count 10 out Of a pos
sible 91as much as the weights of all the
other subjects (orthography, penmanship,
letter writing and arithmetic) combined.
The writer-a practical printer and proof
reader, and an honorary member of the
1. T. U.-earnestly hopes that at the next
annual convention of the Typographical
Union, the delegates from Washington will
be able to make such representations and
present such arguments that the orga1iza-
ton will be glad to reverse the action of
the present session, and in its place pass a
resolution indorsing a system which makes
a knowledge Of the art preservative' and
willingness to do hoL est work the supreme
tests of entrance to and retention in the
government printing office, rather than one
under which party service and ''inf1ooeace"
are the determining factors. and all others
but incidental. GEORGE A. WARREN.
Maryland Republican Club.
An adjourned meeting Of the Maryland
Republican Club was held on Thursday
evening at 923 F street northwest. In the
absence of the president, B. H. Warner,
Vice President Trainor presided, with G.
1or