The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-12-07
OFFICE SEEKERS WOES
Few Plums Left For the Hun
cry.
CIVIL SERVICE RULES INTERFERE.

President Cleveland May Issue AN Order
to Protect Fourth Glass Postmasters-A
Pension and Retirement scheme-Mut-
terings OF Discomfort.
WASHINGTON, Deo IL Special. AL |
ready the mutterings of discomfort are |
heard among the Office seekers Their |
chief complaint Is that there Is nothing |
left for them. Nearly al the government |
places have been put under the civil serv- |
Ice, and the dreams of appointments to |
posts with fat salaries attached, which SO |
many partisans of the successful ticket in |
the late campaign have been indulging,
are found to be nothing but dreams after |
all. In the national capital there Is prac-
tically nothing left for the rank and file. |
OF $4,000 or 10000 employees of the gov
eminent In the District Of Columbia only
few hundred will be filled by the Repub-
licans when they come into power. These
are cabinet offices, heads of bureaus pri
vate secretaryships few chiefs of divi-
sions IL is true that the only patronage
which cabinet officer now has directly
under his control Is private secretary
and chief clerk.
Purely Civil Service Basis.
The same thing is true throughout the
country. President Cleveland has placed
the internal revenue and customs ON
ployees under the civil service rules, and
what with the letter carriers, postoffice
clerks and railway mail men already I'M
der the protection of the new idea there Is
precious little remaining for the spoilsmen
to get hold Of 1t Is practically settled
that President Mckinley will not undo
anything that was done by his predecessors
In the way Of promoting civil service re-
form. He SO declared In his letter Of ac-
ceptance and has SO expressed himself In
a number of his speeches. The truth Is,
though IL takes a great many people a
long time to realize 1t, that the United
States government has actually approached
q purely civil service basis. The day of
spoils seeking at every change Of party In
power Is at an end Only one great GLASS
Of government employees remain to be
brought under tho protection of the civil
service. These are tho fourth class post
masters. There are now nearly 10000
POSSIBILITIES In the United States, and Of
these SO, 500 arc what are known as nom
| Observation-Disclosures 10, the salaries Of the
| postmastevs amount to less than III, 600 per
year, and appointments are made directly
by the department. OF these some 1900
are fourth class offices.
| There has been great deal OF agitation
in favor of having these offices all put un-
der the civil service before President Cleve-
land retires from office. 1t was Thought
by some that president has not the moral
right to issue such an order after an cleo
ton which has retired his party from
power, but the best answer to that argu-
ment Is that such thing was done by Mr..
Cleveland himself just before going out OF
office eight years ago. when he issued an
order placing all the railway mail en-
ployees under the civil service rules.
Fourth Class Postmasters.
The understanding in Washington Is
that President Cleveland had about made
up his mind to issue an executive order re-
moving the 60, 900 fourth class postoiilces
from the reach of hungry place hunters,
but that an obstacle was met in che civil
services commission itself The orders is'
sued by President Cleveland last spring,
placing the internal revenue, customs and
other employees under the civil service,
proved to be as much as the commission
could stand. That order entailed SUCH an
enormous amount of work that the com
mission Is not now prepared to take on its
shoulders the task of arranging for care OF
tho 60, 600 postoffices, and hence the pres
ident was compelled to abandon the idea
While the general argument in favor OF
psr,nancncy Of service for tried and trained
employees seems to hold good In the cast
of fourth class postmasters, some OF tn'
best men In the postofiice department. &c
not favor the change. They say that th'
department should be free TO MAKE thes'
appointments direct and without goiht
through the cumbersome routine OF CIV
service examination. 1t happens In man.
cases that the only person in "a little Vliiag
or at a country crossroads VINO Is coinpe
tent To take charge of the postoflice Is TIT
keeper of the general store. III ne mas .n
, Office the people are conveniently supplied
To through competitive examination, SOM
other nerson gets It, there will be grea
doubt as to the ability of the new post
master to maintain the Office in conven
lent place There Is doubtless some fore
in this objection, but the general senti
ment Is I'm favor of putting all postofhce
NJ this class under the civil service, ant
doubtless the change will be made durinl
the coming four years.
The Pension Plan.
Now that the United States government
| fhrOnUh ---N'
chine has built upa class OF permanen
civil employees, another step remains Z
be taken to make the system perfect ina
? is the Institution of a civil pension ana re
: tirement scheme. Here in Washington w
, see the practical workings of civil servic
very clearly 1t does tend to make EN-
ployees feel sure of their places as long a
: they properly attend to their duties.
D does substitute merit and usefulness 10
I the old way of seeking retention throug
, political influence. On the whole, IL sure
, " improves the quality of service rendered
!, But the trouble is that once In Office a.
WAYS In Office has become the rule.
Beyond certain age governments en-
ployees, like private employees, pecom
0 less and less useful. Itwould be inhuma
to turn them out in their old age, VINE
I thew would find IL almost impossible :
1 Get new employment. Yet 1t Is ba
business method to retain them purely on
, Of charity. This difficulty has long bee
recognized, and various propositions 10
It'll iii