The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-06
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM
SCOPE AND EFFECT OF TIE RECENT
ORDER OF THE PRESIDENT.
Far-Reaching Application of Some of
the New Rules, which WIN Go
Into Immediate Effect.

Importance of which can hardly be overes-
timated. A statement of the changes it
will actually effect in the existing system
may, therefore,, be OF more or less use.
The new rule requiring that no removal
shall be made from a position subject to
competitive examination except for just
cause and upon written charges, of which
the accused shall have full notice and an
opportunity to make defense, will have a
far-reaching application. 1t will apply TO
every officer and employee in the depart
ments at Washington, excepting officers
confirmed by the Senate. certain attorneys
in the Department of Justice, a few private
secretaries and the common laborers.
In the great local offices, such as the New
York custom house and postofice, it Will
apply to all between the extremes of Off
GERS confirmed by the Senate and laborers,
except the principal deputy or assistant,
and the cashier. In the case of each office
or employment affected it will mean that
the incumbent shall not be removed, ex-
cept for reasons having to do with the good
of the service, that have nothing TO do with
politics or religion, and that may be safely
put in writing. An officer having the power
to remove will hesitate to assign reasons
that are frivolous or unjust, and the officer
or employe, of whatever rank, will enjoy a
reasonable degree of security so long as his
services continue to be meritorious. or the
other hand, it is a mistake to suppose that
the discretion of the department. head is to
be unduly limited or that there will be the
slightes difficulty in getting rid of an OBJ
J~ect1onable subordinate. The new rule pro-
vides for no form of trial. Nor is the ac-
ton of the department officer subject to re-
view by any other executive authority. All
That is required is that the reasons for his
action shall be a matter of record, and that
If the person removed wishes to be heard
before his case is finally adjudicated he
may have a fair opportunity. Unless the
reasons are sufficient the department officer
Will hesitate TO file them, and if the person
removed knows that they are good he will
hesitate to dispute them. This is a. very
simple plan, compared with the court-mar-
IlaI OF the army or navy or the elaborate
ana somewhat botherSOme trial system of
Ine municipal police and fire departments
1nat 1t is quite sufficient, however, both to
protect the meritorious employe and to ner-
mt the maintenance of proper discipline
nave been proved by experience. A Similar
RUE mas been in operation in the Postofice
Depdrtnel4I. applying to clerks and car
1leL5, 5or Ihree years past. There it has
worked with absolute satisfaction.
nne new order has the force of law and it
goes into effect at once. ANY officer who
dlSopeys 1T must, under the provisions of
Civil Service Rule II. be dismissed FROM ~
service. The immediate result will be both
" prevent al removals for political reasons
ana 10 put a stop to the practice of putting
OUT one man, merely to make a place for
another who may happen TO be eligible Ell
lner LOT certlncatlon under the rules or for
reinstatement Each administration has
Sinhed a httle in each of these respects,
thus early in his term, is the strongest pos
slbIe guarantee for the future.
EFFECT ON INCUMBENTS.
The new order will protect a certain
nuEnberRf political appointees of the pre-
ceding administration, but not nearly so
many as most people suppose-and none at
all who are incompetent or unfit. The ex-
tensions Of May 6, 1896, by President Cleve-
land, covered 80, 0S2 positions; 5,063 of these
were the employees of the navy yards who
had been placed under merit rules by Sec
rotary Tracy in 1891, and whose classihca-
ton as a part of the general system was a
mere formality; 5,025 were employees of the
light house and life saving services and
other treasury branches that had been pre-
viously subjected to separate examination
systems, and were nonpolitical; 2.06l were
Indians employed at the Indian service and
excepted from competition; 6,26S were me-
chanlcs, engineers, ETC., in the Engineering
ana Ordnance Bureaus of the War Depart
1nent, also nonpolitical, and 4,120 were pen
sion examining surgeons, paid by fees. Of
tIlS ICIIldIIllIlS o,OUU, many OIn6r classes had
not been affected by political changes. 1t
may safely be said that not more than 5000
oilcerS on the entire list had been appointed
Tor political reasons, and then CLASSIFIED
including the division chiefs. OF the posi-
tons classified before May, 1896, the most
important We're those in the government
printing office. Sixty-nine per cent. of those
In that office at the date of classification
had been left there by the preceding Re-
publican printer, Mr.. Palmer. 1t is we'll
that these facts should be understood clear
~, not only because it is fair to Mr.. CIeVe-
land, but in order that it may not be
charged against Mr.. Mckinley that he has
given his protection to any considerable
number of employees who from one point of
view might not be entitled to it.
Quite a number of changes have been
made among the division chiefs and other
high subordinates since the change of adj
ministration, partly by dismissal, but main
ly by reduction or transfer within the serv-
ice. The political proportion among these
places has been pretty well equalized. The
fact that President Mckinley has extended
a reasonable protection to those appointees
of Mr.. Cleveland who do remain in the
service, as well as to all others, is in the
highest degree creditable. The whole sub
ordlnate service is now in a fair way to
reach the basis of permanence and good
discipline that is essential to the best ad-
ministration, and the President. in adding
to the system of appointment for merit the
guarantee of retention for merit, has made
that basis possible. lie has done in fact
what Mr.. Cleveland, toward the close of his
first term, declined to do. During the lat
ter part of 1887 a revision of the rules,
changing the plan of classification and eX-
tending its scope, was prepared by the
Civil-serVice Commission. When this revi-
sion was submitted to the President it con-
tained the following:
whenever a dismissal from the eXecu-
tive civil service is made a written state
ment of the cause of the dismissal must be
filed in the department or office from which
the dismissal is made and become a part
of the records of such department or office"
The revision was approved with the ex-
ception of this rule, to which Mr.. Cleveland
objected on the ground that the power of
removal should not be restricted even to
the limited degree proposed. The trainers
of the first ciVll-SerVice rules had held the
same idea. The Curtis commission in 1872 re-
ported to the President that IL seemed to
them more desirable to afford a reasonable
security of permanence in office by depriv-
ing the head of illC Ultimate motives for re-
mOVaI' rather than by fixed regulations.
unless it can be shown from the nature of
the system that the power of removal is
likely to be abused" Experience has
shown that even under the limitations of
moving power is abused. 1t was this fact
that prompted the commission TO recon-
mend its restriction to Mr.. Cleveland.
Since 1888 it has frequently made the same
recommendation to other Presidents, but it
has been for Mr.. Mckinley 10 take the de-
cisive step.
OTHER CHANGES.
The other changes in the rules embodied
in the order of July p had to do with the
classification. Concerning the character of
the positions in the internal revenue and
customs services. taken from the COMPETE
tive list, there has been a mistaken impress
sion. The list of exceptions was published