The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1897-03-27
AN ANIMATED DEBATE.

There is probably no subject projected
upon the Senate of the United States, that
provokes more stultifying exhibitions of
hypocrisy than civil service reform.
On Tuesday debate in that body on
that subject was conducted on severely sar-
castle lines, in which the senior Senator
from Maryland took prominent part.
Mr.. Gallinger, of New Hampshire, had
stirred demonstrations of approval in the
galleries, by his denunciation of existing
civil service methods, as humbugs from top
to bottom, which Mr.. German followed
with ironical expressions of sympathy for
his Republican opponents in their anguish
over the civil service laws
'But now,n continued Mr.. German,
with smiling sarcasm, "that party finds
itself in power, and the hungry are with
them. The anxiety to provide for the hum
CRY is natural, and have the deepest sym
patty for the Republican friends in their
perpleXity over the civil service laws. y
Mr.. German went on to state that it was
well known that the law was not enforced
fairly, and that it served as basis for
favoritism. But if it was to he dealt with
at all it should be by broad proposition
covering the entire system. He did not
believe the party in power would have the
boldness to meet this question.
There would he no repeal of the civil
service law. No one would he deceived
by the declarations made in the Senate. 1t
would he well for the hungry to know that
they could not step into Office. The sooner
they left the city, the sooner they learned
that the President was pledged not to
change the system, the better it would be
for them. There would be no relief until
a party came into power pledged to wipe
out this obnoxious law.
But while Mr.. German was nagging his
Republican opponents, he should have
frankly admitted, that popular contempt
for civil service is largely attributable to
the acts of President of his own party
Mr.. Cleveland
The act of May 6, 1896, by which Mr..
Cleveland included thousands OF Demo.
cratic otficeholders in the classified system,
after his secretaries had spent nearly four
years in dsmissing Republicans, has I'M
doubtedly been a serious blow to popular
confidence in the honesty of the admins
tration of evil service. Its unfairness has
been made manifest, and Intelligent men
heretofore its friends have become its enc
mics.
But the caustc debate on Tuesday did
more than afford Mr. German an opportun-
ity to prod his political opponents.
1t developed the fact that the Civil Ser
vice Commissioners themselves in their too
eager zeal to widen their authority, in
many instances were making the system
ridiculous.
Senator Hawley gave an instance where
the engineers in charge Of some harbor i'm
provement wanted man to run steam.
boat, and the Civil Service Commissioners
sent him Yankee schoolmaster. Senator
Wilson told of forthcoming examination
for cook in penitentiary. Only few
days ago it was announced that the civil
service examination for position as a
printer in the Government Printing Office
would include a test of the candidates
ability to hop certain distance ON one
foot, though this feature of the examina-
ton was subsequently abandoned. The
absurdty of examining boys who are to run
elevators and women who are to mend
shirts and darn socks, as now done at the
Eastern Indian Schools, all combine to fur
nish material for the enemies of the system,
which has never recovered from the unpop-
ularity it naturally engendered at its very
start among the politicians, and also after
ward among men who believed in its merits,
but were disappointed at some of the COM
missioners selected by various preside is to
administer the law.
While every candid man will admit, that
the intelligent sentiment of the country sus-
tains the civil service system it is no less
true that its administrators are not making
friends for it.