The morning times., 1897-01-29
Secretary Langley Finds It in the
Way Of an appointment.
DIR. WALCOTT NOT ELIGIBLE
He Is Therefore Obliged to Accept
the Place at the National Museum
without Pay-He VIII Hold on
at the Geological Bureau
in the Law Desirable.

late DR.. Brown Goode as assistant secre-
tary of the Smithsonian. 1t is found that
great difficulty Will be experienced in con-
Quoting examinations for places where con-
| fidential relations with the superior Of
ficer must exist and the subordinate must
| be entrusted with carrying out with init
mate understanding the plans Of the di-
recting power.
The difficulty that arose in the ap-
pointment OF Dr.. Walcott as the head of
the National Museum was referred to by
Secretary Langley in his report on the
matter to the regents, on Wednesday, when
he said certain complications with the
civil service law, which he would eX-
plain later had interfered with the filling
of the place.
The classification of the places in the
National Museum under the order of June
! 6 was made in Secretary Langley's alb
sence, and the position OF assistant secrc-
tary was put with the rest in the protected
list.
When Secretary Langley came to con-
slider the appointment of a new assistant,
he found that under the rules he must
either have an examination held under the
Civil Service Commission, or he must
who ould then take the place by trans
fer. 1t SCENE to him, difficult to have an
examination that would meet the require
ments of the case.
One Of the first of these, OF course. would
be that the appointee should be person
ally agreeable to the secretary. No test
could determine this, nor could any pro-
vision prevent perfect strangers, or worse,
certification the man most desired Fur
| theTmore, it would be difficult to arrange
an examination which would secure the
| fittest man. 1t would not be possible to
have an examination by which eminent
scientists who are specialists i'll different
branches, could he compared in compcti-
ton. The expert in chemistry could not
well be said TO be higher or lower than
| the expert in ornithology 1t might be
| arranged by having the examination apply
| to only one branch, but this would mean
sweeping limitation of the field Of
| choice.
| AS result, Secretary Langley, after
conference with the civil service board,
seems TO have determined to fill the place
| by transfer from some other bureau. 1t
was found no easy task however, TO settle
the matter even in that way, and as re-
suit. the provisional arrangement with DR..
| Wacott was entered into as announced
| The head OF the geological bureau, being
| appointed by the President, is not him
| self in the classified service, and he can
| not he transferred to the Museum as now
| proposed, except after examination or by
| SPECIAL arrangement. For that reason DR..
| Walcott could accept the place only upon
condition that his pay should be derived
| from some other source than the appropria-
| tion made for the incumbent 1t is under
stood that the voluntary service which
he proposes TO render will be without com
| pensation from the Museum fund, and that
| he will continue to be the director of the
| Geological Survey.
Another feature Of the matter is that
the appointment is made by an officer
| who is not himself in the government ser
| ice at all, and that the assistant secretary
| is nominally at least an employe of the
| Smithsonian Institution, over which the
government has no direct control This
would OF itself afford an escape from the
civil service rules, were it not for the fact
that Congress and not the Smithsonian
| regents furnishes the money for the salary
1t is possible that this position, as well
| as several others, will be excepted from
the classified service as a result of the
present experience. Among the places
which may be changed are the suprern-
tendents of the Coast Survey and of the
Bureau OF Engraving and Printing and
assistant secretaries, where they come
within the classification. There is an
obstacle to this, however, froTn a Demo
cratic standpoint. This is that the present
holders will then no longer be protected
The possibility of making these excepted
positions even after the classification has
been completed, may suggest to the Re
publicans an easy way OF putting the high
places again in reach of their party, with
out appearing to do violence even to the
spirit OF the civil service law Major Nc
Kinley will undoubtedly have this oppor-
tunity to help the party brought to his
attention 1t will be only necessary, il
such exceptions are possible at his word,
to except the chiefs of division and the
like in the departments, and they can be
filled with Republicans chosen by the
Cabinet officers.
1t is an interesting fact in the conn ection
that some of the gentlemen who are now
bothered by this application of civil ser
vice reform have been among it's most
earnest advocates.
A report of the meeting of the Smith
sonian regents yesterday was prepared for
the press. 1t was three hours after the ses-
sion before it was ready, and during a
large part of the time four employees of the
institution were employed upon it, includ-
ing the chief clerk, DIR. Richard Rathbun.
The account as formally given out occu
pied little more than half a newspaper
column and contained the following SEN
tence:
After a brief exposition by the chan
cellor OF the law under which appointments
are made by the secretary, with the con.
sent of the regents, the secretary remarked
that in all these appointments, and in every
official relationship, the recognition of the
plenary power of the regents has been the
foundation Of good government in the insti-
tuition and the occasion in the past OF ap-
pointmentS which have been s;ngularly free
from any ilnputation of favoriisin or par
tiality."
The Bellboy Acquitted.
The case of Henry Jarvis, the colored
bellboy at the Riggs House, charged with
the larceny of $50 Saturday last from