Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-08-04
President McKinley's Civil Service
Order Ezpertly Analysed.
PUTS TEE SERVICE ON BEDROCK
Plain Views Of the Secretary Of the
National League.
PREssUREoN THE PRESIDENT


in the development of the reform, the inl-
portance Of which can hardly be overesti-
mated. A statement Of the changes it will
effect in the existing system has been
prepared by Mr.. Geo. McAncny, secretary
OF the National Civil Service Reform
League. for The Star. Mr.. McAneny says:
THE new rule requiring that no removal
shall be made from a position subject to
competitive examination except for lust
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 employe in the depart
ments at Washington excepting officers
confirmed by the Senate. certain attorneys
In the Department Of Justice. few private
secretaries and the common laborers.
In the great local Offices such as the
New York custom house and post Office it
will apply to all between the extremes of
officers confirmed by the Senate and Ia
borers, except the principal deputy or as
sistans and the cashier. In the case of
each office or employment affected it will
mean that the incumbent shall not be re-
moved except for reasons having to do with
the good or 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 un-
Just, and the officer or empioye, of what
ever rank, will enjoy reasonable degree of
security SO long as his services continue to
be meri.orious On the other hand # is
mistake to suppose that the discretion of
tne department head is to be unduly limit
ed or that there will be the slightest diff
cu!ty In getting rid of an Objectionable SUBJ
ordinate.
The new rule provides for no form of
trial Nor Is the action Of the department
omcer subject to review by any other ex-
ecut1ve authority. All that is required is
that the reasons for his action shall be a
matter of record, and that If the person re-
moved wishes to be heard before his case is
nnaliy ad5udicated he may have fair op-
portunity. Unless the reasons are suffi-
cient 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-martial Of
the army or navy, or the elaborate and
somewhat bothersome trial system of tho
municipal police and fire departments
That 1t is quite sufficient, however, both to
protect the meritorious employees and to
permit the maintenance Of proper disci-
pline has been proven by experience.
similar rule has been in operation in the
Post Office Department, applying to clerks
and carriers. for three years past. There
1t has worked with absolute satisfaction.
Has the Force of Law.
''The new order has the force of law, and
1t goes into effect at once. Any officer who
disobeys 1t must, under the provisions of
civil service rule 2. be dismissed from the
service. The immediate result will be both
to prevent all removals for political rea-
sons, and to put stop to the practice Of
putting out one man merely to make a
place for another who may happen to be
eligible either for certification under the
rules or for reinstatement. The admins
tration has sinned little in each of these
roSDactS bllf the action ha
coming thus early in his term, is the
strongest possible guarantee for the future.
''The new order will protect a certain
number of 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. covered 3O,OS2 po-
sitions; 5,O63 of these were the employees Of
the navy yards who had been placed under
merit rules by Secretary Tracy in 1891,
and whose classification as par, of the
general system was a mere formality; 5,O25
were employees of the light house and life
saving services and other treasury
branches that had been previously subject
to separate examination systems and were
non-political; 2,O61 were Indians employed
In the Indian service and excepted from
competitions; 6,256 were mechanics, engi-
neers. &C., in the engineering and ordnance
bureaus Of the War Department, also nom
surgeons, paid by fees. OF the remaining
$500, many other classes had not been
affected by political changes. It may safely
be said that not more than 5000 officers
political reasons. and then classified. in
cluding the division chiefs. OF the positions
classified before May, 1885, the most i'm
portant were 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-
publicap public printer, Mr.. Palmer. It is
well that these facts should be understood
-l~@ 10 t. L., 11l~
Cleveland, but in order that it may not be
charged against Mr.. Mckinley that he las
given his protection to any considerable
number Of employees who, from one point
Of view, might not be entitled to it.
Reasonable Protection to Cleveland's
Appointees.
1.-The fact that President Mckinley has
extended a reasonable protection to these
appointees of Mr.. Cleveland who do re-
main in the service. as well as to all others
seems to me in the highest degree credit
able. The whole subordinate service is
now in fair way to reach the basis of
permanence and good discipline that is es-
sential to the best administration. and the
President, in adding to the system Of ap-
pointment for merit the guarantee OF re-
tention for merit, has made that basis pos
s.ble. He has done, in fact, what Mr.
Cleveland, toward the close Of his first
term, declined to do. During the latter
part OF 1887 revision or the rules, chang
Ing the plan Of classification and extend
ing its scope. was prepared by the civil
service commission. When this revision
was submitted to the President It contained
the following:
Whenever q dismissal from the execu-
tive civil service is made 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.. Cleve-~
land objected on the ground that the power
OF removal should not be restricted even
to the limited degree proposed. The franz
ers of the first civil service rules had held
the same idea. The Curtis commission In
1872 reported to the President that 1t SEEM
ed to them moro desirable to AFFORD rea-
sonable security Of permanence I'd office by
depriving the head Of illegitimate motives
for removal rather than by fixed reKuia-
items. unless 1t can be shown from the
nature OF the system that the power If
removal Is likely to be abused Expe-
rience has shown that even under the
limitations Of the competitive appointment
system the removing power Is abused. It
was this fact that prompted the comnis-
sion to recommend its restriction tn Mr.