The sun., 1897-12-21
THE CIVIL SERVICE LAW.
Nm. ETANs TELLS NOW 1T WORKS IN
YJ THE PENSION BUREAU

Ne anyn the Rcnt HIen Came In Through the
ppoiia system. and That He Couid Drop 400
Hnenlcient Clerks ~ ne Were Net TrnH-
ueiIea by CenEressmen and the Cop'misaiep
wAsHINGToN, Dec. 20.-Commissioner Evans
, Of tho Pension Bureau was before the Senate
Subcommittee on Civil Service to-day,and gave
the result Of his experience with the workings
of the Civil Service law in connection with the
l,s0O clerks in his bureau His testimony
brought out the fact that the Government money
was being squandered on 100 clerks In the Pen
sion Ofiice whom the Commissioner was un'
able to discharge owing to the influence OF SEN
ators and Representatives This same condt
tion undoubtedly exists In the other departments
OF, the Government, and clerks who will not
or cannot attend to their duties are retained
because Of the powerful influence they bring to
bear. Secretary Gago found many OF this class
in.the Treasury Department, and endeavored TO
remedy the evil by creating roll for superannu-
ated employees, but 1t Is said now that there 10
no warrant of law for such action.
Senator Lodge was.the principal inquistor FOR
che committee to-day. He began by asking
Mr. Evans how he looked upon tho Civil Ser
vice law as applied to the Pension ONCE, wheth-
or he was in favor Of continuing the clerks
undor the classified service.
Mr., Evans said that he had been civil ser
vice rcformer, so.called, but in his experience
NJ was U gOOu uehl Irte-Iuueu. IL uiu NV
work out. The best men in his bureau. he said,
had come in through the spoils system. They
were men who did their duty and expected to
Ing to the civil Service Commission. A head
of q bureau, IL he attended to his business,
hena know who tne Of Pen
oions he had, he said, undertaken to reorganiZo
the office on the basis OF getting better work x
out M the force, and for results he pointed to
the records, which showed that 80 per cent.
more claims had been adjudged than In any
like period during the past three years.
Senator Lodge having referred to the asser-
dons made that there were In nearly al the de-
impaired, but who yet remain in office and
draw the salaries they had received for years,
ssed do bs mG there wspe clerks his
Tho House Appropriations Committee ha !
made Inquiries along that line, and he had told
impairins the efficiency Of the force II he were
not trammelled and influenced by Senators, @
mis"ion. aeste' II clerk W were dropped for ineii
cheney, Senators and Representatives would
to him " inquiring why il was done However
inefficient the clerk might be, he would claim
that he was one Of the best clerks in the bufsaS
90 prove 1t. The inefficient clerks usually had
the most influence, for they were engaged n
duties. He was already receiving letters IN an
ticipation OF the reduction next July. Every
tho bureau. and the result was that the infiu
ence OF Senators and Representatives was used
to obtain PROMOTIONS. he found the same con
ditions in the Post Office Department when hi
wasathere.
Mr.. Evans said no would remedy the evil BY
placing under the classified service charwomen
iaborers, and clerks who received up TO VI, ,4O(
per annum. All above that could take theil
chances. lie did not Believe chiefs Of divisionl
or others occupying places in the special conh
dence Of the head of the bureau should be sc S
locted by the civil service. He never heard. HI
said. that Grant selected his advisers from
among the enemy. SO far as the politics of tn
clerks were concerned, he said, there was moth
fpor In that Thev could change quicker thai
the Administration. Mr.. Evans's idea Of re
forming the system was to limit the term OF OF
ice to eight or ten years. The present policy o
Life tenure had a tendency TO divorce the peo
ple from tho Government. The rising genera
ton naturally felt that it had no interest In tn
Government.
The Anti.Civil Service Reform League wa
represented at the hearing by former Rspresen =
cross-examine Mr.. Evans, but the committe
concluded to refer the question % to his right
do 90 to the full committee. The hearing wa
than adjourned until Jan. ..