The Prince George's enquirer and southern Maryland advertiser. (Upper Marlborough, Md.) 1882-1925, 1897-08-20

and villages, except such appointments AS are
subject to confirmation by the senate. shall be
made according to merit and fitness: to be as
certancd so far as practicable. shall be COM
pettive; and the general assembly shall pass
to carry into effect the provisions OF this sec
ton.
HOW IT READS .>ON.
The proposed amendment. a. embodied in
The law actually passed. and c,ntancd in the
bound volume oi the laws OF 49,. reads thus:
"'-\ppointm, nts i'll the civil service Q; the
State in the municipalities AMI Counties OF TIE
State. shall be made according to merit and
fitness to be asccrtaned 80 lar as practicable
by eNamnati on. which shall be competitive.
except appointments which are subJcc; 10
assembly shall pass all such laws may be
necessary more fully to carry into effect the
provisions of this section.
y RADICAL ALTERATION.
1T will be seen in the, first place that the
language here is decidedly slipshod. whereas
the original language perfectly clear; and
seems 70 b, rad c,,!ly altered appointments in
tiles and counties of the State seems to have
its most obvious meaning. State appoint
mentS merely, diStins uishcd from local APP
pointmen,s. 1t might even be held that the
words IL; the municipalities and counties Of
the State impose further reStr cton, and
make the provisions OF the amendment apply
on'y to state officers whose functions are local
thus excluding not only, strictly local officers
GERS the ether. Ii this Interpretation is the
correct one the offices to which the amend
mcnt would apply would be not only few in
offices for which the examination system is
least necessary, or is even undesirable
LOOKS LIKE TRICKERY.
accord ng to the house journal the amend
flent. in lis mutilaed t, rm reported to
the house by the committee on amendments
to the constitution on March - Tie change.
as above stated, seems entirely to have escaped
notice at the time. and seems explanable on.v
by the supposltlon OF r:cktry.
Such is the law which is hers,dcd by
Republican organizations as one OF
their proud achievements. and such is
the question upon which til people OF
Maryland must go through the farce
III voting next November.
Instances OF hypocrisy might easily
be multiplied did Lut space permit. but
treatment Gi this sub cct would DC I'M
perfect without Il passing observation
on the recent removal OF Marshal Jacob
Frey and two subordinate officers from
the police force OF Baltimore b. :, parti
san board OF police comi.nS,.' s'c;s- 1t
is universal principle iii the laws OF
the Anglo Saxon race. mole ancient
than Magma Charta. that Ito person
shall be condemned without trial and an
opporturitv for defense. and yet Ill the
case OF Marshal Frey no charges were
preferred and no defense was permitted,
but that officer Was summary dlsnlS-
Sod. osieisibly iur not enforcing the
laws against policy gambling, but really
ior partisan and political reasons alone
In regard to the charges against the
two subordinate officers Bernard Car
ter, one OF the most distinguished law
yers OF the country. as counsel TO the
board. in a written opinion formed alter
diligcnt study OF the testimony, sad:
Il have no hesitation in saying. with the
fullest sense of my professional responsibility
that the charge above mentioned IS, as re-
snects each OF The officers named, SO altogether
destitute OF foundation that in my ]udgmenIt
no tribunal compete lit to deal with the sub
Ject, and governed by determination to deal
with it fairly and honestly, could find that
either of the officers named have been wanting
in any respect in the discharge of their respec
tive duties in reference to enforcing the law
against lottery policy in the city of baltimore
In the face OF this opinion of their
learned counsel the two Republican
commissioners did not hesitate to carry
out the predetermined plans to dismiss
the officers. The widespread and out
spoken Indignation OF the people Ct Bal
timore is still fresh in the public mind,
and is sufficient commentary upon this
act of fragrant injustice. In discussing
the removals the Baltimore Sun makes
this observation:
"If we extend our vision to the national field
we will behold the same spectacle of earnest
PrT G and on to lax es 3qs,
after election. The following declaration
the subject is written in the last platform of
the national Republican party adopted at ST.
The, civil service law was placed the
statute books by the Republican party, which
has always sustained it. and we renew our re-
peated declarations that it shall be thoroughly
and honestly enforced and extended wherever
practicable
This plank of the platform was endorsed
by Mr.; Mckinley in his letter of acceptance in
the following emphatic language:
The pledge Of the Republican national con-
vention that our civil service law should be
sustained and thoroughly and honestly enforc-
keeping with the position of the party for the
past II years and will be faithfully observed.
pear willing to abandon all the advantages
gained after so many years agitation and ef-
tort. They encourage return to methods of
tavoritism. which both parties have often de-
nounced, that experience has condemned and
that the people have repeatedly disapproved.
The Republican party earnestly opposes this
reactionary and entirely unjus;ifiab'e policy 1t
will take no backward step upon this qnes-
ton.
After such declarations of the nation
al convention and such emphatic words
from the Presidential candidate, it was
somewhat startling only a few weeks
ago to find the Republican State CON
vention in Ohio. Mckinley's own STATE,
which was dominated and controlled bv
Senator Mark Hanna. Mckinley's con
fldential friend and close adviser. de-
handing repeal of the recent order OF
President Cleveland extending the OPP
Grafton OF the civil service regulations
The action OF this convention. joined
with the demand OF Mr.. Gage. Secretary
the Treasury. that patronage now
protected by civil service rules to the
amount OF $25o.ooo per annum. be plac-
ed at his personal disposal. give color
to the current report that the President
is about to Weld to the pressure OF
snoilsmen and do what his party and
himself so recently and so Enthusiastically
condemned The report is further
strengthened BY the ners0nal views ex-
pressed by Senator Pri chard. chairman
OF the Senate committee on civil service
as well as bv the "ndmentS actually
offered To tive deficiency appropriation
hi n tie Senate. eNempting from the
Classified service all lnborerS and work
MOI various internal revenue officers.
c''''''e v,S in the Government Printing
o. &c md certain positions in the In
= service. So manifest is IL" pur-
pc" 4 the par'r 80 take I""'-ward
- "" :. IN forth ""nrr ! protest
--. - 4 Il Service Reform ASsocia-
>; : N-..'ard
I" i"'', = = i pres NJ: '''r of indiS-
pvt. H. i",te it rr,r.st J." .'"ar to every
rca,'"r wherever '---'- y. Lis opinion as
to tie MERITS d-rneri's ni civil scr
vice r,iorm y ~ he Republican ncsi-
N N til "''"Sicn is on" at bad faith.
= at n d vno CriSv- and ii is not a
little strand" that any body Of i"'rlli-
gent Republicans should have the cf-
irontcrv. in = public document TO claim
praise iCr their Marty because OF its rec
ord On this subject either in the STATE
OF Nfa-v'"rd or out Il it. II = 81. . "
and wholesale anDroDri1tion OF all the
SPOTS cf Office. iron the loves +" the
highest whether rrdcr control "f the
Fxecr'i"e. the LEGISLATURE or the board
of public works Tin MANY inSt'""cS to
the positive dctrment OF the public ser
vice.: il the rnScrupulouS manipulation
OF patronage hv the governor in the in
te,est of a no1itiral favoritc and OF him
sell: It the dismissal OF Democrats iron
Office under pretrnse "f chances with
out even the ordinary form OF trial. by
partisan board OF polio" cN''7m's~'3n"rS:
II Il I.I,t,