Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-05-22
THE LAW Is FAVORED
But Change is Wanted in Civil Ser
vice Rules.
4 PROPOSED EIGHT YEARS TERM
testimony Before the Senate In
vestigating Committee.
VIEWS OF SOME OFFICIALS

The Senate committee on civil service ana
retrenchment resumed its hearings this
morning. Those present were Senator
Pritchard, Senator Chiffon Senator Elkins
and President Proctor and Examiner Wales
| OF the civil service commission.
A letter was received from Mr.. Wilson.
the acting commissioner of internal reve-
nue., relative to the workings of the civil
service law in that bureau. After stating
the number of err ployes of the internal
revenue service who in the classified
service, Mr.. Wilson says:
| FavOrs Certain Exemptfons.
| 1t is believed that some amendments
might be made TO the civil service rules
| with advantage to the service Rule q
should be modified as to increase the
number OF excepted places in the internal
| revenue service. The positions of chief
| deputy and cashier should be excepted in
| every district, and i'm the larger revenue
| producing districts. where the collections
| reach twelve or fifteen millions annually
| the collector should have the unrestricted
| choice of larger number of his subordi-
| mates.
Il also recommend that civil service rule
4 TX be modified so that vacancies in the
| internal revenue service caused by death
| or voluntary resignation, and places estab-
| lished by the allowance of additional force,
| may be filled in the discretion of the nomi-
| mating officer by the reinstatement OF for
| mer employees separated from the service
| through no fault of their own, without re-
| gard TO the length Of time the person
| recommended for reinstatement has been
| separated from the service.
| Il do not recommend that the civil serv-
ice law be repealed or amended. The merit
1 system is a valuable one. . / believe
| that with suitable notifications OF existing,
| rules tie law can be brought into harmony
| with good sense and good administra-
| ton.
Favors a Fixed Tenure Of ONCE.
| I'm connection with the subject Of this
| letter 1 beg to suggest provision of law,
| either an amendment to existing law or
| an independent act, fixing a term of office
| for all classified employees of the govern
| nient, so that each appoin:ee after success
| fully passing his probationary term shall
| be appointed for a term of years, not less
| than four nor more than eight, and shall
| not be removable except for delinquency CT
| misconduct during such term. persons thus
| appointed to be eligible, in the discretion OF
| the appointing officer, for reappoin tment on
the expiration of the term OF Office thus
| fixed, their eligibility to be determined upon
| their official record. Under such a law IL
| would be practicable to weed out incap-
| ables from the service at the end of a fixed
| time, while the hope of reappointment
would be a greater stimulus than is now
| afforded to Jealous performance Of duty
| and progressive efficiency on the part OF
| the competent.
such amendment would also relieve the
| civil service law of the criticism attaching
| to it in the minds of many, that ii ere
| ates life tenure in the classified service
| contrary to the will Of the people and the
| genius of our institutions. . - Some
| of the iron-clad rules made by the COM
mission have been more hurtful than help
l fui to the reform, and have not been I'm
| the interest of good service. iiberaliza-
| ticn CT the rules, combined with thorough
/ application them
| mend the law to the people. - The
remedy Tor wrongs permitted by the civil
| service commission during any administra-
| tfon is not to be found in evasion of the
| law lnder the next administration, but
such wrongs should be remedied in a
straightforward and direct manner The
| suggestio ms contained in this letter are
made from a purely business standpoint
| with full and hearty recognition of the
Value OF faithful and non-partisan ad-
minsstration of the civil service law as an
instrument OF good government
COmmissfoncr Butterworth.s ytevs.
A letter was also received from Maj. But
| terworth, commissioner of patents, in which
he says:
In my judgment the civil service law
should not be repealed 1t is salutarv ana
| Its influence Is to raise a political contest
ABOVE the plane Of a mere struggle for
spoils. Under its operation clerkships in
| the public service and a vast number Of
other positions have ceased 70 be mere DO
| litical junk to be used by politicians to pay
lor partisan service, often corruptly rem
dered. Ii would be disastrous to good gov
ernment to return to the old spoiIs system
which had become a stencil in the nostrils
OF every lover of honest and capable ad-
ministration.
But am convinced that the rules should
De modihed and tricted so as to operate
as originally intended by the friends and
advocates OF reform in the civil service,
sought octtIs t..
ton rather than to adopt or experiment
with theories which. under our form OF
government, will prove Utopian. because
pie. And beyond this, the rules as recently
extended and administered divorce dutv
and responsibility from the executive and
administrative authority essential to nro-
duce desirable results"
Commissioner Buterworth devoted con-
siderable space to advocating the desIra
oiiity OF permitting heads of departments
OF the civil service commission In fba
course OF his letter he refers to the action
OF the last administration in putting this
class OF employees under civil service rules
and adds that reformation after rigor
mortis has set In is not assuring"
Clerks Who Passed No Examfnation.
The first witness examined today was
Mr.. Almont Barnes. He is employed in
the Agricultural Department. He said thar
there were employees In the department
who came In temporary per diem en-
ployes who have remained there as clerks
without having passed civil service exam
nations. He had called the attention Of
the civil service commission to one case
but was told that the commission did NOT
care to interfere, "as Secretary Morton
was pretty difficult man to handle" He
gave the name OF VIM. B. Nassau nov
deceased, as one Of the employees thus an
pointed. and Mary A. Mack. now resigned.
as another. He said there were clerks
in the department coming under this cat
egory with whose faces he is familiar. but
whose names he does not know. He said
one employe is there who is not q citizen
of the United States. Secretary Morton
was told that tact. but held that It made
no difference.
Mr.. Proctor suggested that the civil serv-
ice commission had formulated and promul-
gated rules to correct the very system of
promotions in the department of which Mr.
Barnes complained. He thought the eases
cited by Mr.. Barnes had occurred prior to
the enforcement Of these rules.
In the Pr1nssng O2ee.
= Mr.. Albert Baker was then swora He
was.th prixnxe secretAry Of Pubiic Printed
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