Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1898-12-21
SAY LAW IS EVADED.
Civil Service League Scores the
Administration in Reso-
lutiOns.

Baltimore, Md, Dec. 17.-President
Mckinley and the entire Republican ma
tional administration were bitterly at
tackled by the National Civil Service Re
form league at it's session yesterday The
following resolutions were adopted:
1. The National Civil Service Reform league
congratulates the country upon the entire failure
of the attack upon the merit system in Congress
at the last session. result due to the advancing
sentiment of the nation and to the firm attitude
of the President in that crisis.
2. The league, however, has heard with con-
Germ the report that it is the intention of the
President to withdraw from under the civ-serv-
Ice rules important positions and classes of posi-
tions.
3. The league is forced to recognize certain
grave departures, within the present year, from
the principles underlying it. AS to these, it can
be shown by detailed evidence:
That the order Of July 81, 1897 regulating The
letter and spirit.
have been made altogether in violation of the
openly for political considerations
The appointments have been made in the
manner in the general land Office in the forest
reserve force, and in other branches Of the serv-
ice Of the interior department
That through appointments and removals for
political reasons the efficiency of the Indian
service has been seriously affected, and that
certain Of such changes have been made against
the protest OF those engaged most earnestly in
the work for Indian Improvement
That the operation of the rules in the pension
examining force has been nullified by an adroit
system OF evasion, practiced by the commission
er Of pensions.
That in certain custom houses and in the de-
partments at Washington, many persons have
been employed without examination as '1abor-
ers and assigned to various kinds of classified
work
That hundreds of appointments to civil posi-
lions IN the Washington offices of the war de-
part1nent, and IN certain bureaus of the sury.
were made, during the recent war, without ref
eFehce TO the ctyil-Seryice rules, although the
nStS OF the commission contained several thou
SAND persons eligible for appointment, and with
III easy call; and, further, that the persons so
erwise Incompetent and unfit
Ihat changes in the consular service have been
more sweeping than at any previous time ex-
ceeding IT. number those made under the preced-
ing administration and amounting, in the salar-
lea grades, to a total of 237 out of 272 or near
~ ~ per cent of the whole; and that the system
Oh noh-coInpetltlYe examinations, established for
certain grades in the consular service has been
SO modified as TO be practically Ineffective
Ihe league also calls attention to the fact that
the pledge of the party in power in the ma
ever practicable" is yet to be redeemed with re-
gard to the assistant postmasters, the force of
the congressional Library, and the employees of
the census bureau.
1t is the profound conviction of the league that
the rule of outlying dependencies by the United
states would inevitably result in disaster and
disgrace to the nation if conducted upon the
plan OF spoils politics; and that success in such
an experiment would be impossible without the
stricteSt and most eXacting application of both
the spirit and method of the merit system