The Portland daily press., 1898-01-27
|IS BADLY DEMORALIZED.
Civil Service Commission Affairs
Tepsy Turvy.
SENSATIONAL TESTIMONY BEFORE
SENATE COMMITTEE.

SENSATIONAL TESTIMONY BEFORE
SENATE COMMITTEE.
Business Said to be In Greatest Confusion
For Lack of Intelligent Management-
Hundreds of Appointments Made With
ont Attention Being Paid to Rules.
Washington, January 25.-E. D. Bailey
chief clerk of the examiners Office, civil
service commission, and for many years
connected with that body, frequently
acting as chief examiner, submitted some
sensational testimony at today's session
of the Senate civil service investigating
committee. 1t WAS sequel to the charges
he made Monday of the intimidation and
Interference of the commission with his
testimony. He called attention to the
bitter attack made on him then by Presi-
dent Proctor, of the commission. In a
letter which he made public at the in
stance Of the committee, addressed to
Theodore Roosevelt, then New York
police commissioner, now assistant secre-
tary of the navy, the commission WAS
severely criticised.
In an accompanying personal letter he
expressed the hope that in any reorganiza-
tion the PRESIDENT might deem desirable
to make, Mr.. Proctor might be retained
in his position. This communication
making startling charges, and which
created sensation, follows in brief:
EThe business of the commission is in
the greatest confusiond and Is becoming
more and more dsmoralized for want Of
intelligent management.
Regulations remain unacted on for
months and many complaints are made
by the departments Of delays and annoy
ances detrimental to the service. In such
cases temporary appointments were au-
thorized, and after several days made per-
manent, although no rule exists permit
ting such actions. These reQuisitions
probably cover several hundred places, In
one batch of which appointments in the
marine hospital service were reported, for
which no authority existed and the only
excuse was the failure Of the commission
to provide registers. The navy depart
ment recently appointed fifteen steel in
spectors without examination or certifica-
ton by the commission and the depart
ment has requested the commission to
make the appointments regular by issuing
4SO ssCutOA OI ptlS LttS y SU
been taken. The engineer service at large
has made acquisitions to fill hundreds of
places and no provision has yet been
made to meot the demands. A number of
appointments in the sub-treasury at New
York have been made since the classifica-
ton without examination. No attempt
hiss been made to meet the needs of the
ordnance department and irregularities
and questionable appointments have been
so numerous that the rules have almost
lost their force and the alleged law of
necessity Is regnant and want of uni
fornity exists in all the business OF the
commission and the greatest uncertainty
prevails. The subordinates cannot do
their work with confidence because all
precedents. practices and principles are
abandoned and new ones substituted.
''No reliable policy or line of action ex
lists which can be relied on and contra
dictory action is frequent. The force OF
the commission has lost confidence in the
ability Of the management and can do no
more than to maintain existing condi-
tions and await inevitable changes. The
action take by the commission lacks con-
tinuity and the minutes of one Gay con-
tradict those of another day. Action Is
taken, then amended, then revoked.
Under the recent administration four Of
the five officers of the commission were
changed, bringing in new men, who
lacked even the advantage of experience
In the departmental service, some whose
views were unfavorable to the civil SER
vice law and rules, with theories little
less than hostile, and their inexperience
and unfamiliarity proved disastrous.
They adopted rules to classify in one
lump, 80, 900 new offices and utterly
failed to provide to meet these needs.
The present condition Is thoroughly
alarmingly. Disaster can be averted only
- ;o+a rar,,o6u and phAnnnG r, fba
officer, should be made at once, not for
political reasons, but in the interest of
the service"
b Mr.. Proctor asked if Mr.. Bailey had not
sent copies Of this communication to GER
tain Senators.
The witness replied that his wife was
SO far as he knew, the only other person,
who knew of It's existence. About that
time our friends asked to have the Presi-
dent appoint you civil service commits
sioner?''
"AIl 1 know is that the papers said that
Representative Walker of Worcester,
Mass, where 1 came from, had presented
my name to the President.
President Proctor of the commission,
then took the stand, and at the outset
sought to show that the sweeping ex-
Jansion of the classification of May 9,
1896, was not, as had been alleged, "a
leap in the dark so far as being equipped
for the changed conditions was concerned.
President Proctor made q statement to
the committee regarding the charges that
he and the commission had sought to in
timidate Witness Bailey. What Chief Ex
aminer Serven had said to Mr. Bailey had
no reference to his testimony, but was in
line with instructions that had several
times been given that while Mr.. Seryen
was in the oity papers from his office
must not be sent down to the commits
sioners without signature. Despite these
orders given several times in the past
year, papers had come down from Mr..
Bailey. Whatever MIR. Serven said was in
response to Mr.. Bailey's questions. lie
thought the criticisms were not pertinent.
as Mir. Bailey saw only the minutes and
not the correspondence and other infor,
nation. Senator Pritchard then stated
that the fact that Mr.. Bailey was a wit
ness Justified him in making any sug-
gestions at the instance Of the commits
sion.