The times., 1899-01-07

whose bed is now assembled the sympathy
Of the country, have both declared that
they should not have supported the law
had they dreamed how it would be ex-
/ tended.
Mr.. Grosvenor went on to declare that
the present system was corrupting the
country to an extent few dreamed of.
He called attention to the hundreds of
| bills that for years had been annually in
troduced and to the score of bills now
pending in committee without one being
ever reported. Why did not the Commit
tee on Civil Service report some bill and
give the House a chance TO express its
will? No chance had been given for six
teen years.
Questions from Mr.. Hopkins of Illinois
elected the fact that the Evans civil SER
vice reform bill had been considered in
the Civil Service Committee and that re-
port would have been made had not the
bill failed to secure the powerful support
of the gentleman from Missouri tMr.
Dockery).
Mr. Grosvenor continued. stating posi-
lively that the Attorney General of the
United States had rendered an opinion that
the civil service commission had no power
TO regulate clerkships in the Government
Printing Office. Il was a serious question
whether the civil service law was not un
constitutional. Today, he added scores
and hundreds of worthless men We're ear
ried on the rolls of the depaTtments-a ver-
table civil pension Est.
After some argument Mr.. Bingham
moved that debate should be closed at 5
o'clock.
Mr.. Moody again took up the argument.
He asserted that clerks could only be ap-
pointed through the civil service ma
chinery. If Congress should strike down
the commission, who would appoint the
clerks and what would become of the Gov
ernment service?
Mr.. Hepburn replied that in that case
the President would rescind the civil SER
vice extensions and that things would go
on far better than now. Continuing. Mr..
Hepburn took Mr.. Dockery TO task for ask
ing Congress TO deal with the subject in
manly way-by acting on bill reported
from the Civil Service Committee. Mr..
Dockery, a member of that committee.
when appealed to recently by himself to
appear at a committee meeting and to vote
to report the Evans bill, had refused to do
so, preferring lin a manly way" to let the
Republicans get out of the hole they were
in as best they might.
Mr. Dockery Joined freely in the sslgh-
ter and applause that followed this sally
Mr. Hopkins of Illinois said that the
arguments offered for the amendment on
the ground that no other opportunity for
action could be had, were pure fiction.
There were several methods by which bills
could be taken away from a committee and
acted upon if the majority of the House
wished to.
Mr.. Sims of Tennessee and Brown of Ohio
spoke briefly.
MIR. Brosius Of Pennsylvania, Chairman
of the Committee on Reform in the Civil
Service, said that the committee had too
great regard for wise and economical
administration Of the Government to re-
port any bill to Congress. He admitted
that for sixt 'en years no bill had been re-
ported. was due to the fact that the
Speake' lad always been careful to select
only friends cf the law for the committee
Mr. Marsh OF Illinois said that he con-
sidered the law rs disgrace to repub-
lican form of government, and would vote
fer the amendment, not in the hope of ac-
complishing anything at once, but in the
hope that healthy public sentiment might
in time be fostered so that it would strike
down the law.
Representatives Fleming of Georgia, Ma
hany of New York and Henderson of Iowa
spoke against the amendment. Mr.. Hen
derson said that he had always favored