The evening times., 1899-07-12
Gnre the SnOilSman.

The letter addressed TO Secretary Gage,
by Mr. George MeAneny, Secretary OF the
National Civil Service Reform League, a
summary of which is printed in The Times.
will not be pleasant reading for Mr.. Nc
Rinley's minister of finance, unless that
gentleman has taken the preeaution 10
clothe himself in the moral rhinoceros hide
Of an AIger When Mr.. Gage was short
sighted enough not to content himself with
the political patronage presented TO him In
the Presidents startling decree OF return
10 the spoils system, and rushed TO the
public defence of his chiefs action, assert
ing il to be altogether virtuous and con-
sistent with the highest conceptions OF
true civil service reform, he made a serious
mistake, the penalty for which he is now
undergoing. As The Times suggested to
him at the outset, he did not know when
he was well off, but went about like
roaring lion, hunting for trouble. He has
succeeded in finding it.
Mr. McAneny reminds Mr.. Gage that,
when the latter took Office, he announced
that the civil service law would be upheld
by every means in his power. That law In
cluded deputy collectors of internal rev.
enue in the classified service. In very
short time Mr.. Gage began to make sweep
ing changes in the revenue service, and
appointments were made in defiance of the
law For twenty months prior to the is
suance of Mr.. McKinley's spoils order, dep
uty collectors had been treated by the de-
partment as entirely outside OF the classi-
fed list. Of course illegally.
Through disingenuous representations
made in behalf of Mr.. Gage, by Mr.. Can
non. Chairman of the House Appropria-
lions Committee, Congress was induced to
allow temporary emergency appointments
in the Treasury Department, under the
Urgent Deficiency bill. Mr.. Cannon as
serted that only few would be made, and
that they would only represent what it was
at the time impracticable 10 secure under
the merit system. Yet, as Mr.. McAneny
shows, at that very time there were 6,S34
persons on the eligible list for the Secreta-
ry of the Treasury to draw from. The
complete array of facts presented by the
Secretary OF the National Civil Service Re-
form League will satisfy the country of
the disregard for law, party and personal
pledges, and for public sentiment which
animated the Administration in abandon
ing the merit system and once more throw
ing open the Governmental service to the
worst forms of political favoritism and
corruption. During the war but few ap-
pointments were made by Mr.. Gage under
competitive examination, while his de-
paTtment is filed with political favorites.
The conditions We're bad enough before the
appearance of the spoils order; they have
become more hagrant since. One Of his as
sistant secretaries secured a place for a
son, presumably a person who could not
have passed a civil service examination
That was ninety days ago. In the interval
the young man has been promoted once,
and later has received a considerable in
crease OF pay. This is not a solitary in
stance, by any means. We are constantly
hearing of similar abuses of authority in
the way of nepotism and concessions TO
political influence.
1t was a cold day for Mr.. Gage when he
took his facile but telltale pen in hand
to indite a few lines in apology for the
President