Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-09
NO BACKWARD STEP
Secretary Gage Defends the Presi-
dents Civil Service Order
ITS PROVISIONS NOT UNDERSTOOD
Regards It as a Benefit to the
Merit System.
INTERPRETING IT'S CLAUSES

INTERPRETING IT'S CLAUSES
Secretary Gage today gave to repre-
| 81 nta:ive of The S.ar his views as To tho
| Presidents recent civil servic.. order. Sec
| rcjary Gage said:
Il have already indulEed in a brief state
| men; of explanation concerning the late
| amondemcnts to the civil service rules, but
the persistent statements In the press,
| showing entle misaprreheUsion OF the
| truth, or a wfuI pervtrsion of It, may
| justify more particulars. If 1t be impossible
| to convince the Opposition press or change
the conclusion of those who render their
| verdict before looking at the evidence. it
may throw light upon the minds of thought
| ful people who desire only 10 reach the
| truth.
Two Classes OF Critics.
The recent executive ord,r. making
| changes in the civil service rules is being
| condemned b. TWO classes of critics one
| c,asS is composed of those who malictously
| m!sicpTesent Inc changes which have been
| made, who make false in.erpIo,.s IONS. hav-
| ing basis only in their VISA in iiud some
| thing in ia" action uf the President to con-
Gtinn. and who bcIat" thc a lmiuiSjration
| Tor acts no; done and never concentrated.
| on the o.her hand. jh.r, are some honest
| critics who haN" failed rightly Go analyze
| ihe changes made and who dp NO: clearly
| comprehend ell he pyac,scal Questions oG
administration, and .E,y have honestly be-
| leN,d thi1 backward sep has been taken
| with Jhr n-e-t s--s.en.
IL is UnfoTtUTa., for the cal.-, Of civil
! service reform ma, such AN advocate Of the
! extension of he merit system as the Ma
| tiuhal CIVIL rvce Reform League ought
| 20 b. should array itself Sgu@rrly among
|
| able misrepresentation and 10y missrate-
| menlS. having no foundation unless II he
| tho wish Of tGr NrilDTS 10 prt>,.Gi - S.jua-
| ton that could toe criticised. has SCI itself
quite outside Of the list of careful and hon
| est critics.
| The Reform Leagues address.
| The Civil Service Reform League has is
| sued an address to the public containing an
| Indictment of five brief counts. and col
| umn of invective, and in neither the in
| dictment nor the general criticism IS there
| Intelligent comprehension of the question
displayed. In this indictment they say for
| instance, that the new order permits the
| permanent employment of persons employ
ed without examination for emergency pur-
| poses during the course Of the war with
| Spain, thus furnishing a standing list of
| many thousands from which positions may
| be flied without tests of fitness,
| This is serious charga to bring against
| the President of the United States, and If
| it We're true, it might offer ground Tor the
| belief that this executive order had been
| framed with I viaw 10 providing places for
| political friends of the administration.
| Criticism of such step this falls, how
| ever. in vie~ cf the fact that the statement
| OF the league is absolutely false There is
| nothing in the order suggesting such a
| statement. The President revcr contem-
| plated making such q provision for bring
| ing into the classified service the temporary
| employees.
| Temporary Appointments.
The thing which the President has done
| is to permit the h ads of departments 10
| make permanent such temporary appoint
ments in the classified service heretofore
| made with the sanction of the civil service
| commission, and because the commission
| had been unable or has neglected to fur
| nish an eligible register from which ap-
| pointments could be ma de. There have been
| instances whare such temporary appoint
monts have been renewed from month TO
| month for from two to three years with
out any effective movement on the part Of
| the commission To supply the proper list "f
eligib!es from which to fill the places. The
recommendation to make permanent these
! temporary appointees, in the discretion OF
the department heads, originated with the
Treasury Department, and l speak wiki ab-
| solute knowledge when say that II oriSi-
mated solely in a desire for practical com
| nonsense administration, and not at the
| request of any seekor for places. Had the
bles, there would have been no occasion for
| such rule. and its application is confined
| solely to these cases that have marked the
commissions neglect or inability.
The statement which the Civil Service
| League makes. that these temporary ap-
| pointments have bean made without
| animation is untrue. 1t has been the rule
in the Treasury Department to make no
temporary appointments without a careful
| test of the fitness of the candidate.
An UntruthfuI Charge.
This Indictment by the Civil Service Re-
| form League declares that the rules have
been altered that in the future, per-
sons appointed with or without competitive
| examination, or without any examination,
may be placed by transfer in any classified
position, without regard to the character or
similarly of the cmployments inter
changed This is another untruthful state
ment, made without any regard 10 the
business or the accuracy of the charges
made. The one change which has been
made in the rules governing transfers has
been the dropping of part of the last sem
tence of that rule il long stood-the
clause 'or if in said position there is not
required, in the judgment of the commits
sion, the performance of the same class
of work the practice of the same me-
chanical trade performed practiced in
the position from which transfer is pro-
posed With that clause in force, the rule
of transfers stood as an absolute bar, both
to mobility in the service and the develop
ment OF employees except along a single
line. Entrance into the classified service
was entrance into a caste and there could
be lao change no matter what abilities the
person might evolve, no matter what needs
the service might develop, it, I'm the judg-
nnent of the commission there was not
required the performance of the same class
of work. or the practice OF the same me-
chanical trade. What business institution
would make a rule which said Once start
ed in this service, you shall develop along
only the one line in which you begin? If
you start to work with your hands you may
never hope to work with your head. You
have elected to put yourself in a caste, and
no matter what our business may require,
or what your development may demon
strate, neither the wishes OF employe nor
employer can change you from that caste
All the Safeguards of Examination.
There are still all the safeguards of ex-
animation. The rule clearly says that
transfers shall not be made without ex-
animation provided by the commission to a
position for original entrance to which, In
fhe Judgment of the commission there ia