Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-05
Address of the National Civil Service
Reform League.
PRES. M'KINLEY'S ORDER CONDEMNED
The Law Not Thoroughly and Hon.
estiy Enforced.
GROUND MUST BE RECLAIMED

tlOnal civil Service reform League:
The National Civil Service Reform
League, after mature consideration, re-
CARDS the order of President Mckinley of
May 20, changing the civil service rules, as
backward step Of the most pronounced
character.
The order follows a long succession of
violations of both the spirit and the literal
terms of the law and rules, in various
branches of the service, and must be con-
sidered in it's relations to these.
Its immediate effects, which have been
understated, may be set forth as follows:
% 1t withdraws from the classified ser
vice not merely 1900 or 4 ,O00 offices and DO
sitions, but as nearly as can now be esti-
mated, 1O,109 1t removes 1888 from the
class of positions filled hitherto either
through competitive examination or through
an orderly practice of promotion, and it
transfers GAG other positions in the War
Department filled hitherto through a COM
petitive registration system, under the con-
troi of the civil service commission, to
system to be devised and placed in effect
by the present Secretary of War.
t2) 1t declares regular at least 900 addi-
tonal appointments made temporarily
without eXamlnation-in many cases in di-
rect disregard of the lawn branches that
are not affected by the exceptions but that
remain nominally competitive.
90 1t permits the permanent appointment
OF persons employed, without examination
LOT emergency purposes during the course
OF the war with Spain, thus furnishing a
standlnS list of many thousands from
which positions in the War Department
may be filled, without tests of fitness, for
a long time to come.
a. 1t alters the rules to the effect that in
future any person appointed with or with
out competitive examination or without
any an examination, may be placed by trans
N clio ii.,l
GARD to the character or similarity of the
empioyments interchanged, and after non
competitive examination only.
COZ 1t permits the reinstatement within
the discretion OF the respective deplrtrnent
o1hcer, of persons separated from tho ser
wee at any previous time for any stated
reason.
Serious Effect of the Changes.
The effect of these changes In the body of
the rules will be Of much more serious
nature than that of the absolute exceptions
made. 1t will be practicable to fill COMPETE
tive positions of every description either
through arbitrary reinstatement or through
original appointment to a lower grade or
to an excepted position without tests of any
sort, or even by transfer from the great
emergency force of the War Department.
to be followed in any such case by a mere
pass examination. AS general experience
mas proven, the, pass examinations in the
course OIL Tune, degenerate a lumSt inVaria-
bly, into farce. 1t will be practicable also
to restore to the service atsthe incoming of
each new administration those dismissed
for any cause during the period OF any ad-
mnistratiOn preceding. That snch q prac-
tice will lead to wholesale political reprisaIs
and, coupled with the other provisions re-
ferred to, to the re-establishment a large
scale of the spoils system Of rotation and
faVorltiSm cannot be doubted.
The republican party at its last national
convention embodied in its platform the fol-
lowing declaration and pledge:
The civil service law Was placed on the
statute book by the republican party which
has always sustained It, and we renew cur
repeated declarations that it shall be thor
oughly and honestly enforced and extended
wherever practicable"
Mr.. Mckinley in accepting the nomination
of the party for the presidency indorsed and
reaftirmed that pledge in these words
The pledge of the republican national
convention that our civil service laws shall
be sustained and thoroughly and honestly
enforced wherever practicable Is in keep
Ing with the position Of the party for the
past twcnty-four years and will be faithful
ly observed. Our opponents decry these re-
forms. They appear willing to abandon all
the advantages gained after so many years
agitation and effort They encourage a re-
turn to methods of party favoritiSm, which
both parties have often denounced, that
experience has condemned, and that the
people have repeatedly disapprovcd The
republican party earnestly opposes this re-
dictionary and entirely unjustifiable policy.
1t will take no backward step upon this
question. 1t will seek to improve, but never
degrade, the public service"
Law Not Thoroughly Enforced.
1t must be said though with profound re-
greet that the civil service law as it stood
at the date of the convention and at the
time of Mr. McKinley's election, has not
b=en Thoroughly and honestly enforced
that conspicuous opportunities that have
been offered for its extension ''whera prac-
ticable" have been rejected; and that final
ly, by the personal action of the President,
steps are taken that undo much of the pro-
gress made in the past and introduce a
spirit into the service the influence of which
can hardly fail TO produce general de-
moralZa ton.
To make plain the full significance of the
brief review of the past atti-
tude of the administration toward civil ser
vice reform is required.
Congress, by an act Of July last, exempt
ed from classified ton all clerks and others
TO be employed for the war emergency pur
poses. This action was based on msrepre
made on the hooE of the House
of Representatives respecting the resources
of the civil service commission. When il
was shown later that the commission was
to offer as many competent clerks
as might be required, at the shortest notice,
the mistake was not corrected. The Secre-
tary of War, though left free to choose the
method OF selection, failed to call on the
commission. Appointments for field ser
vice were made largely through the engi-
ncers, and were legitimately of the emer-
e ncy order. Those n ade by the Secretary
directly were not. Many hundreds of these
were made, without examination, to the ex-
clusion of candidates regularly qualified
and registered as such on the eligible lists
of the commission.
AT the succeeding session Of Congress the
census bill was passed with positive pro-
vision that the great force of clerks and
to be appointed should be Sc
lacted by the director without competitive
examination II he SO chose, and without the
participation of the civil service commits
sion in any sense. This action had been
preceded by public discussion of the SUBJ
ject and in the course of this il had been
shown. in part by the statements of pre-
vious directors, that the census of 1890 had
been rendered extravagantly costly and i'm
perfect in consequence of the rejection of
the competitive plan in organizing the
bureau at that time. At the height of this
discussion the President, in sending his an
nual message to Congress, urged the pas
sage of the bill, but failed to recommend
the application of the competitive merit
rules IN the manner that had been pro-
posed. Thus the second opportunity to ex-
tend the system WHARF, plainly practicable
was put aside. Neither have other extern
slons, that might be effected by independ-