The times., 1899-03-21
NOT A RA1LKR.
President Proctor VIII Not Have u
Controversy With Grosvenor.

President Proctor VIII Not Have n
Controversy with Grosvenor-
Hon John R. Proctor, President OF the
Civil Service Commission. said yesterday
that he did not care to enter into eontro-
versy with Representative Grosvenor OF
Ohio. who has been quoted as saying thst
the President OF the Civil Serv.cs Commits
sion rallied at Congress fer not putting
the Census Bureau under the Civil Services
law. but Mr. Proctor thought II appropriate
ly. himself
Mr.. Proctor did not consider that he had
rallied at Congress. nor had he crit c-s. d
the Census Bureau. but. on the contrary
ne hoped to see good census taken AMI
had expressed himself in such a way every
time he had been approached on the sub
Jeet. He had always been an ca nest ad-
vocate OF the doctrine OF civil ssrviSe, but
did not consider that criticism OF Con-
gress. as civil service was one of the ac-
eepted doctrines of both political part cs.
and was one of the plenks in the last Re
publican platform. of which dScums Mt Mr.
Grosyeror had publicly been an enthusiast
tic supporter in its entirety
Taking up the question Of the Bureau OF
Engraying and Printing. the fau Is in
/ which Mr.. Grosvenor had lad at the door
L.
said:
| Il wish to call attention to the fact that
the Bureau OF Engraving and Printing a.
now conducted should not be compared
with the Census or any other Office. as t
can be easily compared with the wo.k of
! that same bureau before 1t was brought
into the classified service. Fortunately,
F, We have two reports showing the condition
\ prior to classification and since classihca-
tnr1 -.
the Graves Commission appointed by Sec
retary OF the Treasury Sherman made re-
port as to the condition of the bureau in
1877. from which the following are ex-
| tracts:
| The total decrease Is equal to about 80 per cent
OF the force as it existed April /, and resniti
in saving to the Treasury OF about $4,000 pet
| annum. Il is now apparent, however. that not
withstanding these large reductions. the force Is
stu considerably in excess OF the requirements Of
the bureau.
vicious circle Appropriations have been secured
| by making appointments for Congrcssmen, with
out regard to the fitness the sppoin;ees or tka
! necessities OF the work; and when secured they
have been expended in such manner to retain
the good will Of these already friendly or to Sc
/ cure that of Others Moreover, the bureau has
been made to subserve to great extent the pur-
4 pose OF an almshouse asylum
| We cannot condemn too strongly the system OF
| patronage. which is chiefly responsible Tor tho
| extravaganza and irregularities that have here
totore marked the management Of the bureau.
and which, 1t IS safe 10 say. has cost the people
| millions Of dollars in this branch OF the service
alone.-(Report Of Specia. Committee Of Inves-
tigation appointed by the Secretary Of the TREAS
ury June 10, 1877.
"A recent committee of exp=rts appoint
ed by Secretary of the Treasury Gage has
a int &t<1
OF the bureau, from which the following 8
| extracted:
We glad to be able to report that in tie
! main we have found the bureau to be in good
| condition. The administration OF the present Di-
| rector has been Efficient. and. with the exeep-
noiis which viii be stated. has been economical
and satisfactory, rs far as We have discovered.
We do not at this time recommend any change
in the general plan of organization
''The following is from statement Of
! the chief of the bureau. showing the pre5-
ent cost of work:
From the annual reports it will be seen that
| the average cost per loo sheets in 1895 WAS
| S25.35. The next year. 1891, it was s23.73. In
| 1855 it was 5000; in 1895 it was sl7.27 and in
1897 il has reached the phenornenaily low figure
OF sl6.ss, showing that notwithstanding that the
Government is generous enough to allow thirty
! days leave Of absence to its employees with pay
| like product manufactured by any private cor
poration in this country. A decrease TO this ex-
tent in the cost per 1000 sheets where there are
so many millions of sheets produced, represents
| an immense saving to the Government and estlb-
fishes standard Of cost for all future operations
OF the bureau which continue to-Eesat in
large annual savings In fact, the bureau il now
| upon business basis and Is being operated in
strict accordance with well established business
| methods.
1T will thus be seen that undzr the old
system there was an increase in cost, but
under the present management there is
decrease in cost each year. 1t is also
worthy of note that certain charges have
been made against employees OF the Bureau
| OF Engraving and Printing. In each IN
stance the employees against whom charges
| were made are persons appointed by the
system which Mr.. Grosvenor advocates.
| having been appointed to places viii h
were at that time excepted from examina-
| ton. in no instances have charges been
made against persons appointed through
| examination"