The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-12-15

taking of the new census. which is under
the spoils system. There are under the
census director. appointed by this admins
%tration. $500 clerks to be employed. and
they. as well as the rest of the force, are
TO be appointed on the direct nomination
by congressman. What kim of material is
furnished by such nominations appears
from a recent complaint Of the census d.
rector. reported in the press: They can
not spell. and they cannot do ordinary
arithmetic. Fifty per cent. fail, and they
fail because they cannot divide 100000 by
4,O3S; that Is, they cannot get a correct re-
suit" And such men are urged for APP
pointment by political influence. They
would never have dared to apply under a
competitive system. The pass examina-
tons instituted by the director will, as
they always do, serve not to secure the Sc
lection of the ittest persons, but only to
eliminate the most incapable. This is COM
mon experience"
HIS OWN EXPERIENCE.
Mr.. Schurz then devoted considerable time
to argume in dispute of the claim of the
defenders of the Presidents order Of May
%, that it not only was not designed TO
be a backward step, but that it was only
better to regulate the reformed service.
and TO insure the permanency of the prog
ress hitherto made He offered various IL
Illustrations to prove his points. In regard
to what the administration spokesman have
said as to the peculiar fiduciary relations
existing between the collectors of internal
revenue and their deputies, about the re-
sponsibiiity of the collectors for the acts
of their subordinates, he declares that
there are few positions above the lowest
clerkships TO which this argument may
not be more or less applied, and TO which
the spoilsmen do not apply it. In support
of this assertion he offers this recital Of
personal experience:
when. years ago, / became secretary of
the interior, / thought 1t best not to take
a single person with me into the depart
ment, not even a private and confidential
secretary. The private secretary L selected
from among the force already in the de-
partment. 1 soon found a man of excellent
capacity, entire trustworthiness and good
manners, who at the same time had the
important advantage of being already ac-
quainted with departmental affairs. So
much for the peculiarly confidential po-
sition. Now, when looking at the papers
put before me for my signature-papers of
Importance which / could not possibly study
in detail-I felt myself as to the discharge
or very grave responsibilities-much graver
than those of an internal revenue collector
to an appalling extent at the mercy of
my subordinates. It the same time 1
was set upon by senators and representa-
tives and other political magnates, who
urgently asked me to fill existing vacan-
cies, or vacancies to be made by removals.
with men whom they to
me for appointment. Most of them de-
manded places for their favorites for rea-
sens which had nothing to do with the
public interest. Some told me that in my
responsible position / must have subor-
dinates whom 1 could trust, and they
were ready TO furnish me just such men.
1 heard them all and concluded that the
public interest would be best served If the
vacant places in my department-iduciary
as well as others-were filled on the prin-
ciples Of the merit system, and / attempted
the introduction of that system in the
\ dpnar of course &C I
had no appropriation for the purpose. and
only an improvised and constantly chang
ing machinery, depending on clerks whose
time was temporarily not fully employed,
or who were willing to work after office
hours. / carried this on for four years
against the bitterest opposition of the
patronage mongers high and low, and I
learned thus from actual practice on that
field of very complicated duties and heavy
responsibilities quite thoroughly to appre-
ciate the practical value of the merit sys-
also the true nature of the difficulties
standing in the way of a full development
of that system.
ANSWERING THE SPOILSMEN.
In continuation he said: Now, when in
discussing this matter anybody INDUCES in
solemn hints about mysterious things
which the official mind has to deal with,
but which the unofficial mind cannot I'M
derstand, he cannot make any impression
upon me. / am familiar with the ,augur's
wink and with the smiles that follow it. 1t
is equally useless to talk to ms about
fduciary or confidential positions which
should be filled only at the free discretion
of the appointing officer, for l know from
abundant experience that in an overwhelm-
ing majority Of cases that free discretion
is a myth and that the fiduciary appoint
ments are dictated by political influence,
and 1 know. also, that In a well-regulated
civil service with merit appointment, merit
promotion and merit tenure. all those So
called extraordinary qualifications for GER
tain positions can easily be secured with
out exposing any of the places to the
chance OF becoming the prey of spoils poll
tics.
In fact, after four years service I left
the Interior Department with the firm con-
viction that the positions in it, and no
doubt in all the other departments. would,
taking the general average, be vastly bet
ter filled and that the work would be much
more efficiently and economically done-in
one word, that the public interest would be
much better served II the whole force in
and under those departments, without any
exception worth mentioning, were subject
ed to the civil-service rules. including even.
II that were possible, the commissioners
and assistant commissioners of the differ
ent bureaus. and in each department 1T
least one permanent under secretary. And
the same four years official service con-
WINGED me that there is only one real diff
Guilty obstructing the full development Of
the merit system in our public service-and
that is the pressure of political influence
for patronage and the lack of resisting
power among appointing officers TO stand
firm against that pressure. Take away
that one difficulty and all your troubles
about needed extraordinary qualihca-
tons that cannot be demonstrated by ex-
animation, and about 'fduciary Positions
and about distances making the application
of the merit system impracticable, and so
on. will at once vanish into nothing. And
1t Is the most baneful feature of the Pres
ident's order of May "a that it so seriously
increase that difficulty by strengthening
the belief of the spells hunters and patron
age monger that neither the pledge of q
great party to enforce the civil-service law
honestly and thoroughly, and to extend 1t
wherever practicable nor a Presidents
solemn promise that there shall be no
backward STEP, will hold out against the
pressure of political influence If that pres
sure be only persevering and defiant"
WHAT HE WOULD DO.
Mr.. Schurz also made this further allu-
sion to his personal experience:
Having served six years in the United
| States Senate, where, at the beginning at
least III was soon cured) l thought | had to
do some patronage business myself, and
where 1 learned pretty thoroughly how
that business is usually done by members
of Congress, and having been four years at
the head of a great government depart
ment, where / learned still more, and hav-
ing been for seventeen years a more or
less active member of an association con-
sidering it its especial duty to study the