New-York tribune., 1901-04-16
MERIT SYSTEMS PROGRESS
MANY GAINS FOR CIVIL SERVICE RE-
FORM IN THE LAST TEN YEARS
SAYS WILLIAM DUDLEY FOULkE.
LEY TELEGRAPH TO TIE TEIBUNE.l ]

the meeting of the National Civil Service reform
League and charged to investigate the operations
of the merit appointment system In the last yeai'
asked to-day what progress Civil Service re-
form had made in the ten years since he was last
Washington with similar commission
We have made good many gains during theSe
years." replied Mr. Foulke. 1T was during
Harrison's administration that I here before
and had good many criticisms to make OF tiie
shortcomings of that administration. Yet Harrisoi
made very important inclusion shortly before he
went out of office in the free delivery postohces
just as Cleveland had included the Railway Man
Service before he went out. All OF our gains hau
been legacies from departing administrations Ihey
preferred to give the places by will rather IMAM
by deed The Carnegie of Civil Service reform mas
not come. Cleveland during his last term mace
that blanket order of which many Repupicail'
complained so much. some of them even saying that
he did ii give trouble to MS successor pul '''
was not fair to Cleveland. The order was MADE d
good while before the elections. He was not d
candidate. and I do not think he was especiahy
anxious protect the Democrats who were thei
in office simply because they were Democrats
have no doubt it was his genuine desire TO promote
the merit system which led to the order nave d
strong impression that when he went out or @ulce
the places in the classified service were pretty
! evenly divided between the two parties tiiiiih
even more would have been done during CleVefthu
administration by Postmaster-General Wilson 10
classify the fourth class postofices by making the
branches of large offices if Congress had NOT stooo
in the way Congress is often reluctant to give up
its own patronage, and nothing can better show no"
that patronage is abused than the report OF 'ie
committee of the House in regard TO its own eni-
ploves where it shown that men were paiu
who did nothing, and others who did the work wete
compeIed to divide their salaries with poiticai
favorites and generally the utmost CONFUSION anu
neffciency prevailed. -. 81
What do you think has been gained or 1851 ~
Civil Service in the present administrators
PRESIDENT M'KINLEY'S ORDERS.
"A great many Civil Service reformers have peeh
very blue saving that have gone back ions
way since Mckinley became President out I'm
myself that have gained quite as inuch as "
have lost. The great cause of complaint Is saiu ~
he rho Presidents order of May, 1899. 1t was
claimed at the time that more than ten .hooSd
places had been taken out of the classileo 'eiV
by that order Recent developments snow ho"
ever that the number is not so large. ABOUT ti
tv-four hundred places were excepted from exami-
nation by that order in addition TO about hVe nun
dred by the OF July. 1897, which makes ioou'
four thousand places in all In addition TO TINS d
good many places in the outside service Oh t'e
War DEPARTMENT which under system OF
registration controlled by the Civil Service Coi'i-
! mission taken away from the COMMISSION anu
were to be put under system OF registration
be provided by the department itself GeIlefdi
Alyer was Secretary of War at the time and the
Civil Service reformers did not believe that they
were likely to get very efficient system OF regis
tration under his administration; put MI hoot
came shortly after the order was issued and ne
is a supporter OF the merit system SO that these
places generally thrown back into pat
ronage at all. Moreover. the number OF places thus
removed from the classified service was not nearly
] so large as supposed. II was then considered
that there were about sxty-ive hundred of these
places. but believe that is twice as much as the
actual figures. Besides, have the best OF hopes
that the bulk these places will shortly be re
stored 10 the classified system and. II SO, the loss
TO the classified service by the order OF May, lSs9
instead OF being thousand places. VIII not De
half that number.
II think that the relaxation OF some OF the Civil
-t1las and he
hear of are much more important matters than
the number OF places excepted For instance there
! Is q rule which allows transfer from one branch
! of the service to another upon a mere pass ex-
| animation. This rule greatly abused by per-
| interested in evading the law. When small
postottce about to become free delivery Of
fee II sometimes stocked with employees
sent out for the purpose of becoming classified
, without taking competitive examinations. and I'M
mediateiy after classification those appointed would
De transferred to OF the larger postoftces. or
| perhaps to one of the departments here. Such
plan. II followed out everywhere. would upset the
matter was brought to the personal attention OF
are no longer made. We are in hopes that modi-
| fication Of the rules will be adopted preventing
them permanently for the future.
WHERE ABUSES MAY CREEP IN
| THE rule allowing reinstatements without any
| time limit, where employees have been dismissed
upon charges believed to be untrue. is subject TO
| great abuses. 1t is said that men are sometimes
of Engraving and Printing. without much investi-
CATION as 10 the previous charges. II Democrats
are replaced by Republicans in this way W. Re-
publicans may be replaced by Democrats hereafter.
Then again there are too many temporary ap-
| are said to be performing classified work and who
| get In without examination. This is OF the
| subjects our committee is to investigate We also
| expect 10 examine into the cases of political
| sessment levied upon employees contrary to law
| and TO other forms of political coercion well
the beha r of of the Offices for
pear, also. to be cases OF frauds in examination
| ana II seems important that the President should
make an example OF some of these On the
| during the present administration The miserable
| system of removing employees upon trumped-
charges which they were allowed neither to see
nor TO answer is mostly obsolete The efforts made
in Congress to cripple the law have been success
to some of the credit for this The last session OF
Congress was the first one where the House of
f faeplesehtatxes % da % NOT 80 through the annual
Commission in Committee of the Whole before it
noes. The reform has undoubtedly gained in pub
lie esteem. Even in the matter Of political assess
ments the government employees are not nearly
much subject TO coercion as they used to be.
GAINS IN NEW POSSESSIONS
But the most important gains OF all have been
those in our new insular territory. The competi-
tive system has been extended to the Federal SER
vice in all Of this territory and in the Philip
pine Islands the best Civil Service law
has been enacted by the Philippine Commission
More than this. its administration will be under
the control of Judge Taft and his associates so
BILE that the law will be enforced in letter and
spirit Numerically, this gain may not be very
promise of the best possible government for our
new possessions. Practically all the places. from
tons, will be under the merit system. and 1 have
idea that when the excellent results of that
denotes this will react upon beneficialIy
home. and that; as the refom of the Civil Service
Toe RTitn in hau with I,alo iva