The Minneapolis journal., 1901-10-04
PIGEON-HOLE UNUSED
No More Will It Be the Receptacle
of Complaints.
ARE RADICAL CHANGES CoMING9
What Seems Likely to Be Done
in the Way of New
Rules.

Washington Oct. 4.-Ine IacL tndI
President Roosevelt had in less exalted
offices, so much to do with procuring the
enactment of the New York civil law and
the enforcement Of the federal one. has
led to many wild prophecies of what he
will do with respect to the civil service
from his present vantage ground. He has
taken no accession to announce his policy
except in the most general terms, but 1t
will not be difficult to forecast it from the
signs visible everywhere.
At the outset, it may be asserted that ne
will embrace every opportunity to
strengthen the personnel and encourage
the work of the civil service commission
Complaint by the commission Of the vio-
Iations Of the law and rules in the execu-
tive departments will not be pigeon -holed,
but will be made the subject Of direct
inquiry by the president The member
of the cabinet involved will be asked to
set forth the departments side Of the case;
and then the matter will be settled by the
president on it's merits. If the trouble
lies with the weakness of a rule, an exc
cutive order correcting the defect will be
issued without needless delay; If it lies
in deliberate maladministration, the
functionary Immediately responsible will
be dismissed or disciplined if the only
fault is laxity, the careless party will be
promptly 'jacked up" and warned not to
let the offense be repeated.
O,,Iu N NUaS+a Of Time
1t will probably be a waste Of time for
persons with grievances to carry them to
the president direct. The civil service
commission was created for the purpose
of dealing with such matters, and any
thing which takes the short cut to the
White House will simply be referred by
endorsement to the commission for in
vestigation and report. No one need fear
lest substantial justice will not be done in
these cases. the commissions investiga-
sitting the good from the bad, the importa-
ant cases from those which are compara-
lively trivial and easily mended. Mr..
Roosevelt is no blind idolator of the pres
ent system, but he regards it as the best
W
best we ever shall get; it has the sanction
Of law which makes him it's executor,
and as long as he holds that relation the
law will be executed as he understands it.
Nor does he expect from his subordinates
closer APPROACH to perfection than hu-
man nature is capable of. Mistakes will
be made, and due allowance will be >~veS
them; but the mistakes must be honest,
and not mere disguises for evasion. The
%,ta1 two, in nfE ~
dent once finds him out, will walk the
plank, even If he can bring the archangel
Gabriel to intercede for him. This is a
warning which some of the elect would do
well to write out in large black letters
and paste in their hats at the beginning
of the administration.
VIII He Make Changes.
Will President Roosevelt make radical
changes in the existing rules? That will
depend upon the way the present rules
work out in practice, and each feature
will be considered strictly by itself The
prophets who have depicted Mr. Roose-
welt as standing forever by the version
of the rules promulgates on May 20, 1899,
simply because they were ordered by
President Mckinley, are as far off the
logical track as those who have assumed
that as a civil service reformer, he
arm, all that his predecessor did at that
time. If experience shows that any
amendment of 1899 has wrought an injury
to the public service, it would be paying
poor compliment to the memory of Mr..
Mckinley for Mr.. Roosevelt to keep it
on the book. The right as we'll as the
graceful thing would be to change it
again. on the ground that if Mr.. Mckinley
had lived and been faced with, the same
facts, he would have acted the manly part
and done just this.
The general principles here enunciated
will apply by analogy to civil service
matters beyond the scope Of the law Of
1888. The politicians here have been ar
guing themselves hoarse, for instance,
over the policy to be pursued in regard to
the New York federal Offices. Unless
something happens which cannot be fore
seen, not only will there be no announce
ment of the presidents intention regard
ing these places till congress meets. but
his own mind will not be finally made up
till then. Why? Because Mr. Roosevelt
will not wish to say "yes'' or mo- now
and draw it back later, and discoveries
may be made to the credit or discredit of
each officers merit account before De-
cember, of Importance enough to change
the balance from one page to the other.
Collector BidweIPs Case.
Take the case of Collector Bidwell. for
an example. A statement was made the
other day in the newspapers, ION compe-
tent authority" that the collector would
surely be reappointed. 1t would not be
difficult to guess who furnished the COM
| petitent authority and it may be said
absolutely that it was not the president.
J The statement was put forth from a.
worthy source, for the distinct purpose
of counteracting report which had
gained circulation in New York that the
| collector may not be reappointed, if
he is found guilty of official misconduct"
This was like saying that two and two
will always make four, unless they can
be shown to make higher or lower num-
ber than four" but the phrase used was
unfortunate in its order OF words.
The truth will doubtless be found to be
that President Mckinley had received and
considered many charges against the col
lector and dismissed them all as ground
less or trivial, and that, as he had re-
solved to reappoint the collector, the re-
| appointment will still be made, unless
Gonna new accusation mora Sarioua than