Sunday Washington globe., 1902-02-09
A POINT WELL TAKEN
On the Proposed Law OF Mr. Gillett,
of Massachusetts-Fa for Con-
gress TO Masticate and Digest.

of Massachusetts-Fa for Con-
gress TO Masticate and Digest.
Editor Sunday Globe.
The Hon. Mr.. Gillett, of Massachusetts.
has introduced bill IN the House to dis.
miss the septnagenarians from the Civil
Service. His bill is said to be an amend
ment to the Civil Service LAW and before
proceeding farther we would ask to have
him or some other wise man tell us what
that law is.
We have heard of such pretended LAW
and when one party is in power they man
age to fill the places al h6iiNm and then by
the dictation of one man the mantle of Civil
Service is thrown over them and that mon.
strositY known as the Civil Service Com
mission mods assent Then in comes the
other political party and they make a tenn
porary roll and take in all the brothers,
sisters, cousins and auuts of those already
in Office and the commission again mods aud
writes a long report of how they are reform
ing the service. AT the same time person
who has been honest and taken an examina-
ton in accordance with this same law can
stand at the head of the list of eligibes
until hades is a skating rink and never be
drawn unless he has political preferment
Mr.. Gillett is probably suffering with a
severe attack of far sightedness or he would
have commenced to look all along the line
and in place of picking out the old
would have seen the inefficient clerks
amongst the young and middle-aged and
wOrded his amendment according. Per-
haps he had in mind the case in the Pen
sion Office where man made application
for pension, giving as a reason that he
was eighty years of age and unable to per.
form hard manual labor, and his papers
were returned TO him to know If his age
was caused by his own vicious habits.
Virtually the same blast came from the
Hon Charles Crosvenor, of Ohio a few
days ago, and the remark was made very
freely that we're this rule applied to Con
gress Ohio would very soon be rid Of one
barnacle.
The United States Senate would also
suffer quite loss, and the Supreme Court
also come in for a share.
Let Mr. Gillett pass through our depart
meuts incognito and see who the inc ficient
clerks are. See who il is that takes sixty
days or more leave every year, thirty days
annual and thirty days or more sick leave
lalagagging around Atlantic City or some
other resort. See who it is that takes their
them to read, or spend their time in Office
keeping up their own private correspond
ence Pick out the cases of NEPOTISM, and
that class of EASY characters which have
been so often shown up in the GLOBE,
whether it be HE OR SHE, or their posi-
ton, high or low, young or old, and he will
find enough without chasing up a few old
people.
Let us digress long enough to ask one or
two questions. Does Mr. Gillett remember
a certain ex-Cougressman who was shot in
the Capitol few years ago, and the man
that did the shooting thrown into PRISON.
Where is the woman in the case2 ECHO
answers still in the PENSION OFFICE.
Again the heroine Of the book IN OF
FICE" where is she, ask some Of your col
leagues and you will find out, still in or
FICE and comes aud goes at her leisure.
These are only sample cases and there are
dozens more of them.
Is not there remedy for this Civil Ser
vice snarl in a law properly framed (uot
RULE like the present) giving tests similar
to the Census Office examination, then dis
tributing the appointments by Congressional
districts making the term of Office twelve
years, each clerk to come in at the lower
grade and If they prove Efficient TO be pro-
NOTED from grade to grade, so that at the
end Of the term they could pass out at the
highest grade and to receive no more ap-
poiutments ia the Civil Service.
This would do away with dead wood and
every person coming in would know just
what to expect and could prepare them
selves accordingly, and the departments
would not be filed with fossils or young
men who had graduated at law, medicine,
OF any profession and are holding on to their
government jobs and "sundowning" to the
detriment Of honesfpractitioners
OBSERVER