BoletiÌn mercantil de Puerto Rico. (San Juan, P.R.) 18??-1918, 1902-05-26
Work d giHE-SeIhge Reform.

Censure For President Roosevelt
Contained In Annual Report
Exemptions In the State Service
Still Excessive Trouble Caused
BY BackWardness of Commission
In Furnishing Eligible Lists
Annual Election of Officers. Z
The CivilService- Reform Association
at its anual meeting at the City Club
indirectly censured President Roosevelt
Fby adopting report, which in part
read as follows:
In his first message to Congress,
President Roosevelt expressed his in-
tention to uphold the merit system and
to extend it wherever practicable. The
course of the President in making ap-
pointments and removals has been
marked by few striking inconsistent
cies. Edgar S. Maclay was removed
from a subordinate position in the
Brooklyn navy-yard without compliance
with the provisions of the removal rule
requiring a statement of the cause of
the removal and an opportunity to
make reply, and under circumstances
that made the omission conspicuous
Far moIe unfortunate have been the
appointments of John S. Clarkson-a
pronounced enemy of the civil-service
system, with record as spokesman,
which, as CivilService Commissioner,
the President himself publicly attack
ed-as Surveyor of the Port and of
!, Joseph Murray as Assistant Commits
sioner of Immigration. The oppoint-
, ment of Murray was accomplished by
means of special order issued by the
, President, permitting appointment in
this instance without examination.
; The present Congress has shown its
elf decidedly hostile to the civilservice
system. The attempt to foist on the
classified service over three thousand
census clerks appointed at the behest
: of Congressman on spoils basis, was
J. frustrated by the carelessness with
= which the bill to accomplish this object
was drawn, and by the decided action
of the President. Although number
of bills to provide for preference in
= appointment for veterans of the civil
y war, and to remove positions from the
:. classified service have been intoduced
= none of importance have as yet been
: passed. The persons appointed tempo
: rarily without examination, to. the War
and Treasury Departments, because Of
- - the emergency created by the war with
= Spain, will be brought within the clas
y y sifed service by legislation during the
; present session, which, taking into &C
:; count all the circumstances, is probably
= :. the best disposition eobtainable. But il
= = is not probable that Congress will favor
= the extension of the merit system tc
7 the Consular Service, or that it will
/ grant the request of the Civil-Service
Commission for an increased appro
priation to carry on its work.
Concerning matters, nearer geograp
hically, the report goes on to say:
No important changes have beer
made in the State service. A proper
classification by salaries is still lacking
the bill passed by the Legislature il
1901 having failed to accomplish its
object. The system works smoothly
d under the present State Commission
f and few complaints are made in regard
to its administration. Important inves
r legations into the administration of the
rules by local commissions have beer
, conducted, particularly in Rochester
Syracuse, and New York. The inves
tigatien of promotions in the Police
: Department of the New York, city
e which was in progress at the time o.
c the last annual meeting, led to report
: in June in which the Commission foun6
that in this examination competition
S had been entirely set aside through the
illegal action of the Police Commission
ers in making up the record for efficien
cy character, and conduct. This result
was most gratifying to the association
: which had prepared the specifications
? in the first instance, and had asked fol
Z the investigation.
The number of positions exec ptec
t from competition in proportion to the
t number of competitive positions in the
State service still remains excessive
). and stands as serious hindrance to q
/ thorough civilservice system.
E The association strenuously opposed
but without success the exemption from
competitive examination of all positions
t in the Bureau of Elections in the city
3 of the New York. This bureau was
formerly a part of the Police Depart
4 ment, and all the subordinate positions
/ had been classified as competitive
), except those of the chiefs in each
borough. A law passed during the
: session of 1901 made it separate
bureau under bipartisan Commission
The request of the Commissioners that
the entire bureau should be exempted,
in order to permit its organization
, throughout on bipartisan basis, was
! granted by the Municipal Commission
! and approved by Mayor Van Wyck.
The State Commission, after careful
examination of the provisions of the
new law, refused to approve the exemP-
ton, but at a later meeting they re