Sunday Washington globe., 1902-03-02

Editor SNRdaY Globe
/ have for many months read your very
valuable paper and notice what you say in
your columns relative to the Civil Service.
There was never a more unjust law placed
upon the statute hooks than this slammed
pretext of the merit system Of the country.
1t appeals TO the average man the very
thing to favor for if there is any thing that
an honest man does admire Il is merit, but
this is where this deception is practiced on
the people There is nothing that shows
merit When a man is examined for a posi-
tion he is asked all manner OF silly ques-
tous about every thing else than about what
he is expected to do when he gets an ap-
pointment.
Then after he IS appointed and is at work
he is supposed to get his promotions on his
merit Who is it that passes on his merritt
It in nine cases out Of ten is some chief Of a
division who never did pass a competitive /
examination as to how little he really knew |
about the position which he now fills, |
and If he had to answer ten honest fair and |
impartial questions that would test his real |
ability he could not do IT, AS a rule these
parties in the heads Of these divisions are
political favored pets, and are not compe-
tent to pass upon the merits of any one and
in four 6fths of the cases never knows what
is going on in the division, but depends up
on his chief clerk who in most cases knows
far less tnan the chief, and who has more
prejudice in his hide than he has good COM
mon sense. Yet if you are a favored pet of
the chief clerk Of the chief Of division, and
especially if you are woman and will go
out with them few evenings you can and
will get your promotion, but not on the
merit of the work done in the office.
There is not one promotion in thousand
that ever has the shadow of official merit
with it, / have seen men who have
been in Office from ten to fifteen years who
know the office work from top to bottom
and can do more work in one hour than the
Chief Of Division and Chief Clerk will do
in a day; yet this man gets but $1,000 per
year, and the powers that be are Jealous Of
him for fear that his merits will be known
and that he might get a promotion. The
merit that is given to the majority of men
is the man that is favor.te pet of his chief,
and who courts every whim of his chief
and who steps aside and sacrifices every
vestige Of manhood by toadying to him as if
he were some cur, and bowing to his every
fancy. and pledges himself to secrecy by
keeping some Of his hendish corruption.
He will then be recommended for promo
ton. SO in this way every chief in that
department has a man or woman for pro
motion land in nine cases out Of ten the
woman is the one to be advanced) When
a vacancy occurs the head of the depart
ment notifies his chiefs and they are of
course to choose the one more meritorious
so they all meet, and each and every one
has one for the place, and they get into
regular caucus Of lady electiOneeriug, and
they work for hours. and finally some one
is voted for and doubtless the one who
never possessed any merit in all his life,
vet the department certi6es this person for
promotion, and every one knows that this
one never merited it; or in many cases the
head of the department has some near and
dear relative whom he has appointed who
never saw an examination Of any kind and
here let me say that there are more near and
dear relatives IN the departments who have
the best positions than any other class.
This practice is kept up throughout all the
department and you can see evidences OF
1t every day.
Favontism has more to do ten to one,
than any thing else; yet you say any thing
about it to your Senator or Member and in
a great majority of cases they will laugh at
you and say, can't do any thing. Yet
the cowardly rascal will vote every time
the life-blood out Of the fundamental prin-
ciples upon which this Government was
established, and insults the honor of every
man that he mentions Civil Service to.
This system has formed an official con-
spiraCy in this Government, by which men
and women who never in all their lives
earned an honest dollar, are kept in Office
as public charges. This conspiracy has
got such a firm hold on the Offices of this
nation that you will hear men who are
said to be sensible that we are powerless
and can't do any thing, they have placed
all the federal patronage into the hands of
one man power This Civil Service pre-
text Of merit has placed the matter Of fed
eral patronage beyond his power, for he
cannot pass the pretext OF an examination
and they want young blood to fill these
positions, and the Republican party who
has been pretending to be the soldiers
friend now see that his face is turned to the
wall.
The rules Of this nefarious system can be
suspended at the will of the President
whenever he wants to put any Of his friends
into good position and then he can order
a man discharged without preferring charges
and yet the Civil Service Commission sits
by and never open their cowardly months
] yet rule Lnat every one SAhc HAS 10 obNy
has been violated. There are over five
hundred families in the District Of Colum'
bia that have from three to FIVE living in the
same immediate family, and a number
where there are three generations in the
same family all in the Government service.
There Is another rule that each state shall
have It's pro rata share of the Federal pat
ronage, yet the District, Maryland and Vir-
ginia has more people in the Government
service than any twenty-five states in the
Union Yet, in view Of all these facts this
law is based upon justice and merit when
in fact il is the only imperial law that we
have on our statute books and the Republi-
cans and Democrats both are responsible
for its existence when if the people IN the
various states knew the rottenness and cor
ruption that there was in it, there Is not
member or Senator that is in Congress to-
day that could be reelected for another
term, for this system covers up and hides
the inner workings Of the various depart
ments No matter how honest the Cabinet