The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1902-12-17
CIVIL SERVICE ASSOCIATION
ANNUAL MEETING AND ELECTION
OF OFFICERS LAST EVENING.

Interesting Report by the Executive
Committeeman Has Been Done la
the Civil Service In Our Insular Pos
aessions-InstruCIIve Paper by James
II. Garfield.
The Civil Service association held its
annual meeting last evening In Cham
Der of Commerce hall on Chapel street.
The business OF the evening consisted
of the reading Of the secretary's report,
the election of officers for the ensuing
year, the reading of a paper by James
r. Garfield, son of the late president,
and other routine matters of lesser i'm
portance. The report Of the executive
committee follows:
| In presenting their first annual report the
executive committee of the Connecticut
| Civil Service Reform association will begin
by recalling a bit Of history.
| The first Connecticut Civil Service Reform
association was formed in 1881 with the late
Chief Justice Andrews as its president, but
it never survived its first meeting anu IL
never made an annual report. The present
association Is the successor of the New Ha-
Ven association which was likewise formed
in 1881, but was enlarged year ago SO as
TO include the whole state.
Civil service reform in Connecticut may
thus be said to have reached its majority
this year. 1t has passed the stage OF boy
hood and has entered mans estate; It can
assume that it no longer needs to justify IFS
own existence or explain what 1t is trying
to do. Every one now understands that we
are not trying to establish an official arts
tOcracy, that we are not opposed to political
parties, that we are not blind adherentS or
literary examinations as a means of testing
the fitness of candidates for office. We are
simply opposed to the use Of political meth
DDS which, If applied in business life, would
be called dishonest; and We favor those
methods of appointment which secure the
application Of business methods to public
affairs and ensure the selection Of cdndl-
dates, not for political services, but for ell
cheney in the public service. We aim at
higher standards of political morality, as
well as at better grade Of public service.
The first work Of the committee consisted
IN extending OUR membership and in com
peting the list of officers in which besides
View Haven the cities of Hartford, Bridge
port, Stamford, Norwich. Waterbury and
Litchheld are now represented. The mem
bership is between 100 and ITO, of which
about 1870 live in New Haven. The readi-
ness with which people have answered Our
invitation to join and the interest shown In
the subject by the Womens clubs Of Con
necticut indicate that thu time has low
come for an active educational campaign IN
our conservative state. The civil service OF
the state is so limited shat 1t hardly seems
wise at present to press for the creation OF
a state board like those # New YORK and
Massachusetts, but there is much room fol-
Improvement in municipal affairs. Strange
as it may seem, Connecticut Is more priml
tive in its mode of appointing administers
tive officers than the Philippine Islands
New Haven is the only city which has any
method of testing the fitness IF candidates
for appointment to the minor city offices
and here the board Is handicapped by the
fact that the charter makes 20 provision
for paid examiner, and that the rules as
now framed require the certihcuticu of the
whole eligible list. What Is called In the
law a competitive examination has thus be-
come a mere pass examination, and expert
ence has shown everywhere that such eX
aminatiOnS are unsatisfactory. We suggest
that the true principles of the merit system
der that as rapidly as public opinion i'll the
several cities Is ripe some system of secur
ing the appointment, for merit only, %
members Of the police and fire departments
and other minor functioMaries may be in
troduced
In national affairs the past year has been
one Of decided progress In spite of some
appointments which are Justly open to crit
iciSm more has been done for the civil SER
vice by President Roosevelt than by my
other president in the same length of time
The bill which threatened last year to dung
the entire census bureau into the eligible
list has been replaced by a measure which
though retaining few Of the clerks alp
pointed by patronage, secures the future o.
The permanent census bureau by putting II
under civil service rules. The civil service
commission has been greatly strengthened
by the presidents appointments OF NJ"
Foulke and Mr.. Garfield. A more stable
tenure of office has been recognized Ii
fourth-class postmasterships. The rnra
free delivery service has been organized IL
such a way as to secure appointment fol
merit without resorting to the forma' exam
nations which are customary n the cleri
cal service. In the consular and diplomatic
service the principle Of promotion Tor meri
torious service has been wisely applied. A
beginning has also been made with the III
PRODUCTION of the merit system Into the loca
government Of the District Of Columbia.
A significant feature of the past year has
been the remarkable activity of women IL
promoting interest in the merit system. A
the recent session of the National Fedora
ton of Women's Clubs held IN Los Agele.
one whole session was devoted to this sub
ject A wOmen's auxiliary has been formed
during the past year in Maryland On thu
lines of the auxiliares already existing II
, Massachusetts and in New 1O"S. The lat
ter has extended its activity to every state
of the Union by distributing literature, ans
in many cases It has reached even the pupl
in the public schools.
Two important measures affecting the civ;
service are liable to come before congress
during the present sessiOn--the introdnctlnI
of a veteran preference amendment to thu
civil service laws and the extension OF th'
merit system to the consular service. Re
garding the latter. two bills have been in
PRODUCED, one in the senate by Mr.. Lodge
the other in the house by Mr.. Adams.
We recommend that the association ey
press to the Hon. N. d. Sperry, member o
congress for the Second district, and mem
= Der Of this association, its earnest hope tina
he will put forth every effort to AID in thu
passage of a bill which will take consula
offices out of politics, and to defeat any pro
posal for veteran preference calculated t,
impair the efficiency of the service.
The meeting of the National League
which was held in Philadelphia on the It'll
| and 18th of this month. was attended j,
three delegates from Connecticut Genera
William A. Aiken, Of Norwich, George L
l Fox. of New Haven, and the president o
l the association. The papers presented yer
| full of interest. and The committee uouI
| urge the members of the Connaeflcu1 assu
| citation as far as possible 70 attend thes
gatherings, at which all members of loca
associations are welcome whether especial
! ly elected as delegates or not. We hav
made arrangements to secure from til
l league sufficient copies of the report of tn
proceedings, when published, 70 supply tn
1 members of this association.
Since the meeting Of 4 year ago the aSst
citation has suffered a painful loss III tn
death of Samuel A. Galpin. Mr.. Gdlpin wa