The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-07-23

modified.
The Failure to Execute the Civil
Service Law.
An official journal of the National Civil
Service Reform League contains reply
to our recent inquiry respecting the real
relation of failure in executing the civil
service law to failure in executing the
postal laws, and the connecting link is
thus described:
There is no distinction in morals between the
use OF patronage for personal gain, and taking
money outright from the treasury and so the ono
immortality was certain to be followed by the other -
Whether personal gain is there used
in the sense of political success, or in the
sense of getting luore, is not perfectly
obvious If the latter is the intended
meaning, then the similitude between it
and offering from the treasury is quite
plain. But il, on the other hand, per
sonal gain only implies the getting of an
office, or the keeping Of one already in
possession. then the hypothesis of the
connecting link is that Federal officer
be he President or Congressman, who
knowingly and Intentionally uses official
patronage only in order to obtain, or
retain, an office, is no better than one
who robs the treasury. That is rather
startling proposition in condemnation Of
much that goes on at Washington, but
possibly sound proposition in the realm
of civil service ethics
TO one not acquainted with the Civil
Service law Of 1883, il needs to be ex-
planned that there is q classified SER
vice which the President can, in his sole
discretion, enlarge from time to time,
to which none can be lawfully APP
pointed excepting after competitive
examination. The law does not en-
brace laborers, or nominations to be con-
firmed by the Senate.
OF the entire civil list of Federal SER
wants, there are now about $4,000, as
estimated by Good Government, who are
classified and must submit to COMPETE
tive examination. In the one-haR not
thus in the civil service list, there are
10000 fourth-class pOstmasters and IS, 600
laborers. The postal service alone has
85,552 competitive positions, and Of them
q, 41S are city letter carriers and $1,000
are rural letter carriers
The President, says Good Government,
appoints 4,73l postmasters and 5000 other
officers, without Senate confirmation.
Mr.. TILDEN used to say that an opposi-
ton to the party in power at Washington,
must, in order to win at the ballot boxes
have on its side two-thrds Of the voters
when it's Presidential nomination is an
nounced for the reason that the power Of
patronage will allure away nearly one
sixth. Anybody can easily believe it to
be 80 who realizes the power of 23O, 900 or
25O, 900 office-holders, the army of post
masters and the array of postal carriers
The rural free delivery service was,
for unexplained reasons, not classified
by the President till Nov. 27, 1901. Upto
that time, it had been packed with letter
carriers appointed by the head of the
Post Office without civil service exam
nations The pressure for new places
became at last 30 persistent, Good Gov
eminent says, that even the Post Office
officials at Washington asked for classfi-
cation, but, meanwhile, those already
furtively appointed in far-off towns, with
out examination, and in anticipation OF
the classification soon to come, were pro-
NOTED to be clerks in Washington with
out civil service tests
Another very amusing method OF evad-
ing the Civil Service law has been the
creation of clerk by designating him, or
her, as "laborer," needing not to be
comparatively examined, and then pay
ing him, or her, as clerk
More than 900 persons, insists Good
Government, are thus illegally serving to-
day in the Washington departments.
1t is even minated that some such
contrivance is practised with upper
household servants in the White House
by carrying them on treasury pay rolls
az day laborers in the public grounds
or buildings.
The evasion of the requirement of the
Civil Service law accomplished by APP
pointing persons to unclassified post
offices shortly before the classification,
and transferring, after classification, to
other offices and departments the per-
Sons so appointed, the effect Of the COM
bined appointments and transfers being
to put unlawfully the persons designated
into offices which should have been filed
by open competitive examination, be-
gan, it is said, in 1897 and went on till
quite recently,
But, conceding the semi-oficial explain
alton to BIO true, it does not explain the
invasion OF the postal service by Tweed
methods Of population, through failure
~ --or"'r tho Civil Service law. unless