The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1903-03-19


By STAFF CORRESPONDENT
Springfield, H., March 1s.-A days debate
on the civil service. day of successive
hard-fought parliamentary clashes. ended
In the adoption Of one vital amendment
that attaching referendum clause to the
bill. 1t was offered by George R. Lyon OF
Lake County, and was an unexpected issue.
Charges were freely and directly voiced
that this was but another scheme to indi-
rectly sap the measure Of whatever mssd
OF effectiveness 1t now possesses.
Nevertheless, this cry, Let the people de-
eide" prevailed; not so much out Of lafty
consideration of the people. but from a
desire to shift the responsibility. from a
motive that would appear to uphold civil
service, yet leave the loophole for evasion.
By the slim majority OF three votes the
amendment carried, and, as matters now
stand. final enactment is postponed until
the next election.
MOVE TO RECONSIDER.
motion to reconsider the vote upon this
question Is, however, before the House To-
.-Nnight every effort is being made by the
friends OF Governor YateS's bill to secure
its immediate enactment Several Of its
friends were absent to-day. The wires are
hot recalling them. and 1t is probable that
the motion to reconsider will carry to-mor-
row. In that event, all indications are that
the bill will be passed on to third reading
without further patchwork.
Considering the fact that the opponents Of
civil service have exerted all their strength
time and again in support Of radical amend
ments. 1T would logically follow that the
blu, when it comes up on its passage, will
pass the House. What the Senate will do Is
yet an open question.
schlagenhauf of Quincy made the most
forcefm and direct attack on the bill He
proposed striking out the section which
deals with the salary question His belief
was that the meat Of the bill lay In the
dollars. aud his insinuation that the en-
thusiasm would vanish II the coin of the
realm were cut out.
have come to the conclusion" said he,
that there are enough men in the State of
Illinois who would be willing to serve as
Civil Service Commissioners. and thus re-
heve the people of the burden Of paying
outrageous salaries. see men lobbying
around this House asking members to vote
Tor the bill and suggesting arguments for
or against amendments. Why are they doing
this? Because somebody expects to get on
the board and draw that salary, that's
why"
Mr.. Wilkerson sought to take the force
from Schlagenhaufs argument, but over
stepped himself
Such an amendment" shouted wiIker-
son. would take the heart out of this bill"
No funny mans gag would have evoked
q more spontaneous laugh. 1t settled Will
kerson for the time being. His every sub
witticism. until the member from Chicago
was constrained to subside into his seat
It came very near settling the bill also,
though the amendment finally was defeated.
Aside from referendum and SchIagenhauf
amendment, the salient feature of the ses-
sion lay In amendments argued which would
have changed the nature OF the proposed
Civil Service Commission.
WANT SOMD OF PIE
The State elective officers, excluding the
Governor. having a long list of appointive
employees under them, have been actively
working to insure the success of some such
They have been freely alleg-
Ing that the Governor wants all the pie. and
have been imploring the legislators to di-
They laid their plans carefully and ex-
pected to win on the amendment disposed
Of this morning, which constituted the
elective officers. including the chief execu-
that Yates easily. in this instance. was
stronger than his chief of department. This
was SO, however. largely because OF Judge
Sherman as a rule being allied
against Yates.
Some OF these officials have beseiged
called extraordinary attitude His response
has been simply Il am in favor Of civil
service This, with the blank statement
battles. but guiding his own Individual
course.
Sherman's move is exciting much quiet
he has been in effect fighting the battles OF
sundry officials who seek to beat Yates for
the nomination two years hence: Now he is
<rllr nj thz hA,I ,
have been secretly pleased to witness bis
''vicious attacks on the administration
SHERMAN'S POSITION.
The prolonged debating. lasting through
thus far, drew forth expressions which fully
stamp the attitude of the various factions
toward civil-service reform. Sherman took
vious declarations in favor of a system
under which promotions are made by merit.
Other members averred the bill to be good
had studied this subject, introduced through
the chief executive and declared that to
tear it to pieces would be an insult to the
Governor. From others came severe criti-
cism Of the measure and its source, aad
the expressed opinion that its source is
costing It votes. Charles A. Allen from Yer
million County, who Is a sort of House hui
morist, went so far as to lampoon "his acct
dency" by exclaiming, with tragic empha-
SIS, are you going to strike down our young
When the House entered upon the rom
sheraton Of the bill this morning Shurtleff
Of McHenry. who last week headed the
forces who strove to amend the measure
out of existence, offered and secured the
adoption Of an amendment, one, however.
designed to improve the civil service, which
the bill is designed to provide. 1t was ac-
oepted as good amendment and carried
by 80 to 43 votes.
The amendment stipulates that within
six months after the enactment Of the law
all present holders Of State positions which
will be regulated by the service. must pass
A TEXAS WONDER.