Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-12-10
Civil Service Reformers Object
to Stated Exemptions.
PRINCIPLE INVOLVED
ALLEGED THAT FIXED RULE HAD
BEEN IGNORED.
Friends Of President Roosevelt Defend
Recent Appointments Without
Examination Of Appointees.

Recent Appointments Without
Examination Of Appointees.
The closing session Of the twenty-fourth
annual meeting Of the National Civil serv-
Ice Reform League, yesterday afternoon
gave opportunity to the friends OF the
President to come again to the fore ana
defend his actions against what is termed
1.-The radical element of the league. d.
rect criticism Of the action OF the executive
in excepting certain persons from examina-
ton was made by Mr.. Nelson 8. Spencer OF
New York. whose paper on appointments
without examination under special excep-
lions to the rules created considerable dis
cussion. Mr.. William Dudley Foulke, form
or civil service commissioner, and Mr.. Rich
ard Henry Dana OF Boston took up the
cudgel in the Presidents behalf.
Dr Gilman was called to Baltimore yes
terday afternoon and Mr.. Bonaparte prestd-
ed over the final session OF the league
meeting. After the reading of the paper
by Mr.. Frank M. Higgins, chlet examine.
OF the civil service commission, MIR. Albert
de Roode Of New York. assistant secretary
of the league, read a paper on regulations
for the employment of laborers In the CiVl
service in which he suggested that skilled
labor Of any sort should be tested com
petitiyely; that foremen and assistant 1ore-
men should be included In the competltlVe
class and that appointments therein snoulo
be made from the labor class Dy prolloIioA
examinations
1t was agreed at the outset of the after
noon session that there should be no dis.
cussion of the papers until the conclusion OF
81 fHarn CT
to be considered that it was feared the
delegates would not be able to finish up
all the work II free discussion were al
lowed after each paper, as has been the
custom. Mr.. Spencer's paper was the third
on the list for the afternoon. This was one
of the longest documents that was read dur
ing the sessions, and was listened to with
great attention by the members, applause
being frequent throughout the reading.
One Principal Emphasized.
| Mr.. Spencer declared that there is one
| principle of the system Of appointment to
office through competition which must be
| constantly insisted upon, II the system Is
| to command complete success. That Is, that
| appointment is to be made in obedience to
| fixed and certain rule. The personal ele-
ment must be entirely eliminated, except
as it may be exercised by the appointing
| officer in choice between small number OF
| ranking candidates on competitive list.
THE observance of this rule may at
| times work inconvenience, and may not
| produce ideal results, but the same fact Is
| true of any human or, indeed, natural law,
| judged from a human standpoint. 1t Is
| the result of experience that for the pur-
poses of administration it is more import
| ant that a law should be certain than that
| it should be Just. Any law is better than
no law at ALL And any law to command
| respect must be strictly enforced; other
wise, though it be certain. it will lack the
| fundamental principle of equality. 1t Is an
| error which seems to need constant cor
| rection, that an established rule of action
| must work concrete justice. and that If 1t
| do not 1t must be made to do so, according
| to the ideas of the official enforcing 1t. But
| to the extent to which he undertakes to
| do So he is relapsing into the absence OF
| order for which the rule stands as a cor
| rection. He is substituting his individual
| will for the general rule. The only safe
| position is stated in the reply of an able
| Judge to an advocate who complained that
| the judgment of the court would work IN
| justice: This court does not sit to ad-
| minister justice; it sits to administer the
| law If it be found that rule do not
| work WELL the remedy lies in the establish
| ment of new rule, and not through any
exception to its provisions in favor of an
| individual And any such new rule must,
like the old one, be general in its provis-
! ions; it must apply to classes of individ-
| uals. and relate to such classes as deter
| mined by some definite position in the COM
munity. Otherwise there is one law for
| Peter and another for John. This Is true
even If the class consist for the time being
| of only individual. There are. for in
| stance, various laws which apply only 10
the President of the United States; they
| are not concerned with either George
| Washington or Theodore Roosevelt"
Rule Recently Ignored.
Until quite recently. Mr.. Spencer continu-
ed, appointments IN the federal classified
service have been made according to a
| fixed rule. The rule has been changed
| from time to time but it's application has
| always been general Within the pas
| three years, however numerous appoint
ments have oeen made in the service pur-
sUant to special orders from the President
| Mr.. Spencer then recited the principal in
stances of exception during the past three
| years. commenting each case, calling
| the appontee by name or so Identifying his
| position that he or she was easily known
| The citation of these instances Of exception
| consumed considerably more than half the
time taken by Mr.. Spencer in the reading
of his paper, and he presented his conclu-
| ions in the following manner:
! The logical consequence of continu'
| arce of the present practice is the restora-
ton of the condition of affairs as they
| existed prior to the passage of the act. II
| the office seeking public understand that
the President stands ready to make an ex-
| ception in favor of enc individual, 1t sees
| no reason why lie SNC uiu not make Il Slfni-
lar exception in favor of another indiyid
ual. Appointments are to be made at his
will. He is above the law. We shall have
constructed machine to provide equal OPP
portunity for candidates for office. the re
suits of which will be interesting but moi
useful Under such practice 1t is mo-
possible for the public to believe that II
is treated with fair play" The number OF
| applications made to the commission fol
| special exceptions goes to prove this. IL
| answer to inquiry made on my behalf
as to the number of these applications re
fused Commissioner Cooley writes, 'Theil
number is legion. Hardly day passes
| that some one does not come into the Office
with request for a special exception Of
some kind" The whole system become:
the subject of just suspicion Again let u.
appeal from Theodore Roosevelt, President
| to Theodore Roosevelt. commissioner. In 1t:
ninth report the commission gives as one
of its reasons for urging reduction in thu
number of excepted places, that THE pub
lie seeing some people appointed withou
| examination and apparently for politica
reasons. and not discriminating accurately
| between the different kinds of places
jumps to the conclusion that the law is Sc
at naught and that political reasons Still
obtain in making appointments" If thi.
be true of places excepted by classification