The Washington times., 1904-01-15
The Civil Service.
Defects of the Present and Possible
Improvements of the Future.

The discussion which took place
Wednesday in Congress with regard !
to the Civil Service Commission is. of |
course, valuable chiefly as an expires
sion Of opinion. There is no doubt
that dissatisfaction is felt in certain
quarters with the methods of the Com
mission, but, on the other hand, civil
service has been very generously
abused ever since lis inception, for
one reason or another. In the nature
of things it is hardly possible that
sch system will ever give perfect
satisfaction. The only question to he
settled IS whether it IS better than
sny other system.
The chief sources of dissatisfaction
with civil service at present are two.
Ever since the beginning of the new
regime there has been grumbling from
Senators and Representatives and
other political powers over the diff
Guilty of providing places for their
friends when they are not allowed to
give them department jobs. 1t seems
TO some of them so easy, so practica-
bic, so innoeuous, to go to the chief of
division in some department and
say: Here, / know a good man who
reeds a job, and would be valuable to
you; can't You make a place for
himp They never see the difficulties
in the way of that chief of division
when he is trying to do his work with
a miscellaneous conglomeration of
clerks, a certain percentage of whom
will certainly shirk their work and
point triumphantly to their "inhu-
enee" when threatened with repri-
manG. They never connect their pro-
teges with the slipshod work of de-
partments in some case in which they
may be interested. There is no doubt
hat the spoiIs system demoralizes the
morale of the departments.
On the other hand, it is argued with
some justice that TIE fact that a man
can pass a civil service examination
does not necessarily mean that he can
do good work in the departments, or
that he Will be fit for promotion; and
what the department chief wants Is
men in the rank and file who can do
better work than they are doing if
neecssary-private soldiers who can
be used FOR sergeants and may be gen.
erals in time The fact that a man
can pass an examination means sim
ply that he has a good general educa-
ton. The examination simply sits
oui some Of the unworthy applicants.
1t cannot possibly sift out all Of them.
Some scheme has TO be devised to sup
PIGMENT the examination, and secure
promotion on merit and dismissal or
demerit after the appointment is
made
It is probable that the only effec-
tive way of doing this would be to
vest authority in department chiefs
with the understanding that they were
10 be held strictly to account for any
violation Of the spirit of the civil ser
vice law. The heads of departments
know, or should know, who are the
best clerks under them, and ,since the
efficiency Of the departments depends
upon their honesty and judgmen,
anyway, it ought to be as safe to trust
them with limited authority IN the adj
vancement or dismissal of elhrks as {,
leave the whole thing to machinery
IN that way the man who has execu
tive ability and a head for business
but no talent for reconcile problems
would be put where he belongs, anC
the timid man of routine, who camo
stand responsibility end does no
know what to do with it, might b.
kept where he belongs