New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-03-20
THE MUsEUn AND THE CIVIL SERVICE.

IHE MUSEUH AND THE CIF4b SHh'4N1'
The officers of the Metropolitan Museum OF
Art the American Museum of Natural History
and other institutions of the kind would 90
we'll to keep an eye Senate bill NO. 499, IN
troduced by Mr.. Hawkins. Its passage would
seriously interfere with the administration or
their trusts and to a considerable extent rrus-
trate the end sought by the State in placing
scientific and artistic enterprises for the public
benefit in the hands of semi-public corporations,
which, free from the complications OF politics.
can secure continuous expert management.
This bill provides that the Civil Service shall
include
Such work as may be performed for the benefit
or improvement of any institution, society, as
sociation organization where such work is in
conformity with plans and specifications re-
quired by law to be approved by or carried on
under the supervision of any public official or
officlals, provided such work is TO be PAID tor'
in whole major part, from funds approprl-
ated by the State of New-York or any of it's
civil divisions or cities.
On reading this bill we were somewhat mysti-
fed as to it's aim. Its terms are so vague and
general that it might be intended to serve any
one of several purposes There has been some
talk of the desirability of including in the pub
lie service the employees of the Randalls Island
House of Refuge and in fact entirely remodel
ling that institution to end the anomaly by
which private society conducts what is to all
intents and purposes State reformatOry. We
thought the bill might be intended to accom-
plish something along this line 1t has since
been said that the real target of the author was
the Botanical Garden or the Geological Park.
And some suspicion has been aroused that it was
! intended thus indirectly to affect the employees
of contractors doing public work and secure
for them the hours and wages which the courts
have said could not be prescribed for workers
in the pay of private contractors. Whatever the
intention, 1t is clear that the bill would open
the door to difficulties Certainly no believer
in the merit system thinks the machinery of
the Civil Service law excellent as may be its re-
suits within its proper sphere, adapted to the
management Of the Metropolitan Museum What
Civil Service board would attempt to classify
the experts there and prescribe examinations
for their successors? Who would wish to see
even the minor places the staff put in the
competitive class and made permanent berths
for veterans of the Civil or the Spanish War and
others who under the law have preference in
public employment? Institutions of this kind
should be left in the hands OF their trustees.
They are in general, well managed and their
employees selected intelligently with single eve
to efficient service. There is in them no such
wirepulling and pressure of politicians as OBJ
tain in government offices and call for regu-
lad0n by the Civil Service system. Civil Ser
vice commissions have their hands full if
they see that appointments are made for merit
and fitness in the field already subject to their
Jurisdiction
If the bill also applies to contract work per-
formed for the Improvement of public institu-
tons, there is no need of debate to establish its
unWisdom. 1t would be unjust to subject cou-
tractors in employing subordinates to the re-
quirements necessary in public office and TO
the arbitrary scale of hours and wages estab-
ished in the public service Moreover any
Owl Service machinery would break down
under the strain of classifying and passing
upon the qualifications and certifying the paw
rolls of vast bodies of men over whom officials
had no direct control. The BILL in its present
form at least, is exceedingly dangerous. If If
has any good purpose, that purpose should be
more plainly and definitely expressed.