New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-04-08
ENLARGrNG TEE MERIT SYSTEM.

BEFORE starting on his Southwestern trip
President Roosevelt signed several minor or
ders extending the application of the merit
system TO Civil Service appointments BY one
order all places in the immigration bureaus
maintained by the United States across the
Canadian border were placed in the classified
service. Appointments to these posts must be
made hereafter through competitive examina-
ton. BY another order cashiers and finance
clerks in postofflces were taken out of the eX-
cepted class Hitherto these officials have been
selected by postmasters without examination,
on the theory that their duties were neces-
sarily Of a confidential nature In the future
they will be appointed under the general rules.
third order dealt with the abuse Of employ
ing persons as laborers and then assigning them
to clerical worl-Of the grade performed by
classified employees. Hereafter no unclassifed
laborer is to be assigned to classified work. and
all labOrers doing such work are TO be subject
ed TO the usual Civil Service tests.
These notifications of the rules. though not
in themselves important, are Of interest because
they testify to a steady strengthening and up
building of the merit system. Under each new
administration for twenty years past the scope
of the classified service has been enlarged, and
freer play has been given to the workings of
the competitive principle Old abuses and old
prejudices have been rooted out, and with each
fresh experiment the soundness Of the new
method of appointment has been more COM
pletely vlndicated. Under President Roosevelt
a thorough revision Of the rules has been &C
complished. repeated extensions of the CLASH
fed service have been made, and the Act Of
1SS3-intended primarily to open government
employment TO all citizens on equal terms ana
10 free appointments and promotions from the
faint Of personal and political favori1sm-has
been scrupulously lived up to both In letter and
in spirit. So firmly. indeed, is the present ad-
ministration committed 10 the merit principle In
appointments and to the divorce of routine gov
eminent work from partisan affiliations and ac-
tivities that minor orders like last weeks at
tract no general attention. Probably few even
of the most diligent newspaper readers noticed
that these particular extensions OF the classl-
fed service had been authorized and those who
made the discovery accepted them as merely
matter of fact developments of well under
stood and well established policy.
It is immensely gratifying to know that we
have reached the stage at which we take the
maintenance of a governmental service based
on merit as a mere matter Of course. In
single generation we have apparently lived
down the evil habits and demoralizing fallacies
of the "spoils system" That system was logi-
cal development Of the principles of JEFFERSON
and Jackson. Trying TO minimize as far as pos
sible the functions OF government Jefferson and
his followers fell naturally into the error of
holding that the little work necessary TO be
done could be safely done on the relay system.
To jefferson it seemed as easy to run de-
centralized and do-nOthing government with
green officials fresh from the people, as it
did TO fight great wars with an unframed and
undisciplined militia. So rotation became
Democratic shibboleth. and public offices were
adjudged TO be political spoils We can look
back with smile at those alterations Of our
political childhood. We have discovered that
no government can shirk its burdens. The
work devOlving on our own has steadily in
creased. and promises to increase IN an even
greater ratio. We need for the great federal
machine. as well as for the smaller admins
trative machines in States and cities
working force of public servants Of thorough
training and proved efficiency. We are begin
ming 10 realize how irrational, how childish,
how suicidal the old spOls system was, and
are turning our attention to creating a Civil
Service after new model. For without ser
vice permanent in tenure, based on fitness and
freed from the dangers of political manipula-
ton. we should find ourselves hOpelessly handi-
capped in our effort TO do the work Of govern
ment sure to be thrown us by the demands
of the future