The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-24
GROWTH or CIVIL SERVICE.
MIR. Hepburn Entertains the House with q
Sarcastic Tribute TO IL.

Sarcastic Tribute TO IL.
WASHINGTON, March 23.-When the civil
Service Commission was reached In the con-
alteration Of the Legislative, Executive
and judicial Appropriation bill In the House
Of Representatives to-day the committee.
Of the whole departed from the farcical
course pursued for a number Of years past
and refused to strike the appropriation from
the bill. Gen. Grosvenor, who had usually
led the assault, was conspicuous by his
silence. His place was taken, however.
by his seat mate, Mr.. Hepburn OF Iowa,
who entertained the House with a sarcastic
tribute to the growth Of the commission
and It's work.
aFor some unaccountable reason, he
began, my venerable friend on my right,
the gentleman from Ohio, although he is
fully equipped for making a ~speech-you
will observe that he is decorated with overs
and wearing a Prince Albert coas-has
flown the coop [laughterl, and he seems
unwilling to make his annual contribution
to the civil service reform subject. I con-
fess that for myself I propose to change
somewhat my lines. Ihave heretofore in a
feeble way tried to express my oondemna-
ton Of the new tangled civil service that
we now are agonizing under. / find, and
l have heretofore found, but little in the
performance Of either Commissioners or
their s~ubordinates, or in the operation OF
the system itself, that challenges my COM
mendation. But looking over some OF the
older statutes, l have discovered something
that 1 now can say in commentator OF the
civil service.
pansion Ia the rule. Growth and progress
mark every footstep Of the Republics
course. We are getting to be q ~greatpeople
and all of our institutions, to be
GUS with the general purposes, OF the Re
public, must be great; they must be growing.
appropriation that was made to carry
on the expense Of that new departure OF
ours, oivil service reform, aggregated
$40, 900. Ten persons, more or less, were
provided for by. that expenditure. Tie
amount, and the same number Of people.
I find that this appropriation bill only
twenty-three years afterward carries
$2s7, 900, and provides for 1sO-odd people.
Think Of the wonderful, growth OF this
its personality; Q per cent In its expendl-
ture. It was keeping pace with the wonder
full progress Of the Republic. lApplause
and laughter.l 1t is outstripping all that
we have ever done in any other OF the
avenues Of growth, in any OF the evidences
Of prosperity that we are able to furnish
to q wondering world.
I'VE boast about the growth Of u for
eign commerce. 1t is a bagatelle in it's per-
centage with the growth OF this institution.
We boast about the wonderful production
of wealth that this nation is capable OF in
a single year. Twenty-one billion is the
record for last year; and yet IL you com
pare that with hat we were able to do In
this institution since it was an infant, how
small is the growth in percentage. And 80
IL ta 9Th n,,ar-tAsN~ ola Thu 1iul nrHrs1n
Is outstripping all the other evidences Of
prosperity growth in this country, and
therefore / am able to commend it as show
ing that in twenty-five years it has in
creased the number Of those that are able
to carry IT on at the raao OF 1000 and in
as great. Wonderful ia the civil service
reform Of the country" lApplause.l