The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1906-03-22
Only Good Thing In the Bill
Now Before the President
Is the Abolition Of the Fee
System
POLITICS UNDISTURBED
REPRESENTATION ABRoADWILL
STILL BE A MATTER or PULL
CLASSIFICATION OF CONSUL
ATEs.

WASHINGTON. March 21. 1S96.--
Abobut the only reform in the Consular
bill now in the hands of the President
which amounts to anything in the way
Of bebttering the service is the abolish
ment of the fee system of compensation
for Consuls. The Lodge bill, as drafted
in agreement with the views of Secretary
Root, was planned mainly to take tile
consular service out of politics and place
it upon business basis. The bill passed
by Congress infuses little more system
and some more business-iike methods
into the service, but leaves the political
end undisturbed. So far as the question
Of patronage is concerned, its main re-
suit is to give the Senate the right TO
confirm few more appointments by.
creating some new offices.
A few of the features Of the plan for
reforming the consular system wanted
by Secretary Root. and which Congress
has cut out entirely, were:-
An examining board.
The merit system in appointments and
promotions.
An age limit in determining eligibility.
Requirement Of familiarity on the pa t
of appointee with language of coun ry n
which he was to serve.
There was hope that the House
would restore some Of the reform clement
to the bill. but the House is as Jealous of
political patronage and prerogatives as
the Senate. The House and the Senate
may differ on other things. On patron
age both stand pat. 1t is the one tie
that binds when all others fail
And vet the consular service is mot
supposed to be a political organization.
In theory, it is purely comm escial insti-
tuition. Its purpose is to aid and en-
courage American trade in al parts ol
the world. BuBsiness ability should be
the one qualification. And the oppos,
tion to the merit system was not entirely
destructive of the patronage, either. 1t
was not proposed to install the civil SER
vice. There was to be no bar on APP
pointments. The only restriction was to
be that. after being selected, the APP
pointee was to demonstrate his fitness for
the Office by passing an examination
after appointments, not before. Then he
was to begin his service in the lowest
grades.
The important places, the big-sa9ar:eds
ones. We're to be filed by promotion from
the lower offices, just as IS done lii the
business world at large. It was bus;-
ness, and not political proposition
Even the sacred prerogative Of the Sen
ate, the power of confirmation, was rec
ognized and bowed to- 1t was to be
possible to transfer Consuls in the came
grade. without confirmation, but promo
tions all required confirmation, just ae
original appointments.
Even these demands, however, were
too much like revolution for the Senate.
Worked out, the faithful ward worker
or State legislator, slated for fat con-
sulate as reward for party service or for
a vote in Senatorial election. could
only have been appointed to the foot of
the ladder. He would have had no pref
erence over the ambitions college youth,
for instance, who had never been in pol
itics and who had spent years in study
ing consular methods and languages to
fit himself for the work
1t was a nice program, but it was too
idealistic and too little political for ca
gress. There was a Efe tenure propos;-
tion, too, thatawas very bad 1t did not
allow a man who had made a good recosd,
70 be turned out Of office with a change
Of administration. The Democrats op.
posed ii because they believed such re-
form would result in all the places being
filed With Republicans, and leaving them
no patronage, no chance for headtchop-
ping if they ever came into power. The
Republicans opposed 1t because i took
the fat pisssps out of their reach. The
fact that every financial, commercial and
industrial organization every board of
trade. chamber Of commerce. manufac-
tnrers' association merchants asSoeia-
lion in the counsry AN the interests ai-
rectly concerned in the standard and etfi-
cheney Of the consular service, were for
it, didn't count for sou marlee.
There IS classification Of consulates,