The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1907-01-02

them out to make way for others
equally unfit. 5.s,.
The committee shows that the pres
emit superannuated list is made up
largely of civil war veterans, whose
preferment is a matter of national sem
timent. Even with these, only 1.2 per
cent, Of the employees in the executive
civil service are over seventy years old,
ana the average of employment under
the government is no longer than In the
servoce of the great railroads. Only
81 per cent. of the employees now in the
service who are over sixty-fve years
old entered by competitive examina-
ton, and in the classified service resig-
nations and removals are rapid enough
to effect change in the whole body
once In twelve and a half years. BY
far the greater number of designations
are among the employees in the Compel
itive class. These facts sufficiently
demonstrate the unsoundness of the
arguments Of the Grosvenors, Baileys
and others, who charge the merit sys-
tenn with producing dry rot in the ser
vice, and oppose it on the ground that
| its logical outcome Is the pension sys-
tem.
The merit system does not logically
lead to civil pensions. On the contrary
Its tendency to make 4 career of public
| employment Is an argument against
the necessity of pensions. In all the
lower grades of the public service the
pay is as high as the pay for similar
work In private employment, and the
| average man or woman is as able in Of
( flee as out of it to lay up money for
sickness or old age. Certainly the EN-
ploye who is not likely to be dismissed
during good behavior has as little need
| Of a pension as the favorlte of the
spells system, who may have TO begin
search for new employment as the re-
| suit Of political overturn. Nor Is
there any practical need Of civil pen
sions at present. We hear LOUD COM
| plants about the infFiciency of old gov
ernment employees. AS we have noted,
some of them are kept for sentimental
reasons, regardless Of the merit sys-
| TEN. Others, because Of the Inefficien-
cy Of their superiors are kept, -ov were
kept, until they are now so old that it
would be cruelty to turn them Gdrift,
These superiors, when they blame the
merit system for it, in effect confess
that they would have had the heart TO
discharge these employees in cold blood
for political reasons, but did not have
the heart to exercise their power Of re-
moval for the good of the service, But
even with all these incompetents, as
the committee shows, the government
loss from the enefficiency Of superan-
nuated employees amounts to only
| 81, 10000 a year
This is considerable loss, indeed
but 1t Is a mere tritle beside the cost OF
any possible pension system proposed
to relieve the departments Of this inef-
fclent labor A civil pension list on
the English basis would cost nineteer
million dollars year for the classified
service alone, and no system Of pen
sons made up Of the contributions Of
employees has yet been devised which
does not lay a great and mcalculablt
burden on the government as partner
in the scheme or impose great intus'
tice on younger employees. The COM
mittee believes that the only feasible
plan of enforced provision for superan-
nuation Is the Australian form for de-
ferred annuities. This plan forces al
candidates for employment to take Out
policy with an insurance company
and maintain 1t during their service
Embployes OF the government are thus
protected against the evils Of superan
nuatlon, while each person bears thu
burden OF providing for himself. W.
are glad to see the league take this EN-
phatlc stand against civil pensions an(
seek to free the merit system from TIL
reproaeh of Sfurthering the dangerous
and corrupting idea that public office
are the private property of those WIFI
happen to become intrenched In then
50 than the government ever after owe
them support.-New York Tribune,