The morning journal-courier., 1908-12-04
\ NOTABLE CHANGE.

The importance of President Roose velts action in placing all fourth-class postmasters east of the Mississippi and north of the ohio rivers some l5.O0O in all, on the classified service list, may not at once be appreciated. The New York Tribune refers to If as the most important extension of civil service re- form in recent years. and such it is. Mr. Roosevelt has earned the hearty thanks of the whole country by this orr der and the civil service reformcrs have just cause to rejoice The new order has been announced without any sort of preliminary warning and be- cause of that fact is all the more pleas ing.
 The results of the presidents decision will be more and more in evidence as time goes on. Necessarily MT Roosc- yelt has provided that the present holders of rourth-class postmastcrships shall not be affected; only such new appointees as shall come under consid- eration in the future, but resignations and changes come continuously and the number of posts which will be affected even within the first year is sure to be considerable, Furthermore, the order precudcs a continuance of the custom which has proved a detrment, not only to the postofTice department but to the country at large politically, namely that of sweeping out tho fourth-class postmasters with every change of ad- mlnistration in the white house. In many a town and village to-day the postmaster, being appointed by the president. is looked upon as the admin istration's local representative, He be- comes the political boss of the town, This is to be regretted, II means that these posts have become an important part of the spells system and that men have been appointed not SO much be- cause of their efficiency as postmasters, but rather because of political services rendered or promised II has brought about what the Boston Transcript calls "the present alliance between clique of office holders and the republican or ganization,'
 The extended qualifications of this aI- liance may better be comprehcnded when one learns that at the recent convention in Chicago not less than one-thlrd of the delegates from the south were federal office holders, while of the delegates from the north not more than per cent. could thus be classified.
 Such information will but naturally suggest the criticism that the presi- dents order which applies only to northern postmasters does not strike at the root of this evil which is among southern office holders, It will be said that the administration had its weather eye out for southern postmasters for use in future conventions Such q criticism Is uncharitabe We have every reason to believe that Mir Roosevelt favors the extension of the new system to all fourth-CIass post masters everywhere at a later date, either by his order or that of MT Taft. Before that Is done he hopes to try out the experiment where conditions are most favorable namely in the north and east. where there are fewer isolated communities in which it Is wcll-nigh impossible to get any post masters at all and in which other con alterations than efficiency are of ac, count such as the location of the ap- pIiaant's store etc.
 We look for the success of the new