The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1909-07-10
Multitude of Complaints
Has Shown That Revo-
luton Is Certain.
CONGRESS HANDS
TIED BY ROOSEVELT
FavOritism, Unearned Promotions,
and Even Fraud Against Govern
ment Are Alleged.
By ]. c. wELLIvER.

For several years # has been apparent
that a shake-up Of gigantic proportions,
reaching TO the very foundations OF the
civil service establishment Of the Gov
ernment. was inevitable. In session
after session OF Congress the complaints
against conditions in the departments
mere and all over the country have
grown more and more vigorous. Con-
gress has lost confidence in the efficacy
Of civil service reform as now admin
istered. and the impression has grown
up that there is something-prObably
good many things-thoroughly rotten Ia
the whole system
AS long as Alr. Roosevelt was Presl-
dent. Congress was given the poor .priVi-
Iege Of grumbling to its hearts con
tent, but it wasn't permitted to do
much else. Mr.. Roosevelt was an origi-
nal civil service reformer. had been a
member OF the commission, and was
suspicious that a feturn to the spoils
system was liable to be the outcome Of
any determined effort AT changing
things. So it was impossible TO get any
sympathy from him. Now that he IS
out Of office, Congress is going TO Try
its hand at fetching some real reform.
Fraud Against Government.
Nobody has IN mind, so far as can be
discovered. any such thing as a return
TO the spOils system; but it runs In tha
Congressional mind that there Is a good
deal of spOils in the crevices OF tbs
present civil service structure. and that.
beyond this. there is a vast machinery
Of something like fraud against the Gov
ernEent
The most astonishing charges Of IA
voritislns OF persons doing almost no
WORK month after month and year after
year and drawing regular ps.F, or pro
motions for favorites. o. desp0tic use
of power, of sus pensions cf the eIvil
service regulations in vario IS ways. of
incompetent people kept on the rolls. OF
round pegs in square holes and square
pegs in round holes-aH these things are
alleged 10 he so common as TO amount
to something very much ike a scan6 4.
One thing that Congress wants 10
know is whether these allegations have
been exaggerated. II conditions are
half as bad as has come TO be widely
believed among Congressional people.
there Is certain to be a sharp overhaul
ing as the result OF any investigation
which viii prove the facts The first
business, therefore, of the Bcrah-Cum-
Minis Investigation sill be to find out
whether the civil .sel ice has been
muck-raked and lied aiout and sian
dered.
The Merit System.
It is agreed by az e~itics OF the SER
vice that the merit syste-a ass come TO
stay. There IS little probability that It
viii ever be dropped. but It is likely TO
be a good deal modified. II II CON-
planned that the merit systenl IS now
administered lets II. too many persons
who haven't any merit, and makes It
too difficult for peculiarly qualified peo-
pie 10 get the places for which they
are adapted. How TO modify the system
TO meet this very real objection, and yet
not TO throw il open to the play OF
pull is the question uobody has ever
succeeded in answering.
When Leslie NJ. Shaw was Secretary
OF the Treasury he had a theory that
the way to reform the civil service was
TO have a strictly limited and 6Xed ten
ure OF Otnce, and 70 assure rotation IN
the Government positions He didn't
believe in giving people life hold AMI
letting them grow stale on the Govern
ment's hands. He believed Il was per-
fectly right that the departments should
be largely filed by young men and wo-
men, bright, energetic, competent an
bilious; young people attending school
in Washington, perhaps getting their
by working out OF hours,
while serving the Government during its
not very exacting hours. Thousands
would do il II the way were opened to
them to get the positions. And the lin
tied tenure plan, coupled with a proper
merit system, would make tt possible
for more Of them to secure positions.
Cummins' Plan.
It is understood that Senator Cum
Minis, head of the Civil Service Commit
tee. which viii make the investigation.
leans decidedly to some such limited
tenure plan. and that above all things
he is opposed to any such permanent
tenure as would bring the Government
70 face a civil pension pro
gram.
The members Of the Senate COMMITTEES
on Civil Service, which viii make the
investigation are: Cummins,
chairman; Perkins, la Toilette, Lodge,
Clarke OF Arkansas, Rayner
and Owen. Their sittingss which viii be
held mainly through subcommittee, viii
DCnupV several months before a flIlt re-