The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-04-14

In spice of the enorousm headway the
 civil service has made in America dur
 ing the last years, the system of ex-
 animation for entrance and promotion in
 public office has never really captured l popular imagination. It has always been
 associated with cold and correct moral l fly versus open hearted kindness. Per- haps it's propagandsts have over em-
 phaszed it's usefulness in keeping the
 rascals out and thus have allowed it to
 become stranded in the shallow waters of
 negative virtue.
 Although it is in connection with hu- manitarian institutions that civil service
 has reached its most telling success. ie- cent events in Chicago have shown that
 the sa afcguards which q decade of the
 merit system have thrown about public
 care of the sick, the insane, the aged
 poor, and dependent children, may be
 scattered to the winds of rabelaislan
 gaiety with scarcely a protest from the community as whole The mere facts that civil service has secured a more ef- ficient administration of public affairs
 is not of itself a sufficient guarantee that will endure.
 A review of the methods of triumpha destruction pursued by the president of the board of county commissioners, to whom the care of Chicago's humanitarian
 Institutions was committed, proves this. One of his earliest official acts was to walk portentlously into the wards of the
 public hospitals and to eat the food which
 was being served to the patients. When the eggs proved to be "bad 'uns." he was in state of righteous indignation and dramatically called upon heaven to wit ness that never again so long as he
 held office would the sick poor of the
 county suffer such indignities.
 That very large public to whom the compassionate and big hearted man al- | ways appeals at once concluded that the new president understood the poor and was serving them with unselhsh deyo- tion. The fact that the newly appointed food inspector was "Fish Murray 8 | hungry official holder out of a job who had become famous through his venal lack | of discrimination in foods did not ap-
 parently reach the public minds, nor did | the fact that new position was illegal | ly made for him, at a salary Of S30JD.
 missed the medical help of the county | hospitals for the insane. scattered the | trained nurses who had been in charge
 of the patients and ruthlessly fired the corps of civil service employees. Of
 course, incidentally, many partisans were | given positions but again the fact that
 they were united. that hugh hospital
 of 2701 patients was left with only one l trained nurse, did not interest the pub
 llc It saw only the fact that kind
 hearted man had put in new people to | make things better.
 The president of the county board next | turned his attention to the juvenile court | which afforded the best possible field for
 the operation of befriending the people for did 1t not constantly deal with neg ! lected children, with widows and the fathc>less whose defense has ever been
 the chief glory of the politician. He be- gan a campaign which cleverly combined the vilhcation of the chief probation of ficer and a pathetic appeal on behalf of | dependent children. In this he had the | support of Hearst daily with its great | advantage of sNpreme indifference to &C., | curacy, until the stage was at last made lready for the civil service trial of the
 chief probation officer. This trial was prolonged throughout three months at
 least affording an impressive lesson to l other public servants against the folly of
 standing on their rights.
 | Many things however, transpred to dim the final triumph. Perhaps tne plan was too long or the blackness of the | william too unrelieved. At any rate the | leading men in the center of the stage, l the civil service commissioners, grew tired of the part assigned them and l quarrelled with the stage managers. One | of the latter who had been promised the place of chief probation officer with a substantial increase of salary. suddenly 1 found himself in full view of the audi once without a makeup and hastily re- | treated after an incoherent apology. The | spotlight. awkwardly managed. unexpect- i edly threw into bold relief two depend ent girls who. although they had been dramatically abducted by night from an as to their parts. forgot their lines at