El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-07

! succeeded John C. Carlisle as
secretary of the treasury, he was
! overwhelmed with applications for DO
slllons, the majority of which were
under civil service Viewing a ba-.b
OF thousand or more applications
from InOSe VINO were seeking office
ne declared 1t seemed to him most RI
olculous that nine-tenths of those who
thoGSnt themselves intelligent enough
70 ASSIST IN making the Mckinley ad-
mlnlstraIon success, were so ienOr-
ant ABOUT civil service laws that rhev
ala not know the positions thew an
plieu Tor were under the classified ser
vice and were too Indifferent to look
up the status Of the positions M
desired before making application
The Merit system
me 1act of the matter is that the
the doctrine that to the yicrors ne
long the spOils to the policy of merit
and training. has been so gradual thar
rev people have anything more than a
casual idea that such a sweeping re-
form has actually taken Mac
coupled with this lack of realization
among the masses of people as to what
the civil service really does stand for.
ne rumOr that the merit system is
simply a thing for politicians to hide
oenlnd from office seekers they do
not desire to appoint, the while thew
place IN office those who are their
Even in Washington where the peo-
PIE ought to know better. there is that
general sentiment that this senator or
lhaI congressman, or the other cabf-
net Official could do something for YOU
II ne wished, and, in spite of the rigid
aunerence TO civil service principles
that often has thwarted the sincerest
WlShes OF senators and representative
ana or men nigh IN the executive SER
wee as well, the office seeker who
IalIs to land a job always feels that
ne IS the victim OF system aimed
more al ms undoing than at the up
Dulldlng or the government service
and OF these there are many
Small Percentage Qualify.
LfSH Wuen Inere IS no change of
adI p, stratlon the number who knock Z
at the doors of the government for ad-
mission to its salary lists is large
Last year, for instance. $4,000 DeO-
pie tried to get into the service of
Chcle sam by the examination OF
every 1lS who sought to enter the ser I
vice IS got upon the eligible list. but
only "A were appointed
Ihls Is a method of filling gov
eminent offices that scatters the |
changes throughout the years instead
OF allowing them all to be made when /
new administration come into power.
Since the civil service law was passed I
IN 1888, gradually one president after J
anOIher has added positions to the |
list Of those filled under competitive l
examinations until today there are |
comparatively few positions not filled |
IN TINS way And the positions that 1
are not so nlled are those of men /
who frame policies rather than those !
who execute those policies.
Patronage Decreases.
Inc ideal toward which the advo- 4
cafes OF civil service extensions are I
aiming. IS that all men who execute !
our governmental policies shall be IN 1
ger civil service, and those who make ]
mem under the direct or indirect !
cholce OF the people.
How nearly this ideal has been
reached IS revealed by the fact that 1
the patronage Of the president has fall
zen IoWer and lower by the extension !
u clIl service until today he has
put 1900 positions, great and small !
70 I'LL. and all but about 1000 of
lnem can be filled only with the ad-
wee and consent of the senate" OF !
the 1VUO concerning which he does not ]
need to go to the senate for concur
renee only a few are worth anything /
TO the man who distributes patronage. !
ana a majority of them are unskined /
ldDor JOBS that do not always change I
with changing administrations.
Hard Task For President.
Inc Dulk Of the officers directly ap- |
pointed by the president are the post
masters above the fourth class When /
We realize that of the II 900 important
appointments he can make, 5000 are Z
posJmaSters, 1t will be seen that his
main patronage left amounts to only a I
Deggarly 1000 good Jobs for the whole I
united States. And many times presi-
uehJs nave wished they could get rid |
OF tnem- 1t is work involving great !
sLraln to hear and decide the dozens /
OF claims for each office that arise /
IN the course Of the presidential travels
on the treadmin of patronage. The
president who called it a 'treadmilT' 1
PROBABLY measured his metaphor with /
great care, for they all admit that
II Is hard work and no progress. They
assert that patronage no longer makes
or unmakes presidents. and that the
pubic official in every walk of life |
IS DeSlnnlng to realize that three en-
eIhles are made to every friend won
IN the dlspensation of offices.
Over 100000 Positions In All.
What a riot of patronage. what a /
salurnalia of cOntending ambitions and !
political rivalries there would be in /
the United States if the policy "tO Z
the victor belongs the spOils' were TO !
be In force today -Four hundred thou /
sand positions. important and petty, !
70 1llll Four million persons aspiring !
70 iii them and each feeling that he I
IS has peculiar abilities. peculiar poll
teal claims for appointment and pc |
culiar reasons for being recognized
There were only about IS 600 posi- :
tons of every kind and description in /
the entire federal service when Andrew
Jackson was president and vet with ]
that comparatively small number
was overrun with victOrs
who thought they We're entitled TO |
D share of the spOils. There were l.
Doc. 900 voters in the country then. as
compared with 100000 this year
If there We're tragedies without num-
Der then as disappointed office
seeker after disappointed office