Evening star., 1913-02-26
TYPES OF REFORM
Discussion of Civil Service by
Michigan Senator.
SYSTEM FAULTY, HE SAYS
Post Office Appropriation Bill Under
Consideration-Postal Clerks and
Mail Carriers Benefited.

service system Of the United States by
Senator Smith of Michigan marked the
| discussion Of the post office appropriation
bill in the Senate last night.
II do not regard the present civil serv-
| ice system as any Improvement upon the
| old one, as WHOLE said Mr. Smith, dis
| cussing the placing of fourth-claSs post
| masters under the civil service. There is
more mean, contemplate, degrading pol
| itics in the civil service today than is
generally understood by the public. This
criticism does not apply to all depart
ments, but to many. I assert. without
any hesitation whatever, that there has
not been a cabinet minister in charge of
any department of this government in
the last fifteen years who has run his de-
partment> He has been blndfolded by an
official force protected by law, and he has
been obedient to their will.
Not Wholesale Reformer.
''Mr. President I am not much Of a
wholesale civil service reformer; do not
believe in it at all as applied to post
offices, although certain public work re-
qIires experts and can be done best by
people of special training. I think 1t is
little less than grotesque to ask the lead
ing men of a little community to get be-
hind a little desk and define the rule of
higher mathematics before they can serve
the public in that capacity. If candidates
are honest and competent, / would like
to see all these offices so to the dominant
party, to- be apportioned by them as a re-
| ward for loyal political services, and feel
that the public would be served With
equal fidelity and the expense of admin s.
| tration in no manner increased"
Under discussion at the time was the
| amendment to the appropriation bill pro-
viding for the election of fourth-clasS
postmasters in primaries and the pro-
posed change in the system OF selecting
| those postmasters provoked much discus
| sion. A point of order made against the
| provision was sustained by President Pro
| Tempore Gallinger and that knocked out
the provision.
Fixes Minimum Salary.
| That man cannot live on $720 year
and keep up appearances was the deci-
| sion Of the Senate when it overturned it's
post office committee, voted out all $12O
salaries for postal clerks and mail car
riers and accepted the $500 minimum
| salary previously fixed by the House.
The decision came at the end of q fight,
| in which the advocates of higher govern
| ment salaries clashed repeatedly with
| those who declared the workingmen OF
the country Ildu 10 pay tbc bAii' Noiia-
| tors Curtis. Cumnins and Kenyon led the
| fight for higher wages; while Senator
Bristow, defending the Senate committee,
| declared he would never vote to raise
government salaries until there was some
means Of protecting the laboring men
outside of the government service. The
Senate adopted the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
salary by a vote Of 81 to II. Senator
Ashurst produced figures during the de-
| bate to show that the average man in a
| responsible position could not maintain
| his family for less than $76S.54
| Leaves Nothing for Pleasure.
'That includes nothing for a book, a
| theater ticket. an excursion or anything
| that makes life worth living" he de-
clared.
The average wages Of American labor,
Senator Cummins admitted, was not in
excess of 500 year, but he said govern
ment employees must keep up certain ap-
pearances and the government should set
| the example of raising the minimum
wage.