Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-05-18
MR.. WILSON AS A POLITICIAN.

MR.. WILSON AS A POLITICIAN.
st. Louis GlObc-DcmOCrut. PrrSi.
dent Wilson has been forced 10 Weld
something to the clamor OF members
of the house who have made a first
delivery Of goods. The same day
which saw the Underwood bill safely
through the house saw tt revocation
OF the Taft order extending the pro-
lection Of the civil service system to
have been only Il COINCIDENCE, hu, Tor
the civil service r"iOrmcTS it will have
be made a practical revocation Of the
TAFT order, although il retains the
principle OF competitive examination
and does not, like the Harrison or
der Of 1889, affecting railway mail
clerks, leave the Offices dealt with
open to direct partisan appointment.
1t has nor been expected that the
president would, at this time. when
the merit system is 50 much strOngcH
in public opinion than it was a quar-
ter OF a century ago. arbitrarily
reopen to party spOilsllen thousands
of places closed to them BY a civil
service order. Disappointment, how.
ever, will be keenly felt by a great
body of people who have hoped that
Mr.. Wilson would be strong enough
to resist the pressure Of his party and
not take a backward step in the work
OF cleansing the civil service Of spoil
ism. These idealistic folk have been
unaware OF the extent and force of
the pressure applied, or they have
overestimated Mr.. Wilson's strength
of resistance to the demands of CON
grcssmen who are helping him to ap.
ply an economic theory he holds more
precious than an, he has ever held
about anything else.
If the country had a guarantee of
entirely fair and impartial eyamina.
tons and a%ccreditings in making up
the eligible list for the filling of the
fourth class post Offices. there would
be nothing to condemn in the order,
In fact, periodical re-examinations,
say, once in a decade, in all OF the
offices protected by civil service
rules would not be unpopular, under
such a guarantee. Without such a
guarantee. and Immediately following
a change in party administration, and,
what is worse, Immediately following
a sustained pressure by party leaders
70 make room for their clamorous
and importunate partisans, the Will
son order must remain under susDi-
clou until it clears itself. 1t is prob
ably the expectation Of the president
ana the postmaster general, and per.
maps that Of some congressman, that
the lncumbents, and all new appli-
cants for examination will be treated
Ialrly. But that such is nor the ey.
pectation Of the waiting democratic
spollsmen was already proved By their
lnsistence upon this revocation, and
is proved again in their hallelujahs
at the glad tidings of it's coming.
Mr.. Wilson grows upon us as a
practical politician. AS a civil serv-
ice reformer he must. until this order
can be seen working out on reform
lines, be classea with the prohibition
orator who was caught in the act of
taking a spirituous drink and whose
only explanation was that while he
was always a prohibitionist he was
V a bigot. Possibly, after con
gress has given or refused to give
MIN all he wants, he may turn his
personal attention to the work of see
ing that his revocation order is not
abused in the removal of capable
men to make room for mere party
workers. Meanwhile, promises come
out of Washington that this is only
the beginning of reorganizations in
the civil service. Postmaster Cen
eral Burleson indicates that the re-
organization will not be only in the
Wav Of ma Of eytanciopc hut
that it will include extensions of the
service within a year or two. From
this we infer that practically all OF
those offices will be occupied by ap
pointed democrats within that time,
We infer from it, also that what Mr..
Wilson has just condemned in Mr.