The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-03-20
ISIT CIVIL SERVICE.
Apparent "Joker" Discovered
i'm Price of Clark Measure.
Big State Offices Exempt From
Provisions of Bill.

lis the Price civil service bill huge
political joke?
That question is today disturbing q
number of legislative members who III
the closing hours of the session have
found what they contend are numer-
Gus jokers in the bill. According to
provisions of the bill, under a gener-
GUS Interpretation, even the sacred
blood and marriage clause may be
violated right in the state house.
If contentious of several lawmakers
are true, the so-called simon pure civil
service bill may be gold brick IN
disguise and good only for campaign
purposes. BY the terms of the Dill
which is today in the hands or the
conference committee the state house
crowd and heads of state departments
are, clearly exempted from operations
of the law.
Under the terms of the bill as orig
inally drafted and as passed by both
the house and senate, every elective
state official, every supreme court
Judge, every district judge-even Gov
ernor Capper himself-may employ
one or dozen relatives The blood
and marriage clause for which Sena-
tor Price fought and bled and died IS
waived that executive state officers
may take advantage of its provisions.
In fact an entire section of the bill is
given over to waivers of provisions OF
the so-called civil service" law.
Hands Off State House.
So far as the civil service commits
sion is concerned. it must keep its
hands off when the state house is
reached. All possibility of regulating
appointments in the state house is
emphatically denied the commission
ers under provisions of the Price bill.
It is in establishing the "unclaSSified
service that the Price bill let's down
sthe bars and makes the alleged civil
service measure huge joke The
measure by provisions of the 'unclas-
Sified service makes the present JOk-
er civil service law look fire and burg
lar proof, according to statements of
persons who have studied the bill now
up to the senate for concurrence in
the house amendments.
Read section 2:
THE civil service of the state shall
be divided into the unclassified serv-
ice, the exempt service. and the clas-
sified service the bill recites. Then
it provides:
1.-The unclassified service shall not
be subject to any of the provisions of
this act, and shall include the follow
ing classes:
These are the unclassified offices,
exempted by terms of the bill. Read
them:
vote, all commissioned officers APP
pointed by the governor, with or with
out the consent of the senate; all Of
ficers and employees appointed by
Legislature, all election officers, all
heads of departments of state govern
ment, and members of commissions
and boards thereof; all officers and
persons in the militia, appointees of
the court and judges thereof, and the
clerk or stenogra of any such
judge or justice of the supreme court,
the assistants and chief clerk of the
several executive state officers, all I'M
skilled or common laborers or domes-
tics employed as common or unskilled
laborers or domestics.'
Fill Up With Relatives.
Under this provision the elective
state officers-governor, attorney gen.
eral secretary of state, treasurer, au-
ditor, superintendent of insurance, SUI
perintendent, justice of the supreme
court, district judges and members of
the legislature are exempted. They
might employ many relatives or as
many persons not approved by the civ
i'll service commission as they desired.
boards and heads of departments and
commissions appointed by the govern
or may have the same exemptions IS
the elective officers.
70 But for these mptiOns-which
exempt about everything in the state
the civil service law is aimed at the
vicious spoils system concerning
which Governor Capper had SO mucn
to say in the recent campaign.
This afternoon, senate members
threatened to provide in the execu-
tive and judicial appropriation bill
that no money appropriated under the
measure should be paid to relatives of
heads of the state offices and depart
ments. Such a provision might in it
self enforce the blood and marriage
clause in the civil service rule
4 Whether the house would concur in
such an amendment is yet another
thing. With the session only few
hours from the end, there is yet time
for almost anything to happen to the
proposed enactment