Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1916-06-07
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.

INCOMPETENCY-I
CINCE the Wilson administration
- came into Office no opportunity
has been let slip to take down
the bars of the civil service law and
make places for hungry Democrats
who could not pass a competitive ex-
animation. The latest attempt to abro-
gate the civil service law for the
benefit of the deserving comes in the
plan to take appointments under the
proposed rural credits law out of the
operation of civil service.
The Baltimore platform of the
Democratic party declared with all the
solemnity of a vow:
The law pertaining to the civil
service should be honestly and rig
idly enforced, to the end that merit
and ability shall be the standard OF
appointment and promotion rather
than services rendered to political
party.
our platform is one of principle
which we believe to be essential to
our national welfare. Our pledges
are made to be kept when in office
as well as relied upon during the
campaign.
But the VOW to preserve inviolate
the principles of civil service, like
other Democratic promises, has fallen
victim to the political avarice of the
long denied professional politicians of
the Democratic party.
Moreover, the President, despite his
professions of devotion to the merit
system. has made no effort to keep his
fellow Democrats within bounds in
their assault on the civil service. He
has issued an unprec ecedented number
of executive orders elevating favorites
to fiat jobs" in many cases over the
opposition of the Civil Service Com
mission.
Now the rural credits legislation,
like the Federal Reserve Board law,
is to be made contributory to Demo-
cratic spoils. 1t is proposed that all
clerks and other employees under the
law be appointed without regard for
the civil service. Not satisfied with
appointments outside the merit sys-
TEN, further provision is made that
nothing herein shall prevent the Presi-
dent from placing said employees in
the classified service"
Not only is it the Democratic inten-
ton to ignore the merit system in the
matter of appointments, but after the
deserving have been initiated into the
government employ by the armchair
route they are to be given indetermi-
nate and safe tenure through the
Presidents assigning them a place on
the classified list.
This policy of pensioning political
favorites is not a recent development
among all the curious things that have
transpired since Woodrow Wilson
went to the White House. Rather has
1t been consistent policy spread over
the past four years. The Underwood
act exempted collectors of the income
tax from the civil service. The de-
flciency appropriation act of the last
Congress took deputy United States
marshals and deputy collectors of in
! ternal revenue out of the civil service.
An unsuccessful attempt to take as
sistant postmasters out of the civil
service was made in the post office
appropriation bill of the last Congress.
Then the Federal reserve bank act
made the use of the merit system op-
tional with the board of governors
And now it is proposed to exempt ap-
pointments under the rural credits act.
That facetious Democratic platform
document promised:
Our pledges are made to be kept
| when in office as we'll as relied up
| on during the campaign.
The Democrats have this civil serv-
ice raid and a multitude of other
broken promises to explain to the
voters before next Fall. Indeed, it
looks as though the Democratic cam
paign of 1916 would be largely a cam
paign of explanations.