Evening star., 1940-09-27
The Romspeck Bill

Ramspeck bill, as it emerged finally
from the Senate. is a good measure.
1t brings nearer long-overdue re-
forms in civil service, and paveS the
way for raising the pay scale in the
field by applying the Classification
Act rates prevailing in the agencies
here
In amending the bill, however, to
continue the exclusion from civil
service of some eight thousand dep
uty collectors of internal revenue,
the Senate has voted to perpetuate
a phase Of the patronage system that
has cost the Government millions of
dollars in the past, and will cost ad-
ditional millions so long as it prevails.
With each change in administra-
ton, these employees charged with
the vital function of collecting Fed
eral taxes are ousted in favor Of a
new group; ineXperience is substi-
tuted for experience in every collec-
ton district in the country, and until
the newcomers get acquainted with
their duties, the Government and
the public pay for the loss Of eff
cheney occasioned by the turnover.
Actual figures show how costly
these periodic upheavalS are. When
the Democrats came into power in
1888 and the usual house cleaning
took place, back-taX collections
dropped from an annual average of
fifty million dollars to thirty million.
AS the new force gained more famil-
iarity with the work, the collections
again started upward, and the rate
now is around ninety million dollars.
The same thing has happened be-
fore. and undoubtedly would happen
again if the amendment prevails. 1t
is a thoroughly indefensible state
Of affairs, and the amendment
should be killed by the Senate and
House conferees, who now get
the bill.
This amendment also strikes a
blow at good administration by
barring from civil service deputy
United States marshals and assist
ant United States attorneys. 1t is a
matter of record that Federal Court
procedure is subject to severe delay
when these offices are disrupted by
political changes, and that, too, is
situation calling for the attention of
the conferees. The Presidents COM
mittee headed by Supreme Court
Justice Stanley F. Reed, which for
months has been working on a pro-
gram for improving civil service, is
expected to make recommendation
covering these court aids, and until
that is forthcoming, Congress should
hesitate to interpose any obstacle to
possible reforms. The wisdom of the
amendment adopted by the Senate
at the instance of Senator Norris, to
keep Tennessee Valley employees out
side the scope of the BILL also is open
to question for the simple reason
that the civil service structure is
weakened by any exception The
law, however, forbidS patronage ap-
pointments in the T. V. A.
Otherwise, the Senate changes
generally improve the House bill.
This is particularly true of the
amendment knocking out the provi-
sion that would have withheld ben
efits of the bill from employees here
who hail from States having more
than their quota of positions in the
apportioned service.
The bill had been before the Sem
ate since February, and its ultimate
passage was due in great part to the
vigorous efforts of Senator Mead,
Democrat, of New York, and Senator
White, Republican, of Maine. Final
adoption would make possible the
extension of civil service to thou
sands of positions, and mark addi-
tional progress toward the upbuild-
ing of Government service as a
career service. While the immediate
effect, of course, would be to blanket
into civil service many so-called
patronage appointees, the long-range
objectives of the bill are highly de-
sirable and overwhelmingly persua-