Year: 1871

sion. Etc.


4 WASHINGTON, Dec. I9.-The P-esi


dent sent the following message Il
. Congress to-day:


EXECUTIVE MANSION, Dec. IS.
/ To the Senate and House of RspreseR
tItiUes:


In accordance with the act Of Con
gress, approved March ,, 1S7l, / con


vened a commission of eminent gen


tlemen to devise rules and regulation!


for the purpose of reforming the civi
service. Their labOTs are now com


pleted, and / transmit herewith thei
report, together with the rules which
they recommend to my action. Thesl


rules have been adopted and will g


into effect on the first day of January
1872. Under the law referred to, as


interpret it, authority is already vest


ed in the Executive to enforce these
/ regulations, with full power to abridge
alter or amend them at his option,


when changes may be deemed advis


able. These views, with the report o


the Commissioners, are submitted fol
/ your careful consideration as to wheth
er further legislation may be neces


sary in order to carry out effective anC
beneficial civil service reform. If lef


to me, without further Congressional


action, the rules prescribed by tht


Commission, under the provision al


ready mentioned, will be faithfully
executed, but they are not binding


without further legislation on my sue
cessoTs. Being desirOuS of bringing


this subject to the attention of Con


gress before the approaching recess,


have not time to sufficiently examine


the accompanying report to enable me
to suggest definite legislative action.
| To insure the support which may be
necessary in order TO give a thorough


trial to a policy long needed, l ask for
| all the strength which Congress can
| give me to enable me To carry out the
reforms in civil service Ommended


by the Commission, and adopted to
take effect, as before stated, on the
| first of January, 1872.


The law which provides for the con-
/ vening of a Convention to devise rules
! and regulations for reforming the civil
service authorizes, 1 think, the perm
anent organization of primary board,
under whose general direction all eX-
aminations of applicants for public Of
! fees will be conducted. There is no
appropriation to continue such board
beyond its present labOrs. l therefore
recommend that proper apprOpria-
ton be made to continue the services
of the present board for another year,
and in view of the fact that three
members of the board hold positions
in the public service which preclude
them from receiving extra cOmpensa-
ton under existing laws, that they be
authorized to receive 4 fair cOmpensa-
ton for the services rendered by them
in the performance of this duty.


L. S GRANT


The following is an abstract of the
report of the Commission:


After citing the act under which
they were consolidated, the Commits
misiOners enter upon a sketch of the
policy of the various administrations
in the earlier history of the govern
ment with regard to appointments to
the civil service, and briefly into the
various efforts made from time to
time to correct evils, and then pass to
a description of the present condition
of the civil service, which has hither-
to been sustained by common consent,
setting forth in detail the serious and
threatening evils of the present prac-
tice of treating inferior posts of the
administration as party pTises, and
answering the various arguments by
which it is sought to be justified
They say that if, by examinations for
admission to the civil service, nothing
was understood but a test of mere lit
erary proficiency, it might be reason
ably opposed as unsatisfactory, for it
is unquestiOnable that a man might
be an excellent appraiser of linen, and
yet know nothing of history or ac-
counts, but, on the other hand, it is
equally undeniable that an excellent
appraiser of linen is not less excellent
because of general intelligence. OF
two excellent accountants, the one
who has the most general knowledge
is certainly preferable, and a country
which declares that where technical
skill is equal it will select a candidate
for its civil service who is the better
educated, is country which directly
and practically encourages intelligence
and morality. 1t is true that certain
distinguished men in public service
might not have passed a certain liter
ary examination which is now re-
quired of young men entering the
same service, but is equally true that
the older men could have passed eX-
animation had one in their case been
required, and the proof is their capac-
ity, of which their present distinction
is the proof. The Commissioners say
in concluding their report:


1--WE do not indeed suppose that the
adoption of any rules, however skill
fully framed, would at once remedy
the evils in the civil service which
are universally acknowledged, and
experience will dOubtlessly show
how every method of reform may be
improved; but those evils will GER
tainly not be remedied without effort.
Those who are content to demand
civil service reform, but who oppose
every practical attempt to promote it,
must be suspected of having little real
hostility to the system which they de-
cry. Fortunately, however, public
attention was never more resOlutely
turned to the subject, and there was
never a more favorable moment to
begin reform. The party issues of the
last few years are gradually disappear
ing. The perilOus questions of funda-
mental policy have been determined,
and the paramount interests of the
country are now those of the Admin
istratiOn. Honesty and efficiency of
as the settled nation
al policy, will be the chief demand of
every party, but nowhere can that
purpose be shown so plainly as in the
reformation Of the civil service 50 as
to secure integrity, efficiency and
economy"


After quoting from the recent speech
of Mr.. Gladstone to show that q simi-
lar reform has been made and has
succeeded in England, the Commits
sion continue:


awe propose also that in this cOun-
try places in the public service shall
be restored to those vino are found to
be fitted for them, and if any one is
disposed to think that an abuse for
years is a law of the republican sys-
TEN, a little reflection will show him
his error. If he believes reform to be
impossible he merely shows that he is
IlG NlCtlLu Ol Tie dUuSe, duI lOISCIS
that in America every reform is pos
sible. The enforcement of the rules
that we submit for approval depends, of
course, upon the pleasure of the Presi-
dent, yet, should they receive the
sanction of Congress, in the form of
law, their enforcement would become,
until repealed, not only the pleasure
but the duty of the President. That
sanction, whether to rules now sub
mitted or to any scheme, will more
surely promote the purity and effici-
ency of the civil service of the cOUn-
try most earnestly desired. If that
sanction should be delayed, the rules
adopted for his action by the Presi-
dent could not bind his successor, but,
unless we are mistaken, the reform
would so vindicate itself to the good
sense of the country that the people
themselves would reject any party
and any candidate that proposed a re-
lapse into the present practice. The
improvement of the civil service Is
emphatically the peoples reform, and
the administration which vigorously
begins it will acquire a glory only less
than the salvation of our free union"


Signed by George William Curtis,
Alexander D. Cattell, Joseph Medill,
Davidson A. Walker, E. B. Elliott,
7 ~ q y