Vol. 67

Civil Service

The report of a and the Administration special committee of the National Civil Service Reform League, embodying the result of its investigation of the Federal civil service and the enforcement of the reform law and rules under the present Administration, shows that while much has been done to take the business of the Government out of the hands of the politicians, much still remains to be done. In passing the law of 1883 Congress intended to bring under its provisions the entire subordinate Executive service-" all that vast number of appointed officials who carry into effect the orders of the President, . . . whose duties do not change with a change of administration, and who have nothing to do with framing the political policies of the Government." From the date of the passage of this act until May last the extension of its operation was steadily continued, each President placing under it, from time to time, additional offices. The committee reports, however, that, while the system in many of the branches which have been longest classified remains unimpaired, the law has not been thoroughly and honestly enforced, and that the President, with the exception of the very admirable start made in the Philippine service, has ignored a number of excellent opportunities for its extension. The committee declares that the President is not continuing the work, and that the progress of the reform has been checked. This is at variance with the declared purposes of the President and with the declarations of the Republican party. Investigation of the facts seems to show that "exceptions" from the requirements of the Civil Service Law have been almost twice as numerous as appointments made under the law. The League declares that the appointment of local Federal officers of the Presidential class has been dic

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tated almost exclusively by Senators and Representatives whose selections the President has ratified, and that while good men have been secured under this system, the vast majority of the appointees are active local politicians, who create a serious obstacle to the satisfactory administration of civil service rules. Among the Presidential offices in the general branches the changes have been almost universal. In the consular service during the first year of the Administration more than ninety per cent. of the salaried offices were refilled, and during the same period in the Indian service more than sixty-two per cent. of the agents were changed.

Violations of the Law

The report charges that there have been serious violations in the Civil Service Law in the classified service-chiefly in the Internal Revenue service, the Land Office service, the Government Printing-Office, the field forces of the Department of Justice, the Pension Bureau, and in a number of custom-houses and post-offices— especially in the post-office in Philadelphia.

In many instances the Civil Service Commission has addressed remonstrances to the departments concerned in these violations, but has not in any case obtained satisfactory results. Three years ago the League addressed a letter directly to the President, calling his attention to these violations and asking that measures be taken to stop them. A year later it presented a second report to the President, in which violations throughout the service were enumerated, with exhibits. The corrections made, however, were few; and in no case was an officer who had violated the rules removed for that offense. The report also charges numerous indirect evasions of the law, especially in the Post-Office Department, where, by devices

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