People's Pilot, Volume 3, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 December 1893 — THE CIVIL SERVICE. [ARTICLE]

THE CIVIL SERVICE.

The Cotnmiwion Reports on Its Work— Johnston’s Minority Report. Washington, Dee. 12—The majority report of the civil service commission for the present year is a voluminous document of about 15,000 words —as long as the president’s message. The portion of special interest is that bearing on the extension of the classified service to free delivery post offices, by order of President Harrison, January 5, 1893. It is from this portion that Commissioner Johnston dissented, causing his removal by President Cleveland. The majority report says of this extension: ‘This act brought Into the classified service 584 offices and since Its promulgation the free delivery service has been extended to nine other offices, thus making the tout number of classified post offices at this time 6,110. Including the fifty-three classified prior to this extension.” The salary limit to the classified service in the custom houses is condemned and classification by grade recommended. Changes in the New York custom houses are cited as examples. The satisfactory result of the classification of the railway and mail service are dealt on at length. The work of fourth-class postmasters subject to removal tor partisan cause is cited in comparison with that of railway mail clerks to show the advantage of the system of choosing the latter. The report closes with a statement showing that the number of persons connected with the civil service in the United States is about 200,000, and giving in detail the regulations governing hours of labor, compensation, promotions, etc. Commissioner Johnston in his minority report takes issue with his colleagues as to the extension of the classified service ordered January 5, 1893, to include free delivery post offices. He thinks that under the circumstances, with the commission crippled for want of clerical force with which to do even the regular work of the commission, it was ill-advised, unfair and harmful to the cause of civil service reform. He says: "The American people realize that the extension ot the classified service does not necessarily mean civil service reform. When that extension increases by thousands the representatives in office of a party whose members already in classified places outnumber the members ot the other party in classtied places in the proportion of probably three or four to one, and when such extension is ordered by an administration and goes into effect shortly before the government is turned over to another administration of different political faith and party affiliation known to be friendly to the cause of civil-service reform, it is difficult to reconcile it to fair-minded men of all parties as a non-partisan measure, and as difficult to reconcile it to believers in genuine civil-service reform as a helpful contribution to that worthy and good cause." The sending to the president of this minority report brought to a crisis the serious personal and official differences that, ever since Mr. Johnston’s appointment as a member of the commission, have existed between him and his colleagues, and it is understood that Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Lyman .at once laid the mat- ; ter before the president, representing ; that as Mr. Johnston's views differed from those of the majority on the vital ' questions of policy it seefhed quite im- | possible that the personnel of the com- ! mission could longer remain as then 1 existing. The result was Mr. John- ■ ston’s dismissal.