Carl Russell Fish

“ It is not surprising, therefore, that many of the most active supporters of civil service reform were found in the ranks of the Liberal Republicans, through whom the principle found its first expression in a national party platform in the following plank: “The civil service of the government has become a mere instrument of partisan tyranny and personal ambition, and an object of selfish greed. ”

“ The first man to grapple with the question of administrative reform in a thoroughly practical manner, and to give to it the continued and single-minded devotion that so complex and vital a problem demanded, was Thomas Allen Jenckes of Rhode Island. ”

“ Many counter suggestions were made: that what was needed was the weeding-out of incompetents; that preference in appointments should be given to candidates belonging to the party having the smallest number of members in government service (the plan, of course, of a Democrat) ; that entrance by examination should not be confined to the lowest grades; that examinations should be strictly confined to matters directly relating to the duties of the offices to be filled; that under the new rules those in office should be forced to compete on equal terms with other citizens. ”

“ When, however, the opposite party comes to power and finds its opponents securely lodged in offices which but just now were patronage and from which its own members may have been but recently expelled, a severe strain is put upon the belief in the morality of civil service reform ”

“ In May, 1877, the New York Civil Service Reform Association was formed, and in 1880 it claimed 583 members representing 33 states and territories. Other societies sprang up in Boston, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, San Francisco, and elsewhere; and in August, 1881, a “National League” was formed at Newport, with George William Curtis as president. This was followed by the organization of state societies, [19] and the movement was brought to the fighting stage. It is not by any means probable that the number of active reformers was so great as the number of their publications would lead one to think ”

“ President Grant continued his efforts, and constantly presented the matter to Congress, at last announcing on December 7, 1874: “If Congress adjourns without positive legislation on the subject of ‘civil service reform’ I will regard such action as a disapproval of the system, and will abandon it, except so far as to require examinations for certain appointees, to determine their fitness. Competitive examinations will be abandoned.” ”

“ President Harrison was inaugurated before this new order went into effect, and one of the greatest political weaknesses of the new system at once became apparent. The fact that, when the civil service rules are extended to a new class of offices, the incumbents are included within their protection without having to undergo the trial of an examination, has made it easier for presidents — has perhaps even tempted those who were retiring — to extend the classification and protect their party friends. ”

“ In the New York state convention he fell upon George William Curtis with the full force of his vituperative eloquence, and in the United States Senate he delayed the new nominations for the posts thus vacated. Confirmation came at last; and in 1879 competitive examinations were made the basis for appointments in the New York custom-house, under the rules drawn up by the new naval officer, the well-known reformer, Silas W. Burt. In 1880 the system was applied to the New York post-office, and the administration could congratulate itself on having taken some definite steps in advance. ”

“ This point seemed to influence many, and Senator Hawley described how difficult it was, for men who had the power to aid, to refuse worthy but inefficient persons. The advocates of reform had to devote some attention to the question of the necessity of a bill at all. Did not the president have all-sufficient power to reform the service without the aid of Congress? In the previous session of this same Congress a bill had actually passed the House, appropriating fifteen thousand dollars to enable the president to enforce the clause adopted in 1871. ”

“ The president himself was responsible for an important innovation in the rules, — that of providing for the keeping of efficiency records to be used in making promotions. It had been felt for some time that it was not well to rely entirely upon examinations in raising men from one class to another; the difficulty was to get a judgment and exclude favoritism. In his first annual message, President Harrison expressed his belief that some record of efficiency could be devised, and in 1891 announced that such a system had been established. ”

“ President Cleveland must, indeed, be accused of a grievous lack of tact, if not of a distinct discourtesy, when, as late as January 12, 1897, he placed under the rules the employees of the president's office. Jefferson's doctrine in 1801, that the president should make no appointments after the election of his successor, is, of course, frivolous; but definitely to bind upon the incoming executive a corps of clerks, with whom he must come into personal contact, is to invite rebuff. ”

“ So successful did this plan prove that it was extended by President Cleveland, in his second term, to many other departments, and became an established part of the system. Another order of Secretary Tracy, which forbade the employment of extra men in the navy yards during the sixty days before elections, put a stop to a long-established and convenient method of vote-buying. [37]
The second administration of Grover Cleveland brought mingled gall and sweetness to the believers in the non-political civil service. Congress was more eager for spoils than the government was to give them ”

“ It was in New York, however, that reform was most earnestly demanded, and there also the most vigorous resistance was to be expected, for it was the home alike of the most active of the innovators and of the most odious of the bosses. As a preliminary to action, the president appointed a committee, headed by John Jay, to investigate the custom-house. This committee recommended that one-fifth of the employees be dismissed, whereby three hundred thousand dollars a year would be saved ”

“ It provided for three commissioners to be appointed by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for a chief examiner, state boards of examiners, and minor officers. The commissioners were to aid the president in preparing rules to carry out the provisions of the law, which called for the classification of clerks and for open competitive examinations of a practical nature; if there were no competition, the commission should arrange for a non-competitive examination. ”

“ Congress was not disposed to do its share in the work. Although the president continually called attention to the matter, and gave assurance that such short, unsatisfactory trials as the new system had had proved its value, he was unable to secure any legislation to enable him to extend it or make it permanent. The House of Representatives made General Butler chairman of the committee on civil service reform, and in the Senate the president's nominations were frequently opposed. ”

“ It was natural at this time, when foreign travel had so greatly increased, and so many Americans were acquainted with the excellences of the public service in many countries of Europe, that the systems which had succeeded there should be investigated for our behoof ”