THE AMERICAN CIVIL SERVICE REFORM BILL.

Waikato Times, Volume XX, Issue 1674, 29 March 1883, Page 4

TH E AMERICAN CIVIL SERVICE REFORM BILL.

The San Francisco correspondent of^Mic^ Olu>j) built/ Tt mi's writes of the bill which has , UBt passed Congress :—: — i . (\ tigress? has been very attentive to its duties. durtpg/fhc.« pn^t month,! nprHjffs p.wfai'ivil Befvi6e* RtfoVnf Bill, p*re- ' parcel !>y Senator Pendleton, :i Democrat, which I take leave to pronounce a sham.. It lcjiivcs the power to disfiiTVpraktfeallyf where it now is ; provides for a Commission to examine and pass nj.on the qualifications of candidates for appointment or promotion i; aiid enacts that the influence , of a Senator or Congressman shall be confined to certificates '6f' character. "No re.-ommendatioji .from' them js to hayc weight wifcli the Civil Service Commission or Board of Examiners, which are to be constituted of three members respectivefy — two frothionejpolitjculi party 'and ,onp ,'froih the otlier. ,This will give the RepublicWthc' majority on- each 1 b&'ard,"beo.iuso Pi esideu^ Arthur is top shrewd a politician not to stiengthen his own party 'when he can legitimately do sp. Jt will be seen, therefore, that minor offices will ultimately i J be filled fby the holders of certificates of examination, but the appointing ' and dismissing power regains with the President'as heretofore. •' THe is thus 'wiVed 1 from the importunity of personal aspirants to office— by no niean's a small' advaiftage—and he is preserved from. the. equally offensive importunity of members of Congress. This executive power is increased and the legislative -diminished, which is intensifying present evils. ' The system will not work, and the majority of Congress recognised this ; but they nru willing to^veit a trial'to satisfypublic clamour., The pay t>f^ the Civil; Service Commissioneis ia "ridiculously small— 4oooilol v or, £800 a year- for, the responsibility -imposed/ upon »th'eni. , -A colonial undcr-sccretary would turn up hia ofHcial nose at such pay, more especially if called upon to pass upon the qualifications of an army of 100,000 officials. The " moral qualification clause" hiberted in the bUI I%,the. Senate, opens, the door for ft' wholesale "of the Civil tfeivice .should any goody-goody Executive like Haves' bo again elected. It provides for the dismissal of any 1 official who habitually drinks to excess, " or is guilty of any other immoral act." To anyone who knows the composition and habits of the American Civil Service this provision looks like an attempt, by 'a side wind, to accomplish what, the /-Bill was ostensibly / piped ,' to* 1 ' prevent^ Political assessments arc prohibited, and any officer contributing to any party fund whatever is liable to oOOOdol tine, or three years' imprisonment. This is Hither d stringent provision, and I doubt if it will be sustained on appeal to the Supieme Court, where it will undoubtedly be carried. It certainly does look veiy much like interfering with the 'personal liberty of one class of citizens, making it penal to dispose of one's own money in one's own way. simply because an abuse has existed of late years in the method of raising campaign funds. In the nood old days of Democratic supremacy, however, far worse things in this lino were done. Government contractors were assessed a percentage upon all payments, which went to the campaign fund, or was supposed to go them This opened a wide door to fraud, which was closed by the accession to power of the Republicans. They at first were content with voluntary contributions, but a public dfficial toiil'me 'that during the past fiftern years the exactions for the campaign purposes amounted to robbery. A committee of political wirepullers in various towns and cities met and assessed every public office at so much. Notification was made to the head of 'the office, and he was compelled to apportion the amount among the .employees, and deduct it from their pay. If lie did not, be " lost his head" to a certainty. No one ever ventured to resist the demand, for fear of dismissal. Beside these local assessments came the mandate of the National Republican Committee, in Washington, for the central campaign fund, which might not be disregarded. A law was passed some years ago" against forced political assessments, and a high custom-house official in New York has been imprisoned and fined for collecting the late one called for by Congressman Hubbell before the November electious ; but the Bill just passed imposes the penalty upou the payee, which is quite a different thing. There would be no necessity for much money in running a campaign if a different method were adopted. The bands, torchlight processions in uniform, fireworks, professional singers and stump speakers should be dono away with.l Tlie'se are ) the jWliich swallow tli'e money andf maintain ' A characterless army of political camp, followers of both sexes, who live by what they make in this way, the frequency of elections — national, State and local — making it a lucrative business. "Bossism" has been developed as a consequence of this system of noise, clamour and contention, and is common to both parties. Of course the bosses pocket the bulk of the spoil.

Livk within your income. It's terrible hard work to live without it. Tub moaning tide — Complaining married women. > Wilkinsj says' that in making wills' some are left out and others are left tin*. Forty years a<ro England had another Mrs Lang try — Madame Vestris. She was as lovely as she was liberal and aa attractive as she was accessible. She was the daughter of F. Bartollozzi, a royal academician, and just a little over the average height, ot full and voluptuous figure, with a? fo6t £h^>'syhmietry of which was said to be unparalleled. It had been sculptured and plaster casts were on sale by Italian image boys in the. streets. , Her stage shoes,, after being once worn, wore bought ' at 'fabulous prices, and used as drinking vessels by " bloods" of ttie time: Who M. Vestris was,' nobody seemed to know{;or ca,r,e. [The unstamped press -used to , describe, him a/3 a bjbuloup loafer,, whp dodged about stage doors at treasury', time, and) levied toll on, .madame's ' satary.'—iiditoh !|JW. '" '"•" "'"V ' i Regakpjso the oharge of drunkenness brought by .' the /member ( for/ Mndgee against \\h fellojv, legislators , at, Sydney, the Sydney Mo\'»h)g jlcrald 'says :~"By the statement of Mr A. 6. ' Taylor,' at Mudgee, . the Parliament of New , South "Wales is placed in' much the same position aWa re&imVnt df< the .line,, one-thircl of whose „ numbers .had .been „ openly f charged with drunkenness on duty, or' cowardice. in the iace.of ,the ,eneray> or some other heinous offence,, , We imagine that such a regiment, , would take; some steps to clear itself of- the, accusation, [and that if its efforts did not result 4n /"perfect success, it would stand disgraced and degradediinjtbe eyes otiJhewprl^.i J.t can | hardly be doubted that Parliament will feel the ifting as ke,finly,a^ 3.; company, ,of .soldiers'/ , ,Sliv .jTaylor/ .^as.ijajranaed, ,tlle . Pai'liamwtf ,as>a drunken Parlia.rn.eiii } jHe Bays, f Ihaye,(ipei} l^ I me,ml?er i s<d i fu^,j ,' in the Hqusp within the last six weeks.' ! Dru»k wlthin r the- HoWj not drunk in I the s'iroe'ts'or in their homes or clubs, 'b^b, drunk qn^uty., Jt i^ a very :mw icharge, andnn the ihtSrestf of the' conhiry s jit is to be hoopd that it .will bp, proved to jbe as false ffi&&frf^™mq!a,ylm has j been drunk .in .theyHpus^ He has not I been Sbsoh/tely / atsn¥W4lt%is&*ef l ul 'offence, and he .probably deems tliat by, . UjacKeMng greatly mistaken. The' 1 Mikfe 1 df«hft> own Sffente hi mo/d egree - lejhened, though- ihiitated 1 - 'b'yjfa 1 ! .thonsandiothers. Sht^Hov ViU^mßeVthg fySmi-ha, ha« wV6tig6tto 9^ d '^*^ d 4 i « iw * ■ ?'? OpCperhapSiiti , is mqr^JW[p^4,WtO<%»U^ho^v^UUr,jbh*e House meet him ?'?^Th^Colony| > wilUook to l Pariia^fc)#^Bdttel%^^f^iB; t such „ql^jl,tfo'e4 p^fißJpl^ {without&plaii^