46 FIGHTING THE SPOILS HUNTERS AND RASCALS 



ination routes, he revised it, cutting out the districts represented by the 

 men who had voted against the grant. He explained through the 

 newspapers that, since some districts must be sacrificed through lack 

 of money, it w^as only just that those members who had voted against 

 the necessary appropriation should be the ones to lose its benefit. 

 There was talk of "impeachment," ''removal," etc., but nothing was 

 done, and the Commission got its money after that. 



Before the Roosevelt period the Commission did its work in 

 secret. But secrecy is alien to the Roosevelt instincts. The new 

 Commissioner was a man who liked to be in the open air and did not 

 fancy hiding his arts behind a veil. Hence, upon his entrance into the 

 Civil Service Commission, its doors, for the first time in its existence, 

 were thrown open to all comers. No one could say now, as had been 

 said before, that there was any mystery connected with its workings. 

 Afterwards, if any member of Congress showed himself ignorant of 

 the conditions of the merit system, he w^ould be cordially invited by 

 the next mail to explore the whole w^ork of the Commission to his 

 heart's content. The newspaper correspondents were made welcome, 

 and furnished with any information that could properly be given out. 



During Roosevelt's six years on the Commission things were 

 done. Of course we cannot give him the credit for all these things. 

 He w-as not the Commission, but only one of its members. But another 

 member, Mr. John H. Procter, has said this about his activity. 



"Every day I went to the office as to an entertainment. I knew 

 something was sure to turn up to make it w^orth my while, with him 

 there. When he went away, I had heart in it no longer." 



And President Cleveland wrote this to Roosevelt w4ien he regret- 

 fully accepted his resignation to engage in a new line of work: 



"You are certainly to be congratulated upon the extent and per- 

 manence of Civil Service Reform methods which you have so substan- 

 tially aided in bringing about." 



What had taken place may be expressed in figures as follows: 

 When he entered the Commission there were 14,000 officers under 

 Civil Service rules. When he left there were 40,000. And the work 

 had been put on a solid foundation w^hich has never since given way. 

 The spoils system has largely passed away ; the merit system has taken 

 its place. 



