692 



REFORM IN THE CIVIL SERVICE. 



date. But the system was extended to the 

 Custom- House and Sub-Treasury in Boston by 

 a presidential order in the following August. 

 The rules continued to be applied with more or 

 less strictness in the Treasury offices in New 

 York and the Treasury Department in Wash- 

 ington until March, 1875, when President Grant 

 orally directed Secretary Bristow to discon- 

 tinue them. The several boards of examiners 

 were abolished, and the examinations under the 

 civil-service rules discontinued. The President 

 declared that this action was caused solely by 

 the opposition of Congress, as shown by its 

 refusal of an appropriation. Dorman B. Eaton, 

 however, continued to be recognized as chair- 

 man of the Civil-Service Commission till the 

 establishment of the new system in 1883. In 

 this capacity he made several admirable re- 

 ports, which did much to enlighten the public 

 mind on the history, methods, and purposes of 

 the reform movement. The chief of these were 

 an elaborate historical review of " Civil Serv- 

 ice in Great Britain " (1879), based on the au- 

 thor's personal examination of the British civil 

 service; and "The 'Spoils' System and Civil- 

 Service Reform in the New York City Post- 

 Office and Custom-House " (1881). 



The views on civil-service reform that Presi- 

 dent Hayes had expressed in his letter of ac- 

 ceptance and in his inaugural address gave rise 

 'to the hope that the discarded experiment 

 would be revived under his administration; 

 but this hope was not fully realized. Secreta- 

 ry Schurz re-established the civil-service rules 

 in the Interior Department, and enforced them 

 thoroughly, but the example was not followed 

 by the other departments, and the enforcement 

 of the rules in that one department ceased on 

 Mr. Schurz's retirement from it. 



On March 6, 1879, the civil-service rules of 

 1872 were revived in the Sub Treasury and in 

 the various branches of the Custom-House in 

 New York. April 23, 1879, similar rules were, 

 by the President's direction, transmitted to the 

 other chief custom-houses and post-offices, but 

 they were not systematically or generally en- 

 forced. About the same time a similar system 

 of competition for both admission and promo- 

 tion was applied to the post-office in New 

 York, where a very efficient system of pass- 

 examinations had been in force ever since the 

 appointment of Thomas L. James as postmas- 

 ter in 1873. These rules were carried out with 

 fidelity and intelligence in both the custom- 

 house and the post-office, until superseded by 

 the more comprehensive system established by 

 the act of 1883. 



Some members of President Garfield's Cabi- 

 net, with his approval, took steps toward re- 

 establishing the competitive system in their 

 departments ; but the terrible tragedy that so 

 soon followed his inauguration put an end to 

 their plans. Meantime, the reform sentiment 

 of the country was taking practical shape in 

 the formation of non-partisan civil-service as- 

 sociations throughout the United States, which 



made it their duty to distribute documents, to 

 interrogate candidates as to their views of the 

 question, and to discuss measures for carrying 

 the reform into effect. One of the most active 

 was the New York Association, which drew 

 up a bill for the reformation of the national 

 civil service. This was introduced in the Sen- 

 ate in 1880, and again on Dec. 6, 1881, by 

 George H. Pendleton, of Ohio, and became 

 known as the "Pendleton Bill." The Com- 

 mittee on Civil Service and Retrenchment, to 

 which it was committed, twice recommend- 

 ed its passage, but it remained pending in the 

 Senate until the strength of the reform senti- 

 ment of the country made itself felt in the 

 elections of 1882. The long-neglected measure 

 was taken up at the next session and carried 

 through both houses by overwhelming majori- 

 ties. An ineffectual attempt was made by the 

 Civil-Service Committee of the House to sup- 

 plant it with the "Kasson Bill," providing for 

 a fixed but limited tenure of office. The bill 

 became a law by the President's approval, Jan. 

 16, 1883. (For the full text of the bill, see 

 "Annual Cyclopedia " for 1888, page 183.) 

 It provides for open competitive examinations 

 for admission to the public service in Washing- 

 ton, and in all custom-houses and post-offices 

 where the official force is as many as fifty ; for 

 the apportionment of the appointments in the 

 departments in Washington among the States 

 and Territories in proportion to their popula- 

 tion, and for the appointment of a Civil-Serv- 

 ice Commission of three members, not more 

 than two of whom shall be adherents of the 

 same political party, and other officers, to put 

 these provisions into execution. It also for- 

 bids assessments on public employes for politi- 

 cal purposes by any one in the service of the 

 United States, or in any public building, and 

 prohibits Congressmen from making recom- 

 mendations for offices to be filled under the act, 

 except as to the character or residence. 



Dorman B. Eaton, of New York ; John M. 

 Gregory, of Illinois; and Leroy D. Thoman, of 

 Ohio, were appointed members of the commis- 

 sion, and Charles Lyman, chief clerk of the 

 office of the Treasurer of the United States, 

 Chief Examiner. A set of rules and regula- 

 tions was approved by the President, and went 

 into force July 16, 1883, six months after the 

 passage of the act. (See "Annual Cyclopae- 

 dia" for 1883, page 683.) They apply to all 

 the places in those branches of the public serv- 

 ice covered by the law, above the laborers, 

 watchmen, and messengers, on the one hand, 

 and below the officers confirmed by the Sen- 

 ate on the other, with certain exceptions set 

 forth in rule 19. 



The rules provide for admission to the cleri- 

 cal service in the departments in Washington, 

 and in the custom-houses and post-offices 

 within the law, only through open competi- 

 tive examinations on the elementary branches 

 of an English education. The general exami- 

 nation for admission embraces orthography, 





