1 88 Civil Service Reform 



and Postmaster-General Wanamaker permitted the 

 spoilsmen to take advantage of the necessary delay 

 and turn out half of the employees who were Demo- 

 crats, and replace them by Republicans. This was 

 an outrageous act, deserving the severe condemna- 

 tion it received; but it was perfectly legal. During 

 the four years of Mr. Cleveland's first term a clean 

 sweep was made of the railway mail service ; the em- 

 ployees who were almost all Republicans were turned 

 out, and Democrats were put in their places. The 

 result was utterly to demoralize the efficiency of the 

 service. It had begun to recover from this when the 

 change of Administration took place in 1889. The 

 time was too short to allow of a clean sweep, but 

 the Republicans did all they could in two months, 

 and turned out half of the Democrats. The law then 

 went into effect, and since that time there have been 

 no more removals for partisan purposes in that 

 service. It has now recovered from the demoraliza- 

 tion into which it was thrown by the two political 

 revolutions, and has reached a higher standard of 

 efficiency than ever before. What was done by the 

 Republicans in this service was repeated, on a less 

 scale, by the Democrats four years later in reference 

 to the classification of the small free-delivery post- 

 offices. This classification was ordered by President 

 Harrison two months before his term of office ex- 

 pired ; but in many of the offices it was impossible to 

 hold examinations and prepare eligible registers un- 

 til after the inauguration of President Cleveland, and 

 in a number of cases the incoming postmasters, who 



