1432 



Canadian Forestry Journal, December, 1917 



Digging The Grave of ''Patronage'' 



The avalanche of newspaper con- 

 demnation of the patronage system 

 and approval of the Union Govern- 

 ment's assurances of its elimination 

 continues in all parts of Canada. 

 Again and again influential dailies 

 and weeklies declare that the inter- 

 ference of the politicians with such 

 technical branches as the Dominion 

 forest service can not again be toler- 

 ated. A few excerpts are herewith 

 added to the group published in the 

 November "Journal." 



Abolish It 



"Abolition of patronage," asserts 

 the Vancouver "World," is heartily 

 welcomed in the technical services of 

 the Federal Government departments. 

 One such service is the Dominion 

 Forestry Branch, which undertakes 

 the protection from fire of enormous 

 areas of forest in the Prairie Prov- 

 inces and in British Columbia. 



Since the formation of the For- 

 estry Branch, the greatest handicap 

 on its usefulness has been political 

 interference with appointments to the 

 field services, these services including 

 not only fire ranging and inspection, 

 but the important work designed to 

 supply western farmers with shade 

 trees and shelter belts. 



"Astronomers and Rangers" 

 "Very few people in the Dominion 

 would probably be greatly distressed 

 to learn that the royal astronomer 

 knew nothing about astronomy, be- 

 cause it would not affect them a 

 particle, and they regard the whole 

 astronomical department as more or 

 less of a fad," remarks the Toronto 

 "World." "Unfortunately too many 

 people take somewhat the same view 

 of the important forestry work of 

 the Dominion Government. They 

 see no particular harm in any young 

 fellow who wants a vacation being 

 appointed a fire ranger, and some of 

 them probably regard forest pro- 

 tection along the eastern slopes of 

 the Rocky Mountains as more or 

 less unimportant. 



The fact is, however, that the for- 

 estry service not only guards against 

 fire, but engages in the important 

 tree nursery work designed to pro- 

 vide shade trees for the vast stretches 

 of treeless prairie farms between the 

 Red River and the Rockies. The 

 work done by the men in this depart- 

 ment is often technical and always 

 important. 



The general public will back up 

 the demand of the Canadian For- 

 estry Association that the civil ser- 

 vants employed in the forestry branch 

 be among the first to be brought under 

 the civil service commission, so that 

 appointments to and promotions in 

 that branch may hereafter be made 

 upon merit, free from political inter- 

 ference. 



"Cut it Out'' 



Under the above heading the Hah- 

 fax Chronicle says in part: 



"The Canadian Forestry Associa- 

 tion comes forward promptly with 

 the suggestion that a start be made 

 by the abolition of patronage in the 

 matter of appointments in the Out- 

 side Service of the Dominion For- 

 estry Branch. . . . It is to be 

 hoped the Government will lose no 

 time in putting its declared policy 

 into operation." 



The Blight of Patronage 

 "The abolition of patronage," says 

 "Canadian Finance," Winnipeg, "and 

 the bringing of the outside ci\il ser- 

 vice under the Civil Service Com- 

 mission had long been urged in Can- 

 ada, but no mere party government 

 possessed the courage to make the 

 l3reak. . . . Such a responsibil- 

 ity as devolves upon the Dominion 

 Forestry Branch and other technical 

 services ought to be freed with mini- 

 mum delay from the blight of the 

 patronage business. If there is to 

 be any gradual introduction of the 

 Civil Service merit plan into the 

 "outside services," the technical de- 

 partments which suffer most gravely 

 are due for first action." 



