Mr. Bartlett again seized the opportunity to inform his constituents about his efforts to secure their appointments in the income tax collection force when he called attention to the fact that this force is being recruited by the internal revenue commissioner with the approval of the secretary of the treasury without regard to the civil service law. He declared that the commissioner and the secretary of the treasury were more competent to select these men "for these important offices than to have them subjected to examination under the civil service law." After naively admitting that he desired to have some of his constituents appointed, but that he had not been "fortunate enough to secure anyone to be appointed" the vote on the second Good amendment was taken. There were-Ayes 28, Noes 47-and the House without further discord took up the consideration of other items in the appropriation bill.

Commercial attachés not allowed. When the appropriation for the department of commerce was considered in the committee of the whole in the House on April 14, Secretary Redfield's plan to appoint commercial attachés to investigate conditions in the trade of foreign countries was debated somewhat at length. In reporting the bill to the House, the committee on appropriations adopted the proposal of the secretary of commerce in its entirety by providing that foreign representatives should be appointed "without examination under the civil service rules" and accredited through the state depart

ment.

Representatives Mann and Rainey, as soon as the section was read, made the point of order that the provision was new legislation, which was sustained by the chair. Mr. Good of Iowa, one of the Republican members of the House appropriations committee, defended the proposed employment of the commercial attachés, pointing out that they were created to increase the foreign trade of the United States. When asked whether he was in favor of the clause authorizing the appointment of these men without examination under the civil service law, Mr. Good replied:

I do not care very much about that provision. I think the great object which the secretary of commerce wishes to attain is so important that we open up so far as we can this great country for our manufactures that I do not regard as very important the manner of their appointment nor to whom reports should be made. These matters I am perfectly willing to leave to the secretary of commerce. He is absolutely able to make such appointments. It is of the utmost importance that Congress shall give to the secretary of commerce power to secure for our manufacturers a part of this trade, and in my opinion, his plan is the best plan which has been devised for this purpose.

This plan of Secretary Redfield was reviewed in the December issue of GOOD GOVERNMENT and with the exception of the provision allowing the appointment of the attachés without civil service examination, has the approval of the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America. There is still the possibility that the section will be reinserted in the bill in the Senate.

More spoils in the Indian appropriation bill. The Senate committee on Indian affairs which now has under consideration the Indian appropriation bill, is understood to have adopted an amendment which exempts from the provisions of the civil service law, six inspectors to act as assistants to the commissioner of Indian affairs. This is the fourth vicious attempt to insert spoils provisions in the Indian appropriation bill, and it is also believed that members of the committee made an effort to remove from the competitive classified service supervisors and Indian agents. Opposition on the part of friends of the merit system forced them to abandon this scheme.

When the bill is reported to the Senate, the item

creating the six inspectors will probably be ruled out on the point of order that it is new legislation.

Whether the Senate committee will concur in the amendments placing farmers and physicians under the patronage system has not yet been learned.

The Civil Service Throughout the Country

Macon, Ga.

At the close of a three-day session held in Macon the latter part of March, the Georgia Fire Prevention Society recommended that appointments to the uniformed force of the Macon fire department be made through competitive examinations. Following this action of the Fire Prevention Society, Alderman Hazelhurst introduced a resolution in the Macon council, directing that a committee of the council be appointed to take up with the state legislature the question of revising the Macon charter so as to permit of the placing of members of the police and fire departments under civil service rules and regulations. The resolution was adopted, and it is expected that the charter will be amended in June so as to permit of the changes desired.

Illinois

The constitutionality of the Illinois civil service law was upheld by the supreme court on April 23. The decision was handed down in the case of Sellers v. Brady and was a complete victory for friends of the merit system. The particulars of the case are of sufficient importance to be given in full as follows:

Miss May Sellers was employed in the Chicago office of the state auditor's department when, on June 5, 1913, she received a letter from State Auditor Brady requesting her resignation to take effect July 1. Miss Sellers refused to resign and conferred with members of the Chicago Civil Service Reform Association who advised her to continue to report for duty. She reported each day in July but was refused work. On July 30 charges of "general insubordination and gossiping about office business" were filed against Miss Sellers by Auditor Brady. These charges came to trial before the Civil Service Commission on August 28, but Mr. Brady failed to appear to press his charges. The Civil Service Commission promptly ordered Miss Sellers reinstated, but Auditor Brady refused to obey the order. Thereupon Miss Sellers, who was assisted by President Whitman and Mr. E. A. Bancroft of the Chicago Association, sought a writ of mandamus to compel Auditor Brady to reinstate her with her back salary. The writ was granted but an appeal was taken to the highest court of the state on the ground that the civil service law was invalid because of failure properly to print amendments to the bill in accordance with the provisions of the constitution. It was also argued that the law was unconstitutional as special legislation because of the exemption in the act of certain officers and employees. The court, however, refused to sustain this position, holding that the bill had been properly passed and that "if all laws were held unconstitutional because they did not embrace all persons, few would stand the test.'

The court's decision leaves Attorney General Lucey in an unenviable position. Mr. Lucey had signed the Chicago Civil Service Reform Association's pledge in favor of the merit system in 1912, but shortly after taking office, gave an opinion that the law was unconstitutional. He not only declared the law unconstitutional but he also conducted the Brady attack on the law through his assistants.

In commenting upon the decision Russell Whitman, President of the Chicago Association, said:

Certainly. Therefore, you can see that the complaint of the Reform Association is groundless. It is always picking at us and trying to make trouble. I couldn't tell you how many complaints and kicks that Association makes.

No further action was taken on the charges against the Commission until April 29, when Hon. John Godfrey Saxe, Counsel to the Governor, sent a letter to the Commission, a copy of which was given to the Association. This letter is as follows:

The Governor has had before him since March 20, 1914, a letter of the Civil Service Reform Association addressed to you, dated March 7, 1914, your reply thereto dated March 18, 1914, and the Association's reply dated March 19, 1914. Upon the receipt of the Association's letter transmitting this correspondence, I advised the Association that, in view of the pressure of thirty-day bills, it would be impossible for either the Governor or me to consider the matter at that time, but during the last day or two, during the Governor's absence from the State, I have found opportunity to read the correspondence, and I must ask you to submit such facts as you deem material.

In this connection, I beg to call your attention to the fact that the Association's letter of March 7 contains a number of allegations which, upon the face of the correspondence, are admitted, or, at any rate, they are not denied. I do not attempt to pass upon the nature of these allegations, or their force and effect, but I want first to give you the fullest opportunity to make such denial as you may see fit, or if you are prepared to admit the allegations, to make any explanation in connection with each of them which, in your opinion, such allegations may call for.

The Legislature will meet in extraordinary session next Monday, so I do not know when the Governor will have an opportunity to take up for consideration the correspondence and the report from you for which I am now asking, but I would appreciate it if you supply me with such report at your early convenience, so that I may be in a position to fully advise him as soon as he is ready to consider the matter.

In acknowledging receipt of this letter, Nelson S. Spencer, as Chairman of the Committee on Administration, wrote that the Association would be "glad to receive a copy of any report which the Commission may be able to present" and hoped that the matter would "receive the early attention of the Governor."

Bills of Association become law. On April 24, Governor Glynn signed the bill amending the taxpayer's action section of the civil service law, which was introduced for the New York Association by Assemblyman Francis R. Stoddard, Jr. The section, as amended, allows a taxpayer to bring suit in the supreme court to restrain the payment of the salary of a public officer employed in violation of the civil service law, the courts having held that under the old law the only way to test title to publi coffice was by quo warranto proceedings to be instituted by the attorney general. In attaching the signature to the bill, the Governor issued the following memorandum with regard to its purpose:

This bill was prepared by the Civil Service Reform Association and is advocated by that Association. Its purpose is to authorize a taxpayer's action to restrain the payment of compensation to any person appointed to office in violation of any of the provisions of the civil service law.

The well-settled policy of the State is to prohibit litigation to determine the question of title of elective officers except by quo warranto, and if this bill applied to elective officers, I should unhesitatingly disapprove it. The provisions of the civil service law, however, relate solely to the so-called "classified" service and do not relate to elective officers and other officers in the so-called "unclassified" service.

The Civil Service Reform Association, certifies to me, that the bill applies only to appointive officers within the "classified" service and I so read it myself.

While an amendment such as this was characterized as "apparently upnreasonable" by the Court of Appeals a decade ago (Greene v. Knox, 175 N. Y. 432) I am of opinion, that those interested in civil service reform should have a more adequate and expeditious form of procedure than quo warranto,

which rests solely in the discretion of the attorney general. The inadequacy of this remedy may be seen from the fact that, following the decision of Greene v. Knox, an application was made to the attorney general for leave to commence quo warranto to test the title of the police captains who were the defendants in that case and such leave was granted; but when an election intervened and a new attorney general was elected, he promptly annulled such leave and wholly deprived the people of any opportunity whatsoever to test the title of the police captains.

After a careful examination of the statutes and decisions, I have reached the opinion that this bill is an entirely proper one, and I, therefore, approve it.

As noted in the last issue of GOOD GOVERNMENT, the Governor signed the bill, introduced by Senator Herrick at the request of the Civil Service Reform Association, which amends the civil service law by giving the civil service commission power to refuse to certify the payroll of a person originally appointed in accordance with the civil service law, but later assigned to perform duties contrary to those of the position to which he was appointed.

New York City

Reorganization of the municipal civil service commission. On April 25 President Henry Moskowitz of the New York City Civil Service Commission announced the appointment of Robt. W. Belcher as secretary to succeed Frank A. Spencer, who has become secretary to the workmen's compensation commission. With the appointment of Mr. Belcher, who resigned from the secretaryship of the New York Civil Service Reform Association to enter the office of the Commission, a thorough reorganization of the working forces has begun. While no public announcement has been made, it is understood that the plan adopted by the Commission includes the consolidation of some of the bureaus and the increase of the scope and work of the examining division.

The bureau of investigation has already been enlarged and more applicants for positions in the city service are now undergoing a more rigid character investigation than ever before. The plan for increasing the efficiency of the examining division involves the employment of experts in the various examination subjects and improvements in the keeping of efficiency records. To increase the effectiveness of the promotion system a board of review for each department will be established to act upon the efficiency records of the employees. The personnel of the board will include a member of the civil service commission, a member of the examination division and a representative of the department concerned. "It is expected that this will be an entering wedge for the establishing of a uniform and scientific system of efficiency records," said Dr. Moskowitz, in commenting upon this phase of the reorganization. The Commission expects to keep the application bureau open two nights a week for the benefit of those who are unable to make application during the day.

Transfer of aqueduct police approved by Governor. The members of the aqueduct police force are now eligible to transfer to the police department of New York City, as Mayor Mitchel and Governor Glynn both approved the bill long urged by the members of the board of water supply police. The new law was opposed by the Civil Service Reform Association on the ground that it was unconstitutional and because of the fact that the members of the aqueduct police force had passed an examination inferior to that for patrolman in the police department. The bill also was objectionable as it specifically provided that the transfer should not be subject to the provisions of the civil service law regulating transfers.

In objecting to the bill the New York Association had

"The Last Refuge of the Spoilsman"

The April number of the Atlantic Monthly carries as its leading article a dispassionate analysis of appointments made in the department of state, and especially in the foreign service, since Mr. Bryan took office. "An Observer," who signed the article, selected as his title "The Last Refuge of the Spoilsman," and sets forth in detail the changes in ambassadorships and ministerships since March 4, 1913. With the facts in this article GOOD GOVERNMENT and "An Observer" are practically in agreement. The title, however, is unfortunate, as nearly all the superior offices having good or high salaries in the federal service are still filled by the patronage method. It is important that the public should be brought to a realizing sense that all these offices continue to provide comfortable refuges for spoilsmen and how extensive they are. They include postmasterships of every grade except the fourth-class, collectors of customs and internal revenue, United States district attorneys and marshals, and others who, with few exceptions, owe their places to some Senator or party committee. As pointed out by President Eliot in his last address as President of the League, the work of civil service reformers is far from completion. At the Boston meeting President Eliot said:

"This League must continue to occupy itself actively with all means of eradicating from our public administration the large remnants of the patronage or spoils system. Some 9,000 valuable and influential offices in the national service are still party or personal spoils, and these offices are those whose salaries and powers are attractive, and which place a large money-power in the hands of bosses and politicians. Their salaries and perquisites supply the corruption fund of every boss or patron. The boss is the best patron, because his tenure is longest. The Senator is the next best, and the Representative in Congress is an efficient third. Governors and mayors can exert evil influences in proportion to the length of their tenure. A political machine stands next to a boss as a valuable patron, and in some respects is superior to a boss, because it neither dies nor resigns. The American people clearly desires to abolish the entire political patronage system, but does not seem as yet clearly to recognize in all parts of the Union the plain fact that to abolish the spoils system it is essential to adopt throughout all the public services, national, state, and municipal, a democratic and business-like merit system."

The Victory in Illinois.

The decision of the Illinois supreme court should mark an end of attacks on the legality of amendments to the civil service law in 1911. Ever since the jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission was extended from charitable institutions to the entire state service (the direct result of a popular majority of over 280,000 in favor of civil service reform) spoilsmen have endeavored not only to evade the law but destroy the entire fabric of the merit system. State officers, including the attorneygeneral and secretary of state, who had given pre-election pledges to uphold the law, not only broke their promises but wrote opinions declaring the law unconstitutional. These public officers will find little satisfaction in the opinion of the highest court of Illinois. The court refused to rule that the law was improperly printed when passed in 1911. It declined to agree with the secretary of state that employees in his office were "his employees" who were rendering a private service. It dismissed the contention that the civil service act was an attempt by the legislature to change the constitutional and statutory duties of officers elected for a term of four years to be performed by the civil service board appointed for an indefinite term. It further refused to rule the law unconstitutional because of provisions in the act that all candidates for appointment should state their qualifications and answered this absurd argument by declaring that the "foundation principle of any civil service act is that appointments shall be made according to merit and fitness to be ascertained by reasonable competitive examinations with specific limitations as to residence, age, health" and other qualifications.

In thus upholding the constitutionality of the act the court places some 1500 positions permanently under the protection of the civil service rules and sustains the contention of the civil service commission, which had refused to abide by the attorney-general's opinion. In this victory for the merit system the organized advocates of civil service reform, namely, the Illinois and Chicago Associations, played a conspicuous part and successfully defended the law, which had been enacted largely through their efforts.

Another Example

The Georgia Fire Prevention Society recently presented another example of the business value of civil service reform in its recommendation that the fire fighting force of Macon, Georgia, be placed under the merit system. This recommendation of the Society is peculiarly significant, as the majority of its members are agents or representatives of fire insurance companies which have, in other communities, uniformly lowered their rates of insurance upon the adoption of the competitive system in the fire fighting forces. It is, therefore, to the distinct business advantage of the people of Macon to secure prompt action by their council by revising their charter in accordance with the recommendations of the Fire Prevention Society. The result of favorable actcion taken in Macon will, we hope, arouse other cities in the South to the realization of the increased efficiency which follows from the uniform application of the merit system not only for appointments to the fire department but to administrative positions in all departments in the city services.