The Civil Service System.
Giving the offices to politicians.
Patronage and Partisanship.—When appointments are made by an executive officer, with or without confirmation, or by a legislative body, there is always a danger that partisan motives will influence the selection. Nearly all executive and legislative officers are themselves partisan. They are themselves nominated, in most cases, by party conventions or primaries; they are elected with the aid of party workers; and they are therefore under obligation to help the party interest in any reasonable way. Now it has been commonly believed that one effective way of helping a party organization is to appoint prominent and active members of the party to public office, thus giving a reward for their work in the party’s behalf. Men who have helped a President or a governor to gain the party nomination and get elected do not usually allow these officials to forget their obligations when appointments are to be made. The appointing power, in other words, may be used as a means of bestowing “patronage”, or rewards for party service and it has been so used in all branches of American government.
Rise of the Spoils System.—In the earlier days of the Republic it was the custom to make appointments with little or no reference to party politics.[[27]] But with the election of Andrew Jackson officials were removed in large numbers to provide patronage for the leaders of the victorious political party. Jackson’s supporters frankly enunciated the doctrine that “to the victors belong the spoils”, hence the practice of displacing one set of officials and filling the vacant posts with another set became known as the “spoils system”. From this time to 1883, a full half-century, it was customary to remove large numbers of administrative officials whenever a new President came in. The notion spread that offices ought to be passed around; that four years was long enough for anyone to be on the public payroll, and that in a democracy everyone ought to have his share of the patronage.
The Iniquities of the Spoils System.—This doctrine, although it was for more than fifty years accepted by public opinion in the United States, rested upon a false conception of democratic government. It assumed the interests of the political party to be more important than efficiency in the government service. It assumed that administrative work could be well-enough performed by men who had no qualifications in the way of education or experience—nothing but a record of party service. The spoils system regarded public office in nation, state, and city as mere booty for the victorious hordes after an election, whereas public office is “a public trust”, as Grover Cleveland once quite rightly said. It is a privilege and a responsibility; not a right or a reward. No man has a right to hold public office merely because he belongs to the winning party. He has a right only when he is qualified to perform the functions which the tenure of public office involves.
Results of the spoils system.
Being based upon a false doctrine the spoils system was pernicious in its results. It filled the administrative offices of the land with party henchmen who were incompetent to perform the difficult work of administration; it resulted in such frequent changes of officials that a man no sooner learned the duties of his position than he was removed to make room for someone else; it debased the whole tone of the public service. It spread from the national government to the states and from the states to the cities, making the government service everywhere less efficient than private enterprise. Presidents, senators, and representatives were forced to spend a large portion of their time in listening to the pleas of office-seekers. Even Lincoln, in the dark days of the Civil War, could not escape the deluge of applicants for appointments.[[28]] Not everyone who sought office could be appointed, of course, and where refusals were made they often caused much bitterness. The seriousness of the whole situation was strongly impressed upon the public mind in 1881, when President Garfield was shot by a man whose request for an appointment had been refused.
The Rise of the Civil Service System.—Popular aversion to the spoils system ultimately moved Congress to pass the Civil Service Act of 1883. Although this statute has been several times amended and its provisions broadened, it still remains the basis of the merit system as applied to federal appointments. Briefly, it provides for a Civil Service Commission of three persons appointed by the President with the confirmation of the Senate. It gives the President power to classify the various subordinate offices, with the provision that all offices so classified must thereafter be filled by competitive examinations. When the law went into force only about fourteen thousand positions were placed in the classified service but the list has been steadily widened until today more than three hundred thousand positions in the employ of the national government are filled by examination. These examinations are conducted by the Civil Service Commission.
The spread of civil service.
From the national government the civil service system spread to many of the states and cities where it has steadily made progress although it is yet far from being universally established. More than half the states are even yet without civil service laws. In the larger cities the adoption of the merit system had been more general; nearly all of them have now established it in one form or other. The system of patronage is everywhere losing its hold although the politicians often fight hard to retain it. From the present outlook it is only a question of time until all administrative offices except the very highest will be filled under civil service rules.
The nature of civil service tests.
How the Merit System Works.—The actual operation of the civil service or merit system is as follows: Whenever a classified position is to be filled, the appointing officer calls upon the Civil Service Commission to send him the names of suitable persons. If the commission has recently held competitions for a similar position, it may have names on hand. For example, if the appointment is to the position of mail-clerk, stenographer, postman, or policeman, there is no delay in sending in the names because examinations for these posts, owing to the steady demand, are held frequently. But if some unusual position is to be filled, such as that of chemist in the city’s water department, it is usually necessary to hold a special competition. Public announcement is made; applications are received; examination papers are made out; the tests are taken by the various applicants, and the results are figured out. Then the Civil Service Commission certifies to the appointing officer the names which are highest on the list, usually the three highest, and the appointment is made from among these names.
They are practical in[practical in] their nature.
Do not imagine, however, that a civil service competition takes the form of examinations like those given in school or college. The questions relate to the work which the applicant will have to do. Candidates for appointment as stenographers are given a practical test to determine whether they can take dictation rapidly, read it accurately, and write it out neatly with a typewriter. Civil service tests for policemen take the form of a physical examination, questions on elementary law, and on the duties of a policeman. There are different examinations for each kind of position. The examiners study what qualifications a position demands and then devise a set of examinations which will test these qualifications. The Civil Service Commission does not make the appointments; it merely certifies the names of those who stand highest. From these names the appointing officer usually selects the first on the list, but in some cases he is permitted to choose any one of the first three names.
Value of the Merit System.—The merit system does not always succeed in picking out the best among those who apply for a vacant position. No system of competitive tests is infallible. Even school examinations do not always prove who is the best scholar. But they come nearer doing so than any other method. Civil service tests do succeed in weeding out the unfit. They protect the public service against the appointment of officials who are clearly incompetent and have no qualifications except political influence. If the civil service system does not always select the best it certainly enables us to avoid the worst, which is something that the spoils system never did.
The democratic character of the civil service system.
The civil service system is democratic. It gives everyone an equal chance. It matters not who the candidates are, whether rich or poor, Republicans or Democrats, with friends or without friends—all have an equal opportunity. Merit is the only thing that counts. And it is the only thing that ought to count in filling public positions. It is true that the candidate with an education usually has an advantage in answering civil service questions; but does not education help a man or woman in every branch of life? In a country where education is free can we call a system of appointment “undemocratic” because it gives the educated candidate an advantage? Under the merit system men and women win appointments; they do not receive appointments by favor. They hold their posts during good behavior and are protected against dismissal without cause. The cause must be specific and stated in writing. This being done, the appointing officer usually has the right to dismiss a subordinate and this right is necessary to the maintenance of proper discipline. Under the civil service system, however, dismissals are not frequent.[[29]]