Civil Service In City Government

ïhere is one thing at least iu which Germany is considerably iu advance of this country, and tbat is in her methods of municipal government. The simple reason seems to be that she has made that branch of government a study more tban have we, with onr conceited idea that we have all that is good in the science of politics. It may be somewhat trite, but it is nevertheless true, to say tbat the time is not far away when we shall be obliged to devise better ways of municipal goverument, or our cities, not only the big ones but the smaller ones, will be getting the best of us. It has been said by a vvriter of more than ordinary acuteness that the three great questions before the American people for settlement are those of the tariff, of finance, and of municipal government. Whether this latter is strictly true or not, it is sufficiently true for practical purposes, and the sooner the people gets to figuring on the problem the better it will be for the people. One trouble with our city affairs in general is that there is too inuch partisan politics concerned. On the face of the matter it is manifestly absurd to say that a man must be a republican or a democrat or a populist in order to qualify for the position of city chief of pólice, : or city attorney, or for any one of a dozen other offices in which the tariff, or finance, or the pension issue cuts no more figure than does the Hawaiian question with a South African Zulú. And here is where Gerinany scores one ahead of us. She introduces to a certain extent the civil, service system. She combines this with self government to make what is recognized as a municipal system that is away ahead of ours. And, what few Americans have begun to think about the question at all are coming to think that there is a chance for us to improve by the iutroduction of civil service. It is objected that this is opposed to the principie of local self-government, but it is extremely doubtful if the most thorough civil service imaginable could get us into any deeper water than we have gotten into by this very same fetish, if we may be pardoned for so speaking of the dearest of American principies. Though we are too differently constructed from the Germana to hope to be able to make use of the same complete system of government, yet our limited experience with civil service in national affairs gives us reason to expect that our city government would be vastly improved by its introduction. It would of necessity be a gradual change but not at all an impossible one.