tion, did much to secure the passage at the last session of the Pennsylvania legislature, of a Civil Service Act for cities of the second class (i. e., Pittsburgh and Scranton.) The State Bill, championed by Senator Hulings, passed in the Senate by a vote of thirty to twelve, but in the House, legislation was blocked, as it was last year, by the strategic tactics of the Republican "organization,' until it was too late to secure the passage of the bill at that session. Special efforts are being made to enlarge the membership of our Association, which at present numbers nine hundred, and to form other local associations similar to the Luzerne County Association, since it is believed that by the co-operative efforts of groups of active supporters in various parts of the State, sufficient pressure can be brought to bear on Senators and Representatives to ensure the passage of a State bill at the next session of the Legislature. Mayor Guthrie of Pittsburgh, a Vice-President of our Association, issued last July an order forbidding the five thousand city employees of Pittsburgh from taking active part in politics, under penalty of dismissal. The Pittsburgh Civil Service Commission, which under the terms of the new act was appointed August 3, has just promulgated excellent rules based on a draft prepared by our Counsel and former Secretary, Mr. Robert D. Jenks of Philadelphia. In Scranton, the other city of the second class for which the new law provides, grudging and illiberal City Councils have thus far refused to grant the necessary appropriation of $2.500 for the annual expenses of the Civil Service Commission, but the provisions of the Act are mandatory, and Mayor Dimmick and the Commissioners have no doubt that Councils will shortly grant the decidedly modest appropriation for which the Commissioners have asked. The enforced resignation of William R. Knight, Jr., from the Federal office of Shipping Commissioner of Philadelphia, after an investigation by Commissioner Greene of data put before him by our former Secretary, Mr. Jenks, has had a salutary effect among office-holders, similar to the effect of the President's removal of William S. Leib from the position of Assistant Treasurer, in November, 1905. The Mayor of Philadelphia appointed Knight to the position of Assistant Director of Public Works of the City of Philadelphia, at a salary twice as great as the sum total of the fees Knight received in the office of Shipping Commissioner; but this reprehensible act on the part of Mayor Reyburn is a powerful popular argument against the perpetuity in office of the Republican "Machine" which dictates appointments in Philadelphia; and the fact that Knight, even though rewarded by the Mayor, had been discredited and punished by the President, will undoubtedly lead to the stricter observance by office-holders of the statutes against pernicious political activity. Mayor Reyburn's predecessor, on his last day of office in March of this year, failed to keep his pledged word, and refused to reappoint Hon. Frank M. Riter as a Civil Service Commissioner. On May 3, Mayor Reyburn removed Commissioner Cyrus D. Foss, "for the good of the service." The death of Hon. Dallas M. Sanders occurring almost simultaneously, left the way free for retrogressive action, and the Mayor has appointed as Civil Service Commissioners three of his personal friends who know little of, and care less for, the proper administration of Civil Service Laws. Whereas under the previous Commission the utmost publicity was given to the transactions of the Commission, the present Commission has persistently refused to allow personal access to its records, and the Association, through mandamus proceedings, is about to compel their compliance with the law which provides that the records shall be open to public inspection. The most encouraging features of the outlook, therefore, in so far as Pennsylvania's metropolitan city is concerned, are not the consequences of any improvement in the temper of the administration toward Civil Service Reform, but they are rather the visible results of the growing appreciation on the part of the public of the fact that the public is reaping as it sowed when it selected a corrupt and incompetent body of office-holders. No statement of the history of the year in Pennsylvania would be quite complete without some reference to the arduous and self-sacrificing labors of the retiring Secretary, Mr. Robert D. Jenks. In season and out of season he has labored unobtrusively and unassumingly, always with a keen sense of the legal issues involved and the legal value of evidence,-abstaining entirely from vague general assertions based on unsubstantiated statements,--so that the standing of the Reform Association in the community as an organization whose chief aim is good government irrespective of partisan consideration, has been incalculably strengthened, and there has been a notable increase in public respect for Civil Service Acts which are themselves, in large measure, the fruits of Mr. Jenks' erudition and downright hard work. Miss Sarah L. Truscott submitted the report from the Women's Civil Service Reform Association of Buffalo: The Women's Civil Service Reform Association of Buffalo during the past year has continued its work along educational lines by furnishing literature to its reading members. To become a reading member one must read certain essays designated by the Executive Committee. The first year's required reading was arranged to give a thorough understanding of the principles of civil service reform. The second year's list gave more emphasis to the great problem of our time-the government of our large cities, and included: The Civil Service-The Merit System-The Spoils Civil Service Reform-Attack and Defense in the Massachusetts Legislature, by Richard H. Dana; 3 Civil Service Reform demanded by Presidents and Statesmen; 4 The Purpose of Civil Service Reform, by Henry Loomis Nelson; 5 The Merit System in Municipalities, by Clinton R. Woodruff; 6 The Relation of Civil Service Reform to Municipal Administration, by Professor John A. Fairlie. The number of reading members the second year was 229, a gain of 65 over the preceding year. The larger proportion of these were members of the high schools. We expect by the end of this year that over 500 of these pupils will have qualified as reading members. Many read more than the required amount, and thus have their names starred in the year's report. This course of reading has added greatly to the interest in writing for the Municipal Honor Medal offered each year in the interest of good government by our president for the best essay on civil service reform. In two of the high schools the classes in civics are given our pamphlets as part of their work for the year. The Association has 69 active members who contribute to the financial support. During the year two pamphlets of value have been reprinted: Civil Service Reform as a Moral Question, by Hon. The Relation of Civil Service Reform to Municipal Orders for these pamphlets from the National League and the New York, Boston and Worcester Auxiliaries have been of great help in paying for their re-issue. The annual celebration of our Association in honor of the birthday of George William Curtis on February 26 was held at the home of Mrs. De Lancey Rochester, and brought together a hundred people, members of the men's and women's Associations and our junior and senior reading members. The enthusiasm of those who have known George William Curtis personally is thus added to the appreciation of those who feel his great power through reading only. This year three essays from the Easy Chair were read by pupils of the three high schools, one a native of Sicily, one of the Orkney Islands, and one a German-American. Mr. Olmstead read William Winter's eulogy on George William Curtis, and Mr. Wilcox gave an address on "George William Curtis in Civil Service Reform." The Association is fortunate in having for its patron saint such a man as George William Curtis; of wide culture, much interested in art, literature and music, a deeply religious man and possesing such power and charm that he was able to carry reform from a struggling beginning to victory and be an inspiration for all time. Miss Marian C. Nichols submitted the report from the Women's Auxiliary to the Civil Service Reform Association of Massachusetts: Since our last report to the League 80 members have joined the Massachusetts Auxiliary. The maintenance of interest among the 1,125 members as well as the effectiveness of the educational and legislative work has continued to be greatly strengthened by the organized support of our nine branches. Three meetings of the State Council brought together delegates from the branches to discuss plans and to report on their work which as usual included meetings with speakers, study classes for members and other women, talks for teachers and pupils, competitions for the school medal, and other methods for extending interest in the merit system. The mid-winter meeting of the Council was devoted to the consideration of legislative matters. Our efforts to supplement the legislative work of the Massachusetts Association were directed to opposing the Spanish War Veterans' Preference Bill and to supporting the Higher Municipal Offices' Bill. Besides presenting 1,942 signatures to our petition favoring the latter bill we endeavored to gain the interest of influential citizens and organizations; thus the Salem Branch invited a few men to meet and discuss the merits of the measure and the Worcester Branch secured the endorsement of the Worcester Board of Trade. During the long and precarious struggle against the Spanish War Veterans' Preference Bill we received for our protest the signature of 2,432 men and women representing 80 cities and towns, we submitted to the members of the Legislature an additional petition protesting against the bill and giving the names of 170 prominent remonstrants, we urged constituents in different parts of the State to give personal expression to their opposition, we supplied material to the newspapers in order to keep the evils of the bill before the public, and in other ways we did what we could to assist the Association in the victory won in the end by a tie vote in the Senate. As a preliminary step to this winter's probable campaign we prepared for publication in the Boston Transcript and the Springfield Republican |