associations that their activity had not been great during the year because the efficient work of their civil service commissions had taken from citizen reformers all excuse for meddling. The happy day when such a report can be made from Pennsylvania seems far distant. On the contrary, we are obliged to come before you once more with the plea of the penitent publican.

Our successes of 1906 and 1907 in securing the enactment of new legislation extending the operation of the merit system have not been repeated recently. At the session of the legislature last winter, there was again introduced the state civil service bill that had been prepared by our legislative committee. It provided for a state civil service commission having jurisdiction over State employees, employees in counties having a population of more than 150,000 and of employees in such third class cities as should elect to accept its provisions. The first and second class cities, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Scranton, have been covered by legislation in previous years. This state bill was reported out from the House committee with a favorable recommendation, but never came to a vote on final passage because of the rather unusual rush of business at the close of the session.

If we did not secure new legislation, however, we were most fortunate in the adverse legislation that we managed to escape. Two bills passed the legislature proposing to amend the civil service act for second class cities, one by allowing the exemption of additional stenographers and the other by allowing reinstatements or promotions without examinations of persons who had been for five years in the civil service of any second class city. Both of these were vetoted by Governor Stuart, whose attitude toward the merit system during his whole term of office has been distinctly friendly.

The local situation in Philadelphia has been as unsatisfactory as can well be imagined. Last year at its annual meeting in Pittsburgh, the League saw fit to pass a general resolution of condemnation upon the attitude of the mayor of Philadelphia toward the merit system, but we regret to report that the beneficial effect upon his

conduct has not been at all marked. His casual expressions indicating his attitude toward the administration of the civil service have been as naive as ever in their display of ignorance of and lack of sympathy with any attempts toward its improvement. Some months ago a policeman by the name of O'Keefe wrote a letter to the mayor complaining that an enforced political "contribution" of $15 had been taken from his monthly pay envelope, before it was handed to him at the station house. The mayor's published comment was to this effect:

"That is the kind of a man the police force should be free of. He should, however, not be permitted to resign. He should be fired at once. Such a man would betray police secrets whenever it suited him to do so . . .

"He is an informer and a squealer and I have no time for men of his class, whether they are policemen or men higher up."

When reports of the thorough-going organization of municipal officeholders for political work were brought to his attention he is quoted as saying, "We are not going to be hypocritical about the Shern Law; we are going to follow the law, but we shall not stretch it."

In spite of the presence on our statute books of the "Shern Law" just referred to, forbidding all kinds of political activity by municipal officeholders in Philadelphia, the election a month ago in that city saw a degree of political activity by the officeholders that was almost without parallel. Policemen and firemen were active about the polls both in uniform and in plain clothes. and all other classes of city employes were working as watchers, large numbers of them also being members of party ward committees. Complaints in unprecedented numbers have come to our Association, and our Law Committee has now in preparation cases to test in court the possibility of enforcing the Shern Law by legal proceedings, to put a stop to the control of politics by the officeholding class.

Unfortunately this recent political activity has been shared in to a certain extent by federal employees. This tendency was called to the attention of the United States civil service commission in October, and as a result they

prepared a special warning against political activity by federal employees and directed it to be circulated in all of the federal offices in and about Philadelphia. It is probable that only a very small proportion of the federal employees in Philadelphia took an active hand in the recent election. Their number was greater than on recent occasions, however, and our Association has asked for more investigations than for some time in the past, and most of them, it is reasonable to expect, are likely to result in the infliction of penalties.

A number of irregularities in appointments to the federal service have been reported to the civil service commission and one has already met with punishment. The Association has also brought to the attention of the federal authorities charges of political favoritism at the Philadelphia mint and these are likely soon to be the subject of investigation.

A year ago we reported that the test case that we had brought to declare unconstitutional the soldier exemption proviso in the Philadelphia civil service act had been decided in our favor. This case has since been appealed by the city to the supreme court, but has not yet been argued. Since the decision in the lower court more than a year ago no new appointments have been made under this proviso.

In the recent death of Henry C. Lea, a vice president of the League and a vice president of the Pennsylvania Association since its organization in 1881, we have lost a most valued supporter and a man who throughout a long life has been a foremost champion in Philadelphia and throughout the country of many movements for the uplift of society and for the betterment of civic and political conditions.

Mrs. Albert Sioussat submitted the report from the Women's Auxiliary of Maryland:

The Maryland Auxiliary has pursued its work with a membership of 300 women along the lines of co-operation with the Reform Association and with other societies having for their aim the betterment of civic conditions.

They desire specially to avoid the besetting sin of the age, the duplication of work and the loss of force

resulting therefrom. It has therefore accepted the request from Dr. Hall Pleasants of the official staff at Bay View, our large alms house, that a committee should be formed to investigate conditions and if possible to aid in the formation of public opinion by which larger appropriations could be procured and the work carried on under more systematic principles.

This committee also made a preliminary venture in a small way of the work of a welfare secretary to go in and out among such of the inmates as could take up some light employment. Although the results are not large it will open the way of some permanent work along these lines.

Efforts are also being made to obtain information as to the conduct of the different institutions under state control, with the co-operation of the State Federation of Women's Clubs, whose influence as a state wide organization furnishes avenues for the dissemination of information and the formation of public opinion.

Four parlor meetings have been held during the year at the residences of women interested in the work. For these speakers have been furnished through the co-operation of the Civil Service Reform Association. One of the most interesting was that of Mr. Colby, of New Jersey. We hope in the course of the coming year to have addresses on similar lines presented to the boys' club, the young men's guilds and if possible the public schools.

The Auxiliary has also been substantially interested in the training of a young Pole in civic affairs in order that he might carry to his people the proper conception of American citizenship. The experiment has proved most satisfactory. He has done both field and class work and after this year of special training has taken up work as an assistant to a regular charity organization agent among the Poles. This has been the more desirable since the Poles form a very intelligent class among the foreign element in our community. The establishment of a Polish coffee house forms a centre where civil engineers, doctors and lawyers among them meet the working classes and are developing in their own people the power to assume their own civic responsibilities.

A minute has also been forwarded to the committee appointed to revise the city charter expressing to the gentlemen composing that honorable body the earnest hope of the Auxiliary that ample provision may be made for an application of the merit system as far reaching as possible under existing circumstances in the revised charter of the city of Baltimore.

It has given us pleasure to forward our contribution of $100 to the National Civil Service Reform League and no report from our body would be complete without the most sincere acknowledgments to Mr. Charles J. Bonaparte for the very kind assistance which at all times and seasons he has been ever ready to supply to the Woman's Auxiliary of the Maryland Civil Service Reform Association.

Miss Jean Disbrow submitted the report from the Women's Auxiliary of New York:

As in former years, the work of the Auxiliary has been chiefly educational. Through circular letters we have gained for our pamphlets the attention of clubs, schools, libraries, settlements, christian associations and various other organizations, and as a result over 24,160 pamphlets have been applied for and distributed during the past

year.

In furthering the work locally, the Auxiliary has made arrangements for talks about the civil service, in the city and out of town. We are indebted to Mr. Charles C. Burlingham for his courtesy in lecturing before the Civic League of Christodora House; to Mr. Albert de Roode for a talk at the Young Men's Educational League; and to Mr. S. Wm. Briscoe for consenting to speak before the Society for Political Study. With a view to further stimulating the interest of the pupils of the public schools in the subject of civics, we have offered to several grammar and high schools three medals (gold, silver and bronze) for the best three essays on a given topic dealing with some phase of government administration. Several principals have proclaimed themselves interested and willing to hold essay competitions and we have every hope that the movement for spreading the doctrine of the merit system among the schools will increase in interest and activity.