Unfortunately, there are still some commissions of this kind but they are rapidly disappearing.
Good laws are ineffective unless accompanied by good administration. Good administration is impossible unless combined with ordinary business methods and the latter are not compatible with the policy "to the victors belong the spoils." If any praise is due the Wisconsin laws it is probably because of the appointive commissions, the non-partisan spirit, the expert and the effective civil service law. The non-partisan spirit has become a tradition. In an overwhelming republican state, at one time the chairman of the civil service commission, the chairman of the tax commission and the chairman of the railroad commission were democrats. Of the members of the supreme court the majority are, perhaps, democrats. The civil service law and the non-partisan spirit are inherent in the very life of the state of Wisconsin, therefore it is not surprising that congressmen and United States senators from this state have carried the same spirit into national affairs and are found frequently "lining up" with one party or the other, as the issue demands.
It is very natural, considering all the facts previously considered, that civil service should be a doctrine of the state of Wisconsin.
The German believes in merit. During the session of 1911, when certain members tried to repeal the civil
