Question

The Civil Service Act of 1883, also known as the Pendleton Act, which created a professional corps of administrators, was passed after a disappointed office-seeker assassinated President James A. Garfield. For a hundred years, this system has anchored American government service to competence rather than corruption. The best way to preserve this state in the new millennium is to maintain the Pendleton Act as it is.

Which of the following would be most useful to evaluate the argument’s conclusion?

• A. The methods that the Swiss and British governments have used to prevent corruption in government service for the past one hundred years
• B. The current level of job satisfaction among government office-seekers and office-holders
• C. The levels of competence and corruption in American government service between 1950 and the present
• D. The number of Presidents assassinated since the passage of the Pendleton Act
• E. The percentage of office-holders fired or convicted on charges stemming from corruption during the first hundred years of the Pendleton Act

Answer 1

The correct option is C The levels of competence and corruption in American government service between 1950 and the present

the system has worked up until now, but we dont know if it will be effective in the new millennium. Since this system was created based on a disappointed office seeker (aka the level of job satisfaction), the same condition must be evaluated for the new millennium.