Schurz realized that the service would have to be cleansed of such corruption before anything positive could be accomplished, so he instituted a wide-scale inspection of the service, dismissed several officials, and began civil service reforms, whereby positions and promotions were to be based on merit not political patronage.
Schurz indså, at kontoret måtte renses for korruption inden der kunne opnås noget som helst positivt, og derfor gennemførte han en vidtgående inspektion af tjenesten, afskedigede afskillige embedsmænd og indledte reformer af tjenesten, hvor stillinger og forfremmelser blev tildelt på baggrund af indsats og resultater, ikke politisk indflydese.