Victorious candidates used the spoils system to give government positions to friends and supporters. But many of these people lacked the qualifications necessary for doing a good job.

E). More and more government jobs were filled using the civil service system, or merit system. Persons had to prove they were qualified for a job by passing a civil service test. (after reform)

Explanation:

As per the question, the maximum number of government jobs were filled through the civil service system where the candidates had to prove their qualification by passing the civil service test. This test was primarily conducted after reform to ensure that the candidates were qualified for a particular job which is quite contradictory to before reform period where the winning candidates employed the spoil system to offer the government position to their favored people like supporters or friends out of which many lacked the qualifications which were necessary for that job or post. This favoritism came to an end after the reform. Thus, option E is the correct answer.