New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-08-09
OFFICERS or THE GOVERNMENT as SUCH.

OFFICERS or THE GOVERNMENT. rs SUCH.
"No head of a department, nor any sub
Coordinate officer of the Government" says the
eleventh of the new Civil Service rules, " shall,
Gas such officer, authorize, or permit, or assist
Gin levying any assessment of money for po-
"litical purposes under the form of voluntary
contributions or otherwise, upon any person
"employed under his control" Excellent;
but postmasters and collectors, not "as such,"
but as officers of clubs and committees, are
at liberty to make assessments for political
purposes upon the persons employed under
their control, and we do not see but they manage
to get as much money in that way as they got
by the old fashion Of deducting one or two
per cent from the pay-rolls. Nor is that all.
The rule is violated directly and by defiance,
as well as indirectly and by subterfuge. Here,
for instance, is the Hon. James Harlan, one
of the Household Senators; first he publishes
in his newspaper, The Chronicle, notice to
all office-holders that he has his eye upon
them and means to denOunce publicly any
lack of LOYALTY TO the Administration (; then he
recommends, i'll the same organ of the Presi-
Dental Family, that every clerk who refuses
TO contribute shall be turned out of his place;
having thus prepared the official mind, he
sends out the following letter to postmasters,
collectors, and other Federal functionaries who
employ subOrdnates:
Union REPUBLICAN CONGRESSIONAL EXECUTIVE !
COMMITTEE, WAsIISGToS, ID. c.. July 20, 1872. }
sR Believing that you feel deep interest In the sue
cess OF the Republican candidates for President and
VlcePresdent we take the liberty to inclose the Com
mtees printed letter requesting contributions 10 ala IN
pubshng documents and in defrayng other necessary
expenses Of the campaign II you can conveniently
forward as promptly practicable it will be gratefully
received and promptly acknowledged. Yours truly,
JAS. HARLAN, Chairman.
The circular is worded in the usual style of
such documents, urging the importance of an
Administration triumph and the great need OF
money, and contains the following paragraphs
"The Committees make this appeal confidently ex'
pecting prompt and cordial response, and believing
that each person addressed will desire TO mako fair
contribution You therefore requested TO collect and
remit dollars. together with the and post
Office address Of each contributor"
This is Senator not only levying assess
ments for political purposes upon office holders,
but instructing the head of a Government
office to collect" q certain number of dollars
from his subordinates, in violation of the
letter as well as the spirit of the Civil
Service rules. The copy of the letter and
circular now before us went to an Office
where there are probably not moro than
two or three deputies or clerks employed, and
the sum which their chief is instructed to
"collect and remit" is something like fifty
dollars.
What great comfort it must be to the
clerks who contribute this money to know
that officers of the Government do not col
lect it "as such," and that the Household
Senator to whom it is forwarded is not even,
in the meaning of the rules, an officer of the
Government at all If it DO said that the
persons to whom this circular is sent are not
in any sense under the control of Senator
Harlan, and may therefore safely disregard
the demand, we answer-or rather the Senator
himself has answered in advance-lct them
just refuse TO contribute, and they win see if
they are not under Mr.. Harlans control.
But Mr. Geo. VIM. Curtis is President %
the Civil Service Commission; aud ho says he