New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-08-14
A PRETENSE AZ REFORM.
TIE ACT 10 PROTECT GOVERNMENT CLERKS FROM
POLITICAL AssEssMEST-lT DOES NOT PROTECT
THEN AT ALL.

TIE ACT TO PROTECT GOVERNMENT CLERKS FRON
POLITICAL ASsEssMENr-IT DOES NOT PROTECT
THEM At ALL.
IBY TELEGRAPH TO TIKI TRIBUSEl
WASHINGTON, Aug. ia careful Terling Of the
civil service reform paragraph OF the Legislative
Executive, and Judicial Appropriation bill leads to
the belief that ii viii be less effective than the
law enacted and partially carried into effect five or
Elk years arc. Clerks and other employees Of the
Government not appointed by the President with
the advice and consent of the Senate are protected
from political assessments when they are made by
other officers or employees of the Senate; yet the
new law does not prevent cha;rlien or agents OF
political committees who are not in the employ OF
the Government from making assessments upon
clerks nor docs il forbid clerks and other Govern
Inent employees from paying such assessments when
made. This is very important omission.
During the last two or three years. since the Ad-
mnistration abandoned even the appearance of try
ing to effect systematcclvil service REFORM clerks
in the departments in Washington have been an
nually assessed, though seldom by officers or en-
poy6s of the Government. The ordinary wayi IN which
these assessments are made is by means of
a letter from an officer OF NATIONAL
political COMMITTEE through which tie clerk
is informed that it is considered very
desirable that the Republican party shall be
successful in some State where an election is about
TO take place. and he is requested 70 nclose SUN
which is named, and which is certain percentage
on his salary to the writer of the letter.
or circular, the clerks share of the necessary
peuscs Of the campaign. Al other times the politi
cal committee sends It's agents provided with list
OF clerks and memorandum of the amount each
one is expected to pay through tho departments,
and the money is collected on the spot. OF course
no one is Obliged 10 pay these assessments but in
most of the departments any clerk or elnplOy6 who
refuses TO do 80 becomes thereafter marked man
or woman and the first time that reduction If the
force in that department takes place sucL a clerk
very likely 10 be dismissed.
The text OF this civil service reform section as IT
originally passed the House would have stopped all
political assessments. IL made il a high Tsde-
meanor not only for officers ard employees Of the
Government 10 make political assessments on a
clerk, or to pay them 20 other Government en-
ploy6s but it also included all other persons in the
prohibition. The words or other person. were
stricken out of the section in the conference com
mittee, and. as has already been shown, destroys
the entire effect of tho act. The following is the
section as il passed:
That all executive officers employees Of the United
States not appointed bv the President with the advice
and OF the Senate prohibited fro" request
ing, giving receiving fIOn any other officer or e
pOye Of the Government any money property or OTHER
thing o! value fcr political ana suCn on
Ger or enpOye who shall offend against the provisions OF
tbs section shall be al once discharged from the service
OF :hc United States and he shall also be deemed guilty
Of misdeneaLOr and Oh conviction thereof sAall be
lined ia & sum not exceeding 300.