San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-06-26
WASHINGTON LETTER.
From our Regular CORRESPONDENT

From our Regular Correspondent
WAsHINGToN, June p, lSS9,-There
has been during the past few days a
notable absence of government clerks
among. the callers at the White House,
and to give a reason for it is to dis
close cruel joke of which we'll
known southern politician and office
seeker IS the victim. This gentleman
has been there almost all the time
since Inauguration day. and has grad
ually abated his pretenslons from a
first class, foreign mission to the post
office in his native town. He is firm
believer in the efficiency of delegations
and individual appeals 10 the presi-
dent. AS his state is distant and has
but few Representatives there besides
those employed as clerks and mes
sengers in the departments, he has
been in the habit of gathering to-
gether delegations of from three to
twenty of these government employees
and sending them to the White house
to indorse his applications, the sup
position being that the presi dent,
would naturally conclude that they
came all the way from home, a thou
sand miles or so, to show their devO-
ton to the favorte son of their state.
But this office-seeker has secret
enemies, and one of them devised a
cruel scheme. Two or three days ago
he casually said to one Of the clerks
who had just been up with several
others to make an appeal to the presi-
dent, cts too bad about those clerks
who 60 up to the White house, isn't
it,"
whats the matter" inquired the
alarmed clerk.
"Why the President has found out
all about Col. Blank scheme of send
ing government clerks and messen-
gers up to the White House to in
dorse his claims, and he has given
orders to discharge every one who
comes again on any such errand. It's
too bad that they should all have to
lose their places"
OF course no such order had ever
been given, but it did not take twen-
ty-four hours for the news to spread
through the departments, and now it
is almost impossible to get depart
ment clerk inside the White House
gates and if one has to 60 there on
business that can't be avoided, he is
careful to explain to everybody that
he meets that he is not there to in
dorse anybody for office.
The attention of the SupeTintend-
ent of Census, Mr.. Porter, was yester-
day called to the letter recently sent
by the Civil Service Commission to
the President. in which it asks that
appointments of the Census office en-
plOyes be made thrOugh the commits
sion and suggesting that preference
be given to employees of the last CEN
sus. Mr.. Porter said that he was
certain that it was the intent ton of
the trainers of the law not to place
the Census Office under the civil SER
vice law.
The principal reason for this, he
said, was that the great bulk of the
census employees were employed for
very short period, and it was con-
coded that it would be very improper
to bring people from distant points to
this city for a service lasting not long
er than six months. Under the civil
service the rules in regard to state
quotas would, of course, have to be
followed.
Then again, he said, the appoint
ment of the four or five hundred
special agents was made, as rule.
from the enumerators who had shown
ability and energy. The enumeratOrs
were empIoyed for only a few days,
and their appointment as special
agents extended their service to sew
eral months. AS to the appointment
of experts and high-grade clerks, Mr..
Porter said that Of the twenty-five de-
cided upon, twenty had been engaged
in the work of the last census, but in
nearly every case these men had not
applied for positions, but had been
sought out and urged to take them.
Had the civil service been called upon
for certificatiUns to these positions,
probably not one of those who have
agreed to serve and whose expert
knowledge makes their services of
special value, would have been Sc.
cured.
Civil service rule No. 10, as modi-
fed by President Harrison, makes eX-
Federal soldiers eligible for reinstate-
ment in the classified service without
regard to the time of their dismissal.
The rule, before its modification, linn
tied the time in which ex-Federal
soldiers could be reinstated to one
year from the date of their discharge.
This effect of the modification of the
rule will be far reaching and radical
in character. The railway mail SER
vice, with its $500 clerks, and the
force of postof1ice inspectors has re-
Gently been placed within the scope
of the civil service rules. Superin-
te0dent Rall of the railway mail SER
vice, says the modification of rule 10