St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-01-27
ROOSEVELT REPORTS.
Teddy Finds That the Civil
Service Law Has Been
Violated.
The New York Custom HOUSE,
Is the Citadel Of His
Attack.
Clerks Forced Against ThefI
Will to Pay Political As
SeSSments.
His Recommendations Are
NOT Yet t0 Re Made
His Recommendations Are
Not Yet to Be Made
Public.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 26.-Civil Service
Commissioner Roosevelt has submitted
to the full commission a report of his
recent investigation into the alleged
violations of the civi!-service law in the
New York custom house just prior to
the last presidential election. Upon
the subject of collection of political as.
sessments during that campaign, Mr..
Roosevelt says: ''The law prohibiting
political assessments of any kind, or the
collection thereof in any manner or
under any disguise, is sweeping and
thorough in its provisions. Up to 1882
these collections were made perfectly
openly, the employees being publicly no.
titled how much they were to pay, when
it was to be paid, and at what place.
The present law has put complete
stop to this open spOiIation of pub.
lie workers and has made it compare.
lively difficult to mulct them
even secretly. In an honestly.
administered Office there is now no
danger of this particularly mean and
cowardly wrong being committed; and,
even where the head of the Office is in
different, the bolder employees, who are
not easily bullied, can safely defy at
tempts to make them contribute. But
there are always great many weak or
timid people whom it is easy to coerce.
and where the head of the office deIib-
erately seeks to get round the law it rs
always possible for him to bring such
pressure to bear on his subordinates as
to force them to contribute. though he
himself does no Illegal act. 1t is COM
forting to add, however, that IN this
eff 'rt to just keep within the law, while
nevertheless eluding it. all save the
very most
ADRoIT WRoNGDOERS
are apt to make some slip and put them
selves where they can be punished. al
though it is matter of great regret that
the sharp originator and inStigator OF
the misdeeds should SO often escape,
while his clumsier tools are caught. It
is worth while saying at the outset that
experience in number of investigations
OF this sort has convinced me that the
talk so often heard about the Injustice
of not allowing clerks to make 'volun-
tary contributions which the law in
noWise prevents, is all nonsense. Gov
ernment employees do not as rule con.
political cause in which they believe.
Tne sO-called voluntary contributions
are nine times out of ten made from
some personal motives, that is,
either in the hope of being re.
tained in office, or with the OBJ
ject of gaining some advantage over the
oiher clerks. In other words, the en-
ployes are cUerced into making them
fear their positions will be ieOpardiZed
If they fail to do so. 1t is probably safe
to say that 30 per cent of the money col.
lected for political purposes from minor
governmental employees represents so
much blackmail. This particular species
of robbery is mean enough at best; and
one of its meanest features is the fact
that the men most apt to contribute
money, the men most susceptible to
pressure, are those of opposite political
faith to the dominant party. Those who
agree in politics with the party in con-
troll feel some assurance Of protection il
they
REFUSE TO BE COERCED
into parting with their money; but the
unfortunates of opposite political faith,
for they have no power behind the
throne in which to rely, are nervOuSly
afraid to give offense, and yield help
lessly when threatened. The amount
paid is not absolutely very great in any
individual case, but to poor clerk, Just
able to get along, the loss of per
cent of his salary may mean just the
difference between having and not hav-
ing winter overcOat for himself, a
warm dress for his wife, or Christmas
tree for his children. Such forced
payment Is piece of cruel injustice
and iniquity. Another fact to be re-
membered is. that very much of the
money so collected is never turned in.
to the party campaign chests at all.
being kept for their own private
useS-bY the jackals who have collected
it. Ii the head of the Office is deter.
mined to have his subOrdinates con-
tribute, the latter soon know it, and the
fact that they must pay becomes COM
mon talk among them. In SOME Offices
ments has obtained steadily for so many
years that many of the clerks have come
to regard it as part Of the established
order of nature, against which they do
not think of rebelling, but whatever
their own politics, regularly pay their
contributions into the campaign chest
of the dominant party. AS one of them
expressed it, they feel that the desk,
not the man at it, owes just so much to
the party in power Many politicians
take this view
One of the witnesses in the present
case, strong Republican. who was
holding office under the last administra-
ton, testifies that he was advised to
contribute to the Democratic campaign
by one of his friends, New York Re-
publican district leader, as being the
only thing to do if he wished to keep
his place. In investigating the alleged
violations of the law against making po-
litical assessments, have made more
or less complete examination into the
conduct in this respect of the Office of
the collector, surveyor and naval offices
of the port of New York during the
presidential election of 1888. 1t is most
instructive to note the differences in the
way the law is observed in the three of.
fees named. In the naval office.
under Mr.. Burt, my investigation
goes to show that the law was observed
absolutely, both in letter and spirit. As
far as can find out, there were no coll
lections made for political purposes in
any shape or form, and nothing like p0-
litical coercion was tolerated. Each
employe was left entirely free to con-
tribute to whichever political party he
desired, or not to contribute at all if he
did not wish to. In other words, the
subOrdinates were treated as American
citizens ought to be; they were required
to do their full duty to the government,
and, this done, were left free to exercise
their own Judgment in political mat
ters. In the collectors office, under