New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-06-11
MIR. ROOSEVELT HITS BACK.
HE ANSWERS VARIOUS CHARGES.
EXPLAINING TO xxIsr ASSEMBLY DISTRICT


REPUBLICANS CIVIL SERVICE AFFAIRS.
The inquiry OF the committee OF XXlst Assembly
District Republicans which continued in the
rooms Of the Civil Service Board Of the Custom House
yesterday morning resulted in listening TO twohour
speech by Civil Service Commissioner Roosevet III
explanation Of the Of the board of local C'i
Service Examiners and of the position OF the feoeri
Commissioners.
The little room was crowded for a considerable time
before the members Of the committee sat there DC
fore this however, Mr.. Roosevelt met the members
Of the local board OF examiners and they, "efo
questioned as to the testimony that they inish' %
able to give. The members of the board accompanies
Mr.. Roosevelt to the examination room ana rehpnoa
with him during the session. The members OF inc
committee nyesent were Assemblyman ID. Morgan
Hldreth John Proctor Clarke E. W. Bloomihgdsle
.,s ~ ,-aon ord charles A. Hess Mr..
Roosevelt said that no courted the investigator anu
told the members Of the committee that he wan'cd
every act Of the Commission made as puoho s'
possible ~we court publicity" he continued "o
fear nobody but the contemplate sanderer VINO MAKES
carses without producing slightest scintla OF ev
dence 10 substantiatc them" Then he eonunueo 'se
no member of the committee was so anxious a. nv
was to find out whether or not the local CN'i ecN'o
Board had done anything crooked" ~ any Oh '''o
Custom House employees would come forward ana
testify he would do everything in bis power 10 SOC
cha, he uns not molested II anyone had gone wrong
no one would go further than he TO punish him. Inc
speaker referred TO the charges winch were nsue
year ago by Grand Army men against captain rercc,
the ex-rebe soldier, who was charged "ith spca"iie
slurr,nvly Of them He declared that the charges OF
the Grand Army men were not true, as he found by
investigation. This charge. he said, was simply
,anderous fasehoOd without particle of 1usthcaton
From this point Commissioner Roosevelt went directly
10 the resolutions which presented at toe meet
ING OF the XXIst Assembly District Republican OF
canization and which resulted IN the appointment OF
the investigating committee. lie said that Messrs.
Babcock d Comstock who said to be Mugwumps,
ALWAYS voted the Republican ticket This is disputed
nv ALI Republicans who live and work In the dis
tricts where these men live. OF the other members
rf the Board, Messrs. Walden and Pcirce we've adj
mitted TO be Democrats, and the rest Of the mem
beers of the Board Republicans In the strongest
terms he declared that Republican applicants for
promotion were not thrown out by the local Board OF
Examiners on the nimsy ground of incompetency.
This he ssd was reuted By the evidence taken before
special committee. The charges 10 the contrary, he
complained, were infamous. That the Board had I'M
Justly Disseminated against Republicans was
slanderous and cowardly falsehood II any H the
members of the Board guilty of such conduct. he
would not only ask the secretary of the Treasury TO
dismiss them from the service, but would bring the
case to the attention of the DistrictAttOrDey. None
of the employees Of the Custom House need fear any
thing IL they came forward and testified to what they
had heard.
From this point Commissioner Roosevelt went INTO
nm explanation OF the examination for damage ex-
aminers held in July Of last year. In which Captain
W. G.; Spencer a clerk In the Appraisers Department
declares that he unjustly used by Perce simply
because the former Republican. The story Of
this examination has been told before. but according
to Spencer in brief it is this Mr. Spencer is clerk
in the Appraisers Stores and went to an examination
for a promotion. Peirce appeared TO be against him
from the start and refused TO take bis last papers Of
application for examination because they came in a few
hours late although his first papers had been made out
and presented in ample time Then. 70 get him out
anyway, Peirce and others the Board asked for a
new examination for the whole class. MIR. Roosevelt
testified that the CIVIL service Commission decided 10
allow SpcnceT's claim that his papers and examination
wore all right, while they were considering the ad-
visibility OF throwing out the whole examination The
July examination was thrown out because the same
arithmetic questions had been used eight months before
This discovery made by MIR. Babcock, the secretary
of the Board who has been charged with beinG either
o Democrat or a Mugwump.
The committees got further. for here MIR. Roosevelt
asked to be excused until today and the committee ad
1ourned therefore until IL O'Clock this morning. when
MIR. Roosevelt will be questioned.