Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-06
FEW PARTISAN REMOVALS.
Civil Service Commissioner Roosevelt
Denies Some Recent Charges.
Classified Service Practically Free
From Partisanship-Some Facts and
Ffgures-The Few Exceptions.

Civil Service Commissioner Roosevelt,
speaking to a Star reporter today. gave
some interesting facts and figures in re-
gard to the removals of late from the clas-
sified service
There have recently appeared, in various
newspapers" said MIR. Roosevelt, Charges
that, during the last eight months, there
have been very large number of removals
from the classified departmental service in
Washington, for partisan reasons. The
records of removals and appointments, on
file in the commissions Office, conclusively
show that this statement is untrue There
are between 5000 and 10000 people in the
classified departmental service in Washing
ton, and of course among such a number it
is doubtless true that now and then there
Will occur some one or two instances of the
commission of fragrant injustice, and of the
dismissal Of men for partisan reasons.
knew of one or two such cases Immediately
after the change of administration in 1885,
when Mr.. Harrison was inaugurated, and
L have known of one or two more such
cases during the last eight months. One
such case Is now matter Of correspondence
between the civil service commission and
the Treasury Department; and there is one
other which We have under consideration.
But these cases are 50 few that they can
practically be disregarded, and, speaking
broadly, it may be said that there were
practically no removals, for partisan rea-
sons. from the classified service In Wash
ington, of democrats after President Harri-
son was inaugurated, and that there have
been practically no removals. of republi-
cans. for partisan reasons, in the depart
mental service In Washington, since Presi-
dent Cleveland was inaugurated. ex-
cept. in both cases. two small branches Of
the service, those including the special eX-
amfners' force in the pension bureau, and
the printers assistants, as in those two
branches the conditions are wholly differ
ent. and are to my mind, far less salts
factory. the trouble mainly arising from de-
fects in the law"
GauEed by Appointments.
Amy sweeping number of removals would
necessarily mean that there were a CORE
spondingly large number Of appoin tments,
and as all of these appointments have to
be made through our register we have a
perfectly accurate gauge of what is done.
The number of appointments. of course,
vary greatly from year to year, but on
an everage during the past four or five
years they will number from 400 to 600.
During the first eight months of Presi-
dent Harrison's administration there were
a total of 800 appoin ailments made. During
the first eight months of President Cleye-
land S administration only 1874 appointments
nave been made In the last case one of
the main reasons for the decrease in ap-
pointments has been the fact that some
sixty places or more were abolished in the
general land office, and, of course, these
vacancies We're not flied. Making allow
ance for this II will be seen, however, that
actually fewer number of appointments
have been made during the first eight
months OF CleVeland'S administrati ton than
during the corresponding period of Har-
rison's and that in neither case was the
rumber perCeptibly above the average for
any eight months in the middle of any
administration.
The Figures.
1--WE have no records of the number of
men removed who were appointed prior to
1883, when the civil service law went into
effect, but we have records of all those
who have been removed among the men
who have been appointed through our ex-
aminations since 1888 In the first eight
months of President Harrison's admin
istraton the total number of those who
resigned, whether voluntary or because
their designations were requested. or of
those who were dismissed was lust oO3
For the corresponding period of Cleyela nd .
administration the number is 20S, and as
ihere are now larger number of people
In the classified service who have come in
through our examinations than there were
four years ago the percentage of removals
under Mr. Cleveland has been actually a
trifie smaller than under Mr. Harrison,
but in both cases the number is so small
and varies so slightly from the normal
number of removals and designations dur
l. 2 any eight months of any presidential
term that what ! said above may be re-
fterated-there have been practically so
few removals. for partisan reasons. from
the departmental classified service during
the last eight months that they may be
disregarded.
Promotions and Reductions.
unfortunately We have no control over
promotions and reductions. This is a mat
ter of great regret to me. During the last
eight months there have been an unusually
large number of promotions and reduc-
| lions in certain of the departments al
though in others, notably the Post Office
| Department. there have been only the nor
NAL number. 1t has been the custom of
the commission to publish, in its annual
report, all these promotions and reductions,
but last year they had to be omitted be-
cause of the quantity of matter in the re-
! port, and this year. in all proba bility they
will have to be omitted likewise for the
same reason, but like all of our other re-
/ ..w-IC hA Il, L.