St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-08-30
TEDDY is KICKING.
OBJECTS TO POLITICAL ASSESS
MENTS OF ANY SORT.
Civil Service Rules, He Thinks,
Should Be Exte ,ded to ALI
Departments.

WARRINGTON. Aug. 29.-Ciyil Service
Commissioner Roosevelt today in an in
terview OH civil service matters said that
the commission was now on far better
footing than ever before for efficient
work. This was due to the fact that the
commission, under Legislation pushed
by Senator Lodge, of Massachusetts,
and Senator Cockrell, of Missouri, here
after would have its own force of clerks
instead of being dependent on clerks
detailed to it by the several government
departments.
The civil service commissioner de-
nounced the Bynum bill for the REIN
statement of the Democratic railway
mail clerks dismissed prior to the CLASH
fcation of the railway mail service under
the civil service system in 1889 as a
thoroughly vicious partisan measure.
saying: ''lf it should become law it
would be a precedent for the enactment
of similar measures whenever a change
of administration took place. 1t is iu-
troduced purely in the interest of the
spells monger and is a thoroughly
vicious bill in every way.
"Then," Mr.. Roosevelt went on, ~
wish to call attention to the recent de-
cision of the attorney general, which
permits solicitation for political purposes
by letter in government buildings. If
this opinion holds the commission must
Immediately request the passage of
law to
Prohibit Such solicitation.
The commission has always Insisted
that solicitation for political purposes
was illegal, whether done in person or
by letter in a government building. 1t
was owing to this Interpretation that
we we're able very nearly to break ND
the practice during the last presidential
campaign, and as the aftermath of that
campaign we have procured the convic-
ton of two government officials, one a
postmaster in Ohio and the other q dep
uty internal revenue officer of Ken
lucky, but we have never had a case
tried in the courts where the accusation
was that the solicitation was by letter.
"Nine-tenths of the good done by the
law will vanish if solicitation by letter
is allowed, and although the commission
will, of course, do all it can to protect
employees if they are moiested i'll any
way for refusing to contribute, it is i'm
perative that we should be given power
to prosecute any attempt of political
assessment in government building.
either by letter or otherwise. The stat.
ute is so broad. inasmuch as it prohibits
any person from soliciting, i'm any man
ner whatsoever. in a government build
ing, that we have taken it for granted
that it must mean by letter, and that, we
know. was the meaning OF the gentle
men. both in congress and out. who saw
to the passage of the BILL"
The commissioner expressed the hope
that there would be a great extension
of the classified service, and that there
would be a great reduction in the num-
Der Of places now excepted on one
theory or another from the operation of
the civil service rules, including not
only the departments, but the postoffiee
and custom houses throughout the
country, ard in this connection he
called attention to several instances in
which old and efficient employees had
been gotten rid of by indirect methods.
The commission. he thought, should
have power to Interfere In these cases
of removals and to require that reasons
for dismissals be given In full and in
writing.