Gloucester County Democrat., 1894-08-30
THE CIVIL SERVICE.
An Interesting Interview with
Commissioner Roosevelt.
OPPOSING SOLICITATION BY MAIL.

OPPOSING SOLICITATION BY MAIL.
The Commissioner Says the Decision Of
the Attorney General VIII bs Froduc-
tive of Great Harm Unless Reversed
by Special Legislation.
WASHINGTON, Aug. 3d. Civil Service
Commissioner Roosevelt, in an interest
ing interview on civil service, said that
the commission Is now on a far better
footing than ever before for efficient work.
This was due to the fact that the COM
mission, under legislation pushed by Sem
ator Lodge, of Massachusetts,, and Sem
ator Cockrell, of Missouri, hereafter would
have is own force of clerks, instead of be-
ing dependent on clerks detailed to II by
the several government departments.
"As consequence" said Mr.. Roose-
welt, s'our list of details was never full,
and of those we had some Of them were
poor, and those who were good wished to
get back to their own offices, SO that they
might be in line for promotion. We now
have our own force, and will guarantee
that within three months there will be no
force, either of any bureau in the gov ern-
ment service or of any private persons,
more efficient than ours"
The civil service commissioner next de-
nounced the Bynum bill for the reinstate-
ment Of the Democratic railway mail
clerks dismissed prior to the classification
of the railway mail service under the civil
service system in 1889 as q thoroughly
vicious partisan measure, saying: eff it
should become a law it would be prece-
dent for the enactment of similar meas
ures whenever a change of administration
took place. 1t is introduced purelyi in the
interest of the spoilsmoDger, and is a
thoroughly vicious bill in every way.
81 wish to call attention to the recent
decision 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 COM
mission has always insisted that solicita-
tion for political purposes was illegal,
whether done in p person or by letter, in q
government. 1t was owing to this inter
probation that we were able to very nearly
break up the practice during the last
presidential campaign, and as the after
math of that campaign we have procured
the conviction of two government officials
one a postmaster in Ohio and the other
a deputy internal revenue officer of Ken
lucky, but we have never had case tried
in the courts where the accusation was
that the solicitation was by letter.
''Nine-tenths of the good done by the
laws will vanish il solicitation by letter is
allowed, and although the commission
will of course do all it can to protect en-
ployes If they are molested in any way for
refusing to contribute it is imperative
that we should be given power to prose-
cute any attempt at political assessment
In government building, by letter or
otherwise. The statute Is so broad, mas
much IS it prohibits any person from So
Letting in any manner whatsoever in q
government building, that we have taken
it for granted that it must mean by let
ter, and that, we know, was the meaning
of the gentleman, both in congress and
out, who saw to the passage Of the bill. !"
The commissioner expressed the hope
that there would be great extension OF
the classified service, and that there
would be 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 de-
partments. but the postoffices and custom
houses throughout the country, and in
this connection he called attention to sew
eral instances in which old and efficient
employees had been gotten rid of by indi-
rect 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