Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1894-11-01
ROOSEvEL1'S REPORT

l
Post ONCE and the Internal Revenue Of
dce-The Contributions Levied for Cam
Pafgn Purposes and the Active Part
Taken In Local Politics Deprecated, but
| Not Censured.
| WASHINGTON, Oct. 25.-Civil Service
| Commissioner Roosevelt to-day gave
out his report of the investigation he
conducted at Pittsburgh as to cam
paign assessments there. Mr. Roose-
welt finds there has been no coercion
| practiced and no assessments levied
contrary to law. He recommends that
the assessments in the post Office be
made test case, and says that several
| employees of the office who took part in
political conventions should be pun
ished.
On the internal revenue office he
| says: I'm this office there has been no
coercion and no assessment contrary
to law. Unquestionably, however, the
ofhce IN its present condition. being
without the civil-service law, is used
as cog in the machine of whichever
party happens to be in power. At
present it is the democratic party, but
the conditions were doubtless substan-
TALLY the same when the republicans
were in power"
| The collector informed Mr.. Roose-
welt that all of the appointments of
| the men under him were made on the
initiative and at the suggestion of the
different democratic leaders. Of this,
MIR. Roosevelt says:
The men thus appointed have, of
course, always been active ward work
ers-leaders at the primaries and at
the polls. They have not been assessed
or coerced into paying, save in so far
as they have been coerced by the
feeling of their party associ-
ates. All those who had been in
Office full year had paid, or
intended to pay. sums varying from
SS5 to $3.50. Perhaps SIS or at least $50
would be the ordinary amount paid,
the whole force in Mr.. kearns' office
thus contributing certainly $4,000 or
$1,000, and probably more, to the local
campaign fund. These payments are
taken as a matter of course. AS con-
sequence the collectors office forms a
big treasury chest, out of which the
dominant party can take sums to ex-
pend, and, honestly or dishonesty, as
the case may be, influence the cleo
| tions. This investigation of itself f.
| fords conclusive proof that the inter-
nal revenue office should be CLASH
fed"
AS to the Pittsburgh post office, Mr..
Roosevelt has this to say:
| 1T appears that Postmaster O'Don-
nell has not violated the civil-service
law. He knew, however, that an eff
| fort had been made to collect assess
/ - = - H.
| he did not publicly state at the
time-what he has since stated
| to the commission-;that he had
no hand in making those assess
ments and that he would not discrimi-
nate in any way against an employee
| for refusing to contribute. 1t is also
to be regretted that he did not keep
himself informe ed as to the activity of
his subordinates in the primaries and
| forbid it, especially as his nephew was
one of these offending subordinates.
But in the gen eral management of the
Office under the civil-service law, the
postmaster has done very well indeed,
far better than has been the case in
many other Offices"
| The treasurer of the democratic
county committee, DR.. Fleming, sent
| to each employee in the classified serv-
ice of the post Office a letter request
ing him to call at his Office. Those
| who went there were solicited for
money for political purposes, the
amount suggested being about per
cent. Mr.. Fleming stated that he
was confident he had not violated the
| law, for he was acting in accordance
| with Attorney-General Olney's opin-
ion, which gave him the right to solicit
assessments by letter in a government
building.
| Under this OPT Mon the commission
does not feel that it can advise the
prosecution of Mr.. Fleming, but Mr..
| Roosevelt earnestly advised that this
be used as a test case in urging upon
congress the passage of a law prohib-
iting the solicitation of employees in
the government service anywhere.
Such solicitation as that of Mr.. Flem-
| ing, he says, amounts to blackmail,
and. curiously enough, the pressure is
| most severe on people of the opposite
party.
| 1t appears that certain employees of
| the Pittsburgh post Office have been
very active in politics. At the June
legislative convention of the demo-
cratic party, the following men ran for
delegates and when elected served as
such: J. Campbell O'Donnell, u.
Fogarty, Edward O'Brien, j. d. Boggs,
d. d. Collins, J. F. Regain, James Carri
and w. Hawthorne. The postmaster
was warned by the postmaster-general
that this would not be tolerated, yet
at the August convention the follow
ing served as delegates or ran for the
position of delegates: James Atwell,
j. d. Boggs, J. J. Sullivan, J. F.
Regain. ID. u. Collins was very active
at the primaries,
Mr.. Roosevelt concludes by saying
that during the past year several rail-
way mail employees have been pun
ished for participating in republican
primaries, and for acting as delegates
or officers in republican conventions.
sit would SEEM" he says, that at
least those employees of the Pittsburgh
post office who, after the warning of
the postmaster general, took part in
the primaries and conventions in Aug
ust should be punished"
TEN MINERS ENTOMBED,