Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-12
Mr.. ROosEvELY-s VIEW OF IT.
Opposed to Reinstatiag Disnissed
Railway Clerks.


Mr.. Theodore Roosevelt. civil service COM
missioner. has written a letter to Repre-
sentative Broderick In response to q COM
munieadon announcing that the House
judiciary committee had decided to make
a favorable report on the Houk bill permit
ing the Postmaster General to restore to
the service the railway mail clerks who
were dismissed pending the classification of
that service after the order for its classifi-
cation had been issued.
Mr.. Roosevelt opposes the bill and states
that he would have asked for a hearing by
the committee had he known of the matter
He says In his letter that the classification
Oh the railway mail service was originally
ordered by President Cley Gland to take ef-
tect on March 15, 1882 that 1t was absolute
~ impossible for the civil service commits
SION TO complete the classification by that
date, and in consequence the classified ton
was deferred until May /, 1889, at which
cate 1t actually took effect. Advantage was
taken OF the delay In the classification to
turn out 900 democratic clerks, replacing
Them, without examination, with republic
cans. This, ne says, was undoubtedly an
outrage; but In the first place II is all wrong
wrong now, and in the next place Ii was an
outrage precisely similar In character to
what has occurred in q number of the newly
Saassined post ofices within the last eight
montns. In 1889 the republican administra-
ZION or the Post Once Department took ad-
vantage OF the necessary delay In classify
ing tne railway mail service to make sweep
ing removals OF democratic clerks and re-
place them by republicans, Just before the
law went into effect.
-, In 1893 the democratic postmasters at
r ae'sourg. n; T., at Topeka and Kansas
City, at Galesburg, BLOOMINGTON and Ouin-
cy, ILL.,, at Athens. Ga, and In several other
places took advantage Of the necessary de-
ny Ia me ciassincation OF the free delivery
pos. onees TO make sweeping removals
among the republican clerks and carriers
In their offices and to replace them by DEM
ocrats, Just before the classified ton went
INTO enect The cases are precise parallel
sha II Is RANK dishonesty to try to cure one
ana not cure the other. If the democratic
employees dismissed before the classif1ca non
OF the railway mail service in ISsy are to be
restored, then the republican employees dis
missed before the classification In the Of
noes In 1915 ought to be restored. The truth
Is that neither one set nor the other should
be restored. The only safe rule TO follow in
dealing with the civil service law is TO deal
with office and branch of the government
from the moment II becomes classified and
not to take into account what went on be-
fore. III we do endeavor to take into ac-
count what went on before we are entan-
gied in an absolutely hopeless mesh of
wrongs suffered and committed by both
sides during the preceding years, ana n is
quite impossible to remedy any OF these
wrongs without committing fresh wrongs
IN turn. OF the 800 clerks appointed to
MI the places OF the democrats but nine
hundred now remain in the service "a strong
proof OF the inferiority OF the men obtained
under the spoils SYSTEM, so that the bulk
OF the places are now filled by people who
came in through the civil service examina :
tons, very many of whom were themselves
democrats. In most cases, therefore the
reinstatement would result In turning out
not the original beneficiary OF the wrong
out some innocent and honest outsider.
Moreover, the persons who would be rein
stated would be the very persons who ought
not to be reinstated. The DISCHARGED rail-
way mail clerks who We're honest CAPABLE
men, have now, five years after their dis
charge, undoubtedly gotten places where
they are at work at good salaries IL is
precisely those who are incapable and who
originally got their places merely through
political favoritism, but who have now
banded themselves together In political as
sociations for selfish purposes who would
get reinstated under the proposed law. m
must be remembered that all of the 2.Yu
clerks turned out in 1889 simply suffered
unoer the same spoils system through which
they had received their appointments. Dur.
ing the democratic administration of lSss-
1872 nearly No per cent OF the republica N
railway mail clerks were turned out ana
were supplanted by democrats. During the
service under the succeeding republican ad-
ministration ~ Der cent OF the entire force
or about half of the democrats in e. were
turned out by the republicans Then the
ONCE was classified. No appointments or
dismissals for partisan reasons have been
made since. and II would be mischieyous in
the extreme now to 20 hack to the old sys-
TEN ana allow the reinstatement of the men
sons"