New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-05-31
AYDPIDGE'S APPOINTMENTS.
,.,or,r FIFTY OF THEM SEEM TO HAVE
BEEN MADE ILLEGALLY.

Az INVESTIGATION WILL RE CONDUCTED RY THE
sr.rr CIVIL. SERVICE COMMISSIONERS
NEXT wEEK-How THE NEW con-
sTIrI'TIoN WAS DIsREGARDED.
,rprctrAR CORRESPONDENT OF THE TRIBUNE.]
uharv MAY SO-The State Civil Service Com
.,,se,oners will meet in Albany next Tuesday for
.,o nurpose Of considering what appears to be
s,srocard by George W. Adridge. superintendent
80 public Works. OF the Civil Service laws IN
making over fifty appointments to positions IN
.,s denartmant. Under the classification or April
,s the men appointed ought to have been taken
from the eligible list. but a comparison OF this
lief with the roster Of the department shows that
., over fifty instances this rule has not been fol-
lowed
Superintendent Aldridge has acted seemingly
with absolute disregard Of the Civil Service regu-
,ations This is surprising. as his attention mas
been called repeatedly TO these regulations since
his appointment in January. Under the ola
Constitution the Department of Public WORKS
was rot under the Civil Service regulations A
.noIticaI pull then gave man an office in this
department. his ability to perform the work ne
was 70 do often being a secondary considerations
Rut under the Constitution adopted by the peo-
nle in November 1894. the exemption of the de-
nartment from the Civil Service rules was abol-
ished.
When George W Aldridge went into office as
runarintendent of Public Works in January ii was
ossu,,ed that there must be more legislation 10
carry ont this order of the Constitution. and Mr..
AIdridee began making his appointments In the
saue old poljtical way There happened TO be a
State official in the person Of James A. Roberts
who had a respect for the Constitution. and was
also a believer in Civil Service Reform. when
the bills for the salaries of the new appoiniees IN
4be Department Of Public Works were presented
10 him he debated whether he had right 10 pa!
them In this quandary he asked legal opinion
from Elihu Root member of the constitutional
Conve1-.,n. as 10 whether or not legislation was
necessary to carry out the commands oi the
Constitution respecting the Department OF PUP
lie Works Mr. Root submitted strongly
worded opinion in which he took the position
that legislation was not necessary, that 'he
Constitution itself contained the legal command
and that appointments In the Department OF
Public Works must be made after an open compe-
titlon Controller Roberts submitted this brief
10 Governor Morton VINO is practically the head
of the State Civil Service Board, as he has the
power to remove or appoint the Civil Service
Commissioners at anv time. and all classfcations
of the Civil Service Board are submitted to him
for approval The Governor turned over Mr.
Roots brief 10 Charles T. Lincoln. his law ad-
wiser. who after reading it, gave it his judg-
inert that Mr. Root was right. Mr.. Morton then
directed the Civil Service Commissioners at once
10 make a classification of the Department or
Public Works employees The Commissioners
met on April IS and classified the officers OF the
department. After this classification was MADE
Superintendent Aldridge ought TO have taken MS
officials from the eligible 3i on file in the once
of the Civil Service Commissioners. but this he
has not~sio What authority ne had To make
appointments without taking them from the list
the Civil Service Commissioners will try TO dis
cover when they meet next Tuesday.
The Tribune correspondent yesterday endeav-
pred vany to obtain the roster OF the Depart
ment of Public Works from Patrick J. Nc
Weeney. the secretary. Mr.. McWeeney, for some
reason of his own. declined TO furnish this list
without the permission of Superintendent AID
ridge. The correspondent discovered a copy OF
the document in the office of the Civil Service
commissioners He also Informed that the
following persons who had been appointed since
the classification Of April i6 were not taken from
she eligible list - .,
Special Agents-E y. walbridge. J NJ Aiken
head. George S Rivenburgh. William Birdsall
William b. Hotaling and John Howarth
Collectors Of Canal Statistcs-Ererett Alien
Ansei f. Wright. George r. Cornish. Frank
Hotchkiss NJ. Traffern. Alfred c. Wellington
William A. Lenway. ID. W. Poole. Charies H.
1isk and Thomas s. Croey.
Clerks Of Collectors-Henry +. Jillson. "eorge
Gull Philo Bundy. Isaac G. Braman, Robert -
Kennedy William II. Linter, Bertram r. stew
art. ] W McCleand, W. F. Wheelock. George
Nan Deusen. Leonard Gift, c. II. Bartlett Elmer
Curtis and John III. Price , ,.
Insnectors-Frank Manvile. George f. Terry,
James ". Strait r. r. Stowell, j. H. Pearson
i. G. Barton. Michael Morey. Solon $ Bennett
Hiram HYDE Charles II. Searle. Joseph NC
Crain n s Fischer John f. Jones. w. X. Will
iams. H. T Fox, Joseph p. Monty and Wiiliam
Hay. - n.o
Boat Inspectors-William II. BracKetI Ie'ea @
C,NeiI Jarob Galster Andrew Dorm. Isaac
Mincher and William Striker. .
Superintendent Of Canal Feeder-Wlam NJ.
Water C;aueers-A X Cross and Eli +. Carpen-
ter. .,,Aor,,,
II these men were appointed without authority
Of law 1t would be Illegal for james w. a. 'o'-
erts to pay them their salaries