El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-10-08
CIVIL SERVICE MODIFIED.
Revenue C. lIectOrs' Right to Select
Their Deputies Sustained.

rotary Of the Treasury Gage will sus
tain the position taken by James Il
Brady collector of internal revenue
TO- the district OF Virginia. who claim:
tina; he has the right to select deputies
of this own choice without recognition
of the eligible list of the civil service
commission. The opinion of Assistan
Attorney General Boyd, who has hat
the matter in charge for the depart
ment of justice, has been written, ant
was under cons Iteration at the cablne
| meeting which was held on Friday
last.
While the president and caoine
have concurred in the construction o
the law which the assistant attorney
general has laid down, they are no
entirely pie ased with his wording 3.
they thought that Mr.. BOyd's langua
ge might b, taken as an objection tt
the civil service system in general
The president is desirous that no such
impression should be given out, ano
the wording of The opinion will there
fore be revised.
| Secretary Gage has sent q letter tc
the civil service commission in which
he expresses the view that collector
| OF internal revenue or customs can not
be mpelled to wait upon the eligible
list of the civil service commission. AT
| he same time the secretary grants
| that the comm isSion has the right 10
| prescrib ne an examination for the ap-
| continents whom the collector of in
| 'ernal revenue or customs may select
| IuiS DO .Ition of the secretary OF the
| treasury, backed!up by an opinion OF the
attorney general, will affect the offices
| of the collectors of internal revenue
and of customs throughout the United
States, and will give great comfort to
| r, publicans everywhere.
f,,. ha f.
orney general in Col. Brado's case
hollis tat the tenure Of a deputy
collector or a deputy marshall runs
with that of his chief, because it was
by him that the appointment was
made. This rule does not apply, how
ever, to gaugens and stOrekeep rs, be-
cause they are appointed by the com
missioner of internal revenue under
special provision of law, and cir
numbers and duties are specified in the
statutes. They also perform clerical
duties, while the deputies are more or
less in numbers, according to the ne
cessities of the case. Their compensa-
ton and their duties are not always
fixed, but they are often dependent upon
fees and special emergencl' 5. Some
times two deputies are sufficient in an
office, and again it is necessary to have
ten.
The assistan, attorney general cites
the decisions that have been rendered
ny several courts On the appeals OF dis
charged otficeholders. He takes the
ground that the civil service law did
rot repeal any statutes previously enact
ed, and that 20 positions of an ad-
ministrative CHI ,ractsr can be con-
sidered permanent, except where the
tenure is fixed by law. Ii man Is APP
pointed 10 office for tsrm prescribed
by statute there is ground for re-
straining order to prevent his removal.
but there Is neither law Or equity in the
cases of officers whose terms are not
so fixed.
Furthermore, the attorney general
holds no official of the government can
be compelled to do anything that is
not expressly required Of him by law.
The president, therefore, cannot pre-
vent collector of internal revenue
from removing men from office. He
can discipline the collector by remov-
iny him, but there his power ends.
Collector Parlett, of Baltimore, who
recently took charge of the Internal
revenue Office of at city, has followed
the example of Collector b rady, of Vir-
ginia, to the extent that he has remov-
ed all the deputies in the B.ltimore
otfice. He will not, however, ignore
the civil service commission in the
of new deputies. The stamp
puties, the chief deputy ard the
cashier Of the Office were expected
places and the appointees are not sub
ject to civil service regulations. The
deputies he has reappointed are, of
course, eligible under the civil service
rules. and the legality of his course,
therefore, depends merely upon his
right to remove employees placed with
in the classified service by an executive !
order,
Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Forman says that he had nothing
to do with the removal or appointment
of deputy collectors, and would leave
the whole matter to Collector Parlett.
That Secretary Gage does not int nd
that the standard of fitness shall be
lowered in consequence of the ruling
giving the collectors more ample
authority in the exercise OF the APP
pointing power, which the civil service
comm ssion contends they possess I'M
der the law, was shown by his action
in certifying to the commission q
mum Der of appointments made by tn
new collectors of internal revenue and
customs throughout the country to ex-
pected places-that is to say, the
places which the president in T. recent
order excluded from the civil service
for special examination under the
auspices of the civil service comm's-
sion.