The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1897-10-09
co1LEoroR BRAD'Ys ROLING.
The Civil Service Commissioners VIII Not
Give Up the Fight.

II Is given out in washington that the
Civil Service Commissioners will not give
ND the fight over the deputy collectors OF
internal revenue. but in few days VIII
present to the Secretary Of the Treasury
and the Attorney-General statement OF
their views which will be IN direct con-
nict with the position assumed by Secre-
tary Gage, regarding the power Oh re-
moval by collectors of internal revenue,
and will also controvert the opinion pre-
pared by Assistant Attorney-General
Bovd sustaining the Secretary.
The correspondent Of the Baltimore sun
I'm reviewing the case says:
In the FIRST place il is held that. not
withstanding the law Of 1864 directing the
appointmcnts OF deputies by the coilec-
tors. such appointments. unless authorized
Nv the Secretary. are not legal Ihe con-
s;ituton gives the power OF appointing
subordinate officials TO the courts tho
President and the heads OF departments.
CONGRESS cannot take away or abridge
this power and any law passed for thar
purpose is clearly unconstitutional IL
therefore follows IL Is claimed thar
either deputy collectors OF internal reve-
nue are not officers Of the United states
or else they secure their authority as such
officers directly from the Secretary OF the
Treasury. The collector himself can give
them no authority, except as the power
NAV have been delegated to him by the
Secretary, in whom the authority is vest
ed
qrhie beino true. and the members Of the
civil Service Commission have no doubt
an the subject. IL cannot follow that terms
of deputv collectors expire with that or
the collector any more than that the
terms of clerks I'm the office OF the COMP
troller of tho Currency or In any other
huroau of the Treasury Department eN-
,sre with the change in the heads or the
different bureaus. 49,
In the letter sent by Mr.. Gage 20 e,le
secretary Of the civil service coillii ,,4,.
,.,s recording the case of Collector bidbs
ha declares that as the appointing po"tl
- vested absolutely in the collectors, ~.
terms of all subOrdinates ne ihas a. ,S,li
expire when ne goes out OF oniC., -
~ civil service commissioners are pr
.od 70 show Is an untenable PROPOSE
zion no matter what the attorney roiisIai W
NAV think about II. Inc tutn - 49, h.,
viii probably argue the cOilecloI ol ~
ternal revenue has no po"r,i "a - o',',
except as an agent acting TOT the secIe-
,otsrv of the Treasury, ana the terms
~ 1enuty collectors are, therefore. dA III
definite az those of clerks WITHIN the clas,
sified service As cohsequ que.,ve II ,,,,,. Sl'.
maEes the removals himself which ne
hae n right 10 do or the collector makes
them not by virtue of any authority he
himself Possesses. but because Of permis-
sion given him as an agent OF the Sec
retary.
If this view Of the law is correct. and II
has been vOuched for by some of the lead
ing lawyers of the country secretary
Gage will not be able 10 hide behind the
suppositious authority given collectors by
the law Of 1864. but must himself assume
responsibility for the removals made by
all collectors Of internal revenue through
out the country. II he does this the civil
service commissioners can have nothing
TO say upon the subject. but the issue will
then be between the Secretary and the
President, whose order he will have vio-
lated.
As to the right of the President to place
deputy collectors within the classified SER
vice there can be no question. He had
this right prior 10 the passage OF the civil
service law, which merely furnished the
methods by which the classification was
to be made and the machinery for rs own
enforcement. But the power OF the Pres-
dent was neither extended nor abridged by
the act of Congress. nor could II have
been affected by any act which Congress
might have passed. Therefore the clasSi
fication OF clerks. the formulation OF regu-
lations preventing their removal and the
establishment OF system OF competitive
examinations TO determine the fitness OF