Worcester morning daily spy. (Worcester, Mass.) 1888-1898, 1898-01-27

made on him then by President Proctor
of the commission. In a letter which
he made public at the instance Of the
committee. addressed to Theodore
Roosevelt, then New York police COM
missioner, now assistant secretary OF
the navy, the commission was severely
criticized. In an accompanying perSoa-
al letter he expressed the hope that n
any reorganization the president might
deem desirable to make, Mr.. Proctor
might be retained in his position. This
communication, making startling
charges, and which created a sensation,
follows in brief:
"The business of the commission is
IN the greatest confusion and is becom-
ing more and more demoralized for
want Of intelligent management.
acquisitions remain Enacted on for
months and many complaints are made
by the departments of delays and an
noyances detrimental to the service. In
such cases temporary appointments
We're authorized and, after 80 days.
made permanent, although no rule ex-
lists permitting such actions. These re-
quisitions probably cover several hun
dred places. In one batch so appoint
ments in the marine hospital service
were reported, for which no authority
existed and the only excuse was the
failure of the commission to provide
registers. The navy department recent
ly appointed J5 steel inspectors without
examination or certihcation, and the de-
partment has requested the commission
70 make the appointments regular by is
uing certifications. No action ON these
has yet been taken.
! mo reliable policy or line of action
exists which can be relied on, and con-
Trajectory action is frequent. The force
of the commission has lost confidence
i'm the ability of the management, and
can do no more than to maintain exist
| ing conditions and await inevitable
| changes. The action taken by the com.
, mission lacks continuity and the min
utes of one day contradict those of an.
other day.
| Mr.. Proctor asked if Mr.. Bailey had
| not sent copies of this communication
! to certain senators.
The witness replied that his wife was
so far as he knew, the only other per-
son who knew of its existence.
About that time, your friends asked
to have the president appoint you civil
service commissioner"
''All l know is that the papers said
that Representative Walker of Worces-
ter, Mass, where I came from, had pre-
scented my name to the president"
President Proctor of the commission
then took the stand and, at the outset,
sought to show that the sweeping ex-
tension Of the classification of May 6,
1896, was not, as had been alleged, "a
leap in the dark" SO far as being
equipped for the changed conditions
was concerned.
President Proctor made a statement
to the committee regarding the charges
that he and the commission had sought
to intimidate witness Bailey. He said
that when he had told Mr.. Bailey that
hitherto no one had been subpenaed by
the chairman of the committee, except
those who were antagonistic to the com
mission, he had in his possession a du-
plicate copy Of the communication to
Mr.. Roosevelt 1t was furnished him
by United States senator, and he did
not know its author until the first testi-
mony Of Mr.. Bailey, when he suspected
him,