The times., 1899-07-16

fees of the Treasury Department through COM
insignificant.
What Is his purpose in making this
statement, even If it be true? Is it to in
sinuate that vacancies have been filled or
new clerks appointed contrary to law?
Suppose that only fourteen clerks have
been drawn from the Commissions eligible
lists? As the secretary OF the Civil Service
Reform League, he must know that there
are eligibles under the civil service law
other than those whose names stand on the
eligible lists of the Civil Service Com
mission. How many soldiers eligible for
reinstatement have been restored as op-
portunity offered? How many transfers,
under the law, have been made from other
departments, to the benefit of the service
affording some promotion to deserving and
experienced clerks. just as eligible to ap-
pointment by transfer as any of the candi-
dates whose names are on the waiting lists
OF the Commission? 1t is not worth the
time to look up the data, but this assert.
that every appointment to the classified
service in the Treasury Department has
/ been made either by taking 'eligibles' from
commission lists, by reinstating 'eligibles'
or by the transfer of eligib!es.' in one of
these three ways and none other.
Temporary Appointments.
He confuseS this question-whether
purposely or not you must judge-with
quite another question, /. e., the appoint
ment of temporary clerks made necessary
by the late war. He knows that the law
| for he quotes it,. under which this class
now hold appointments. expressly provides
that they shall be appointed without COM
plianee with the conditions prescribed by
i the act entitled an act to regulate and i'm
prove the civil service, approved January
! IL, 1888" which act is known as the
! CIVIL service law Why, then does he
! bring these appointments forward to sup
! port his injurious charges that have will
! fully disregarded the civil service law :?
These appointments have absolutely moth
{ ing to do with the question of whether or
not this department has violated the civil
service law, and | fail to understand his
motive in reviewing them, except it be that
4 he Is put TO extreme to obscure forme. mis-
| representations, which were made with
| precipitsncy.
| Il should never once have thought to
call attention to the temporary employees
/ ON account of the war with Spain now
serving in the Treasury Department. as ex-
| anples OF the sincere effort of the Treas
| ury Department TO comply with. not only
| the letter, but the spirit of the civil service
! law, had it not been for this attempt of
his to hold up this class of employees for
| the purpose of demonstrating this depart
ment's unfriendly attitude toward the law
Let me say. however that when the act
! of March 81, 1898, was passed. providing
| for sixty-five additional clerks In this de-
! partment, ii contained no specific tAo-
visions as TO how the appointments should
be made. From that date to July I. 1898.
every appointment to the class indicated
was made in strict accord with the civil
service law.
II l had been disposed to disregard
that law it would not have been difficult to
place construction upon the act au-
! thorizing these appointments which would
have enabled me to make them outside of
! the classified service. On July Z. 1898.
however Congress provided that these en-
ployes should be appointed without COM
piiance with the conditions prescribed by
| the civil service act. Even afrer that law
was passed this department construed Its
provisions TO mean that the appointing
power could go where it wished for cleri-