Evening star., 1899-04-04
An Important Decision by the Con.
troller of the Treasury.
RESPONSIBILITY TO TIE PRESIDENT
Heads of Departments and the
Civil Service Commission.
CASE OF A DEPUTY MARSHAL

dered an important decision on the subject
of appointments in the classified service.
In other words the appointing power in
any one of the departments, including the
| public printer, may. if disposed, and If
| not prevented by executive action, ignore
| the civil service commission in the matter
of appointments.
The controllers decision is in response to
a letter received from ]. P. Grady, United
| States marshal for the Indian territory.
| On the 2Sth of January Marshal Grady
wrote to the controller asking if he could
pay the account of office or field deputy
marshal whose appointment did not come
| through the civil service although such Of
| fees were in the classified service.
The controller delayed replying to Mar
shal Gradys letter for the reason that kim
dred questions were pending at the time,
and for the further reason that the dep
uty's accounts were not held up in so far
as the controller was informed, because
the marshal had not selected his office
field deputy from list prepared by the
civil service.
The controller states that office deputies
are now in the classified civil service by ex-
ecutive order of the President.
In my judgment" writes the controller
IAN office deputy marshal is authorized to
be employed by section 10 Of the act of
May %, 1895, by the marshal, and is not
appointed by the head Of any department,
and hence is not an officer of the govern
ment in the constitutional sense of that
word
Right of a Department Head.
'Conceding, however, for the purposes of
your question. that office deputy marshals
are by executive order and through the ac-
tion of the Attorney General, the head of
the Department of Justice, in the classified
list of the civil service, and that such
deputies are appointed by the Attorney
General. instead of being employed by the
marshal, and subject to removal at his
pleasure, that this particular deputy was
appointed by the Attorney General. instead
of by yourself. in violation of such execu-
tive order, in this that his name was not
selected by the Attorney General from a
list of those eligibies presented him on re-
quest by the civil service commission it
would then present to me not a question of
the violation of any law in the selection of
Sucn ONCE deputy, but a disregard in the
method of his selection of a rule of the
civil service commission and of the execu-
tive order placing such positions or employ
ment in the classified service
MS violation or disregard as before said
is not of the law. but of an executive ree11-
latlon, and by the agent of the executive
VINO Is alone responsible to the executive
lor Such action. The head of an executive
department is simply an Instrument the
| hand of the chief executive. The mower
/, which makes the rule or regulation can
wave It's enforcement as certainly as the
such officer at its pleasure unless prohihit
e'l by the law ITSELF
The President Alone Can DiscipIiue
Continuing, the controller writes; .'It
seems to me that my duty in the premises
Is plain and that will not err if 1 hold that
so long as the President recognizes the act
OF MS agent he alone has the power TO dis
clpline and enforce-that 1 shall make no
mistake Ii l treat as valid appointments to
place or ofhce those certified TO such APP
poihtmenlS or place by those having the
appointing power. Il is not to be under
stood that it is to be held that The mere
ceIuhcation of appointment to place or
once by The head of department or other
appointing power is sufficient evidence upon
which the salary or other pay of such Off
Ger or person is to be paid
the mead OF a department. or even
the President, should attempt to appoint a
person to an office or place not provided
Tor by law, or whose salary or cOmpensa-
ton is not fixed by law. the accounting
officers of the treasury would NOT be i,sfi-
fed in allowing to such pretended officer
his salary as such. other emOluments Cf
office.
Unlawful Appointment Different
The unlawful appointment to pace or
Office is quite different thing from the
disregard of rules and regulations made to
govern the selection of appointments TO
place or Office by those who made those
rules and regulations and are chargeable
with their enforcement, and who may at
their pleasure disregard them.
In my judgment it would be perversion
of justice to make innocent disbursing Off
GERS the victims of the violation of the civil
service rules by these charged with their
execution and enforcement. If this ruling
has tendency TO muddy the stream of
civil service reform, which should always
flow pure and clean from its fountain
throughout its course, | can only answer
that it would be futile for me to attempt
with my limited jurisdiction to purify this
stream as it would be TO bail the ocean of
its waters with a pint cup
In concluding his decision authorizing
Marshal Grady to pay the account, the
controller adds:
Il prefer to let the responsibility resi-
where it riShtfully belongs and follow the
precedents of years in my office, to recog-
niZe the certificate of appointment of the
head of a department other appointing
power TO office or Place when such appoint
ment is not in violation of law or without
authority of law