The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-07-12

Claim That They Have
Grown Very Rapidly.
Civii,serviee Reform League Secretary
Replies To.secrstary Gage.

New York, J aly 1.-THE Nssionsl Civil
Service Reform seae on June 9Th, Is
sired criticism of lxcs:dent Mckinley q
civil service s>tisr declaring that "a back
weird step Ct the irs,st pronounced char
actsr.s- bad hsen taken, ald later Lyman
]. Gas+, secretary Of the treasury, gave
IN au: aorizeA interview In which he de-
clared thai s~zse o. the statements Of the
league W re malicious approximations. Z"
absolute faisohooc . or false intefprc-
tationsIhaving. basis only in the. wish to
find something in The action Of the Pros
iden. to condemn" illF8
George MICA neny, secretary Of the
'sseuc. has sent long open lette; to
SCI etary GAGE. in which the following
appears:
"Since thu oJer ing Of the war with
s ,sin, the number ~ appointments in the
Washington Officers OF the treasury de-
partment, through corapetition, under
civil service rules, has be1r Insignificant
The number of appoint ients through
oth;r moans-chiefiy under the war acts
---hat BEN vsly large Whee the urgency
ce-loiepcy bill was passed by Congress
ir June, 1898. clause was inserted per-
uniting the employment of certain clerks
in the war ard treasury departments. for
period not TO exceed one year without
compliance with the conditions OF the
civil service act.
''n. response to questions from various
members the chairman of the appropri-
ationks committee, Mr.. Cannon stated,
that "a few only of such clerks would
be needed, and that he had been assured
by officers OF the treasury department
that In the emergency existing, 1t would
not be practicable to get them under the
OWL service rules.
''rhis was the beginning. When the
mum Der of emergency employees grew.
and phe same argument was used co Sc
cure further exean ptions, / addressed a
lester of inquiry on the subject TO the
civil service commission, The commis-
sion in its reply. dated October 20 last,
declared that the representations of the
treasury officials, MS repeated by Mr.. Can
non, were utterly without foundation,
that when the deficiency bill was passed
/ the registers of eligibles contained the
names Of 6,S34 persons, whose fitness had
been tested by examination and from
whom the clerical employees required
might have been secured at the short sst
notice, and that the facts were so reported
to Congress at the time. 1t was painted
out that in 1890 three hundred clerks had
been appointed in one day for the in
creased work of the pension office and
that on many other occasions in the
past, emergency forces had been organized
with the same expedition. These state
ments were widely published. Neverthe.
less, IN every subsequent act passed by
Congress, authorizing increases of force
the same exempting clause Was inserted.
and both the war department and treas
ury department.. falling to correct the err
roneous statements OF the treasury offic-
ials, continued to make their appoint
ments without resort to the civil service
commission. i find on examination
of these acts that the few clerks men
toned BY Mr. Cannon have become many
hundreds and that the appropriations
made within the year for additional
temporary services In the civil branch
amount approximately to 81, 200 600. -