The Topeka state journal., 1899-07-12
REPLY TO GAGE.
Secretary of Civil Service League
Writes an Open Letter.

Writes an Open Letter.
New York. July 12.-The National
Civil Service Reform league on June
5, issued a, criticism of President Nc
Kinley's civil service order, declaring
that "a backward step of the most pro
nounced character had been taken and
later Lyman J. Gage. secretary of the
treasury, gave an authorized interview
in which he declared that some of the
statements of the league were "malic-
iOus representation absolute false
hoods" or false interpretations hav-
ing basis only in the wish to find some
thing in the action of the president to
condemn
George McAneny, secretary of the
league, has sent a long open letter to
Secretary Gage, in which the following
appeared:
''Since the opening of the war with
Spain the number of appointments IN
the Washington offices of the treasury
department, through competition, under
the CIVIL service rules has been 1nSlS-
nificant. The number of appointments
through other means-chief1y under the
war actS-haS been very large. When
the urgent deficiency bill was passed
by congress in June, 1898, a clause was
inserted permitting the employment OF
certain clerks in the war and treasury
departments, for a period of not to ex-
ceed one year, without compliance with
the conditions of the civil service act
In response to questions from vari-
Gus members the chairman of the ap-
preparations 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 de-
partment that in the emergency exist
ing it would not be practicable to get
them under the civil service act (cOn-
gressiOna1 record June q, p. 6, 1S0).
This was the beginning. When the
number Of emergency employees grew
and the same argument was used to Sc
I q
letter of inquiry on the subject to the
civil service commission. The commits
sion in its reply dated October p last.
declared that the repreSentatiOnS of the
treasury officials, as repeated by Nr.
Cannon, were utterly without fOunda-
ton: that when the deficiency bill was
passed the registers of eljgibles con-
tained the names of 6,S34 persons, whose
fitness has been tested by examination
and from among whom the clerical en-
pIOyes required might have been secur-
ed at the shortest notice and that the
facts were so reported to congress at
the time. It was pointed out that in
1890 three hundred clerks had been ap-
pointed in one day for the increased
work of the pension office and that on
many other occasions in the past emer-
gency forces had been organized with
the same expedition. These statements
were widely published. Nevertheless
every subsequent act passed by con-
greSs authorizing increases of force
the same exempting clause was insert
ed and both the war and the treasury
departments failing to correct the err
rOneOus statements of the treasury Of
ficials, continued to make their ap-
pointment without resort to the civil
service commission find, on examin-
ing these acts, that the few clerks
mentioned by Mr.. Cannon have become
many hundreds and that the apprOpria-
tions made within the year for addition
al additional service in the civil branch
| amount approximately to 81, ,2OO, ,O00."
Mr. McAneny recalls the pledge made
| by Mr.. Gage when he took Office to up
hold the civil service law.
You found the internal revenue ser
vice wholly subject to the civil service
| rule, = says Mr.. McAneny. with the
| exception of the principal deputyships-
/ one in each of the sixty-three districts
| all of the subordinate offices in that
| highly important branch were to be
J filled, when vacancies occurred only