Omaha daily bee., 1899-12-15
OPEN ATTACK ON MkIyLEY
Civil Service Reform League Greatly Agi-
tated Over Presidents Action,
FEELS OFFENDED At LETTER FROM GAGE
Secretary writes that lie Does Not
Consider IL PRO: or to Give infor-
nation of Private Nature
to the Public.

INDIANAPOLIS Dec. 14.-At the open
meeting held this afternoon the Civil serv-
! ice Reform league openly attacked the ad-
ministration OF President Mckinley in re-
gard to the order Of May 20, removing Offices
! from the list
The roll call of the delegates was the
/ first business, followed by the report Of
George McAneny of New York who said the
! league had attempted to find out the facts
regarding certain violations of the rules of
the service in the Treasury department of
the national government,
He had written, he said to Secretary
Gage for the information and received let
ter in reply, stating that IL was not proper
to give information to the public which was
OF a private nature The matter was taken
up by the league and the following rcsolu-
! tion was introduced by Charles j. Bonaparte
of Maryland and unanimously adopted by
| the league
The league pronounccs the action of the
! Treasury department in refusing access to
public records relating to public concern a
violation of the undoubted right of citizens
In free country to learn from official
sources how faithfully the public servants
they pay administer the laws The force
of the reason assigned for this refusal is
gravcty impaired by the fact that similar
information had been previously furnished
4 TO the league by the department under the
present secretary of the treasury This re-
iusal eXpores to reasonable suspicion the
good faith OF the officials responsible for 1t
and suggests the cXisterCe of abuses which
the records Withheld from inspection might
disclose and we demand that this unworthy
policy of concealment ana secrecy pe
abandoned
Conversation with Mckinley.
The secretary then gave review of the
conversation between President Mckinley
and committee of the league sent to him
concerning the order OF May 90, when so
many offices were removed from the civil
service lists. The secretary said it was the
understanding of the league with President
Mckinley that in case it became necessary
for him to issue this order he would add
at least as many offices to the classified serv
ice as he was compelled to remove. Presi-
dent Mckinley was asked, the secretary
said, if he would not comply with request
of this kind, and replied as follows:
"It is my intention to include a good
many more than these excluded
up to the present time no new addi
tions have been made, which is matter
of great surprise to the league, reported
the secretary. Later another letter was ad-
dressed to the president calling his at
tenton to the promise which he had made
the committee on a former occasion.
Following is the correspondence:
Sir The undersigned members of the eX-
ecutive committee of the National Civil
Service Reform league respectfully invite
your attention to the following facts: In
January, 1899, special committee appointed
by the league called on you for the purpose
of demonstrating against your contem-
plated executive order for excluding certain
places from the classified service, and to
ton Of adding other places to the service
greater in number than those excluded.
After the PRONUNCIATION of your order Of
special committee, consisting of Messrs.
William Dudley Foulke Richard Henry
Dana and Bert Welsh, addressed to you
''To the Pfesident-sir: thd%undersigned,
as members Of, the National Civil Service,
January, 1899, in regard to your then pro-
posed order for excluding certain places
you of the fact that in our COMPENSATION we
expressed the hope that If you found it nee
essary to make the exclusions you would,
at the same time include within the classi-
fled list, subject to competitive eXamina-
tion, at least as large number of places
as as those omitted SO that it might appear
''To this you replied that it was your in
tention to include great many more places
make the order SO comprehensive that the
reform of the civil service would then be
so complete that nothing further would
need to be done in regard to it,
our disappointment was, therefore, great
when upon the appearance of your order
we found not only that the number of eX-
clusions was far greater than had been pre-
viouSly supposed, but that there was none
of the inclusionS which you had assured us
it was your intention to make
May we not hope that II is still your pur- |
pose to make some substantial and impor- !
tant extensions of the present classified |
system?
We believe that the large number of ex-
clusions made by your order of May 29 !
ination, has been injurious not TO the civil |
service of the government only. but to the |
at large and we hope to satisfy you |
of this by the result of certain inVestiga- !
tions which we intend to lay before you at |
an early date and ask you for a revocation |
of that order,
We beg leave to inquire whether we may |
not now look for the additions to the cassi- |
fled service promised in the republic an |
platform and If so, whether it will be |
agreeable to you to state al what time such |
additions may be expected
This was signed by George McAneny, Sec
retary; Carl schurz, Richard Henry Dana !
and eighteen others
Secretary POrter's Reply.
Along with the letter to the president was
the following:
EXECUTIVE MANSION, Washington,
Nov. is. lS99-My Dear Sir: / beg leave TO
acknowledge the receipt of tie letter Of the
l6th inst, signed by yourself. and other
members Of the National civil Service Re-
form league and to say that II will be
brought TO the attention of the president.