The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1899-11-18

finance committee OF the Ohio Repub-
lican state executive committee to ex-
/ act contributions from federal office
holders upon his plea that ION account
OF the important bearing the results in
Ohio this year will have upon the
greater contest OF 1900, and because OF
the fact that the defeat OF his party
in the presidents home state would be
heralded by the opposition as a rebuke
TO his administration, We hope you will
aid in this contest by sending as liberal
a contribution as you can afford"
The question Of the legality OF the
solicitation OF political assessments
from federal employees at their ofices
has been one long awaiting judicial
construction, as coming under the
twelfth section OF the civil service act.
Upon this point the president Of the
civil service commission called upon
Hon. Geo. F. Edmunds, who was chair
man OF the judiciary committee Of the
senate at the time the civil service act
Of Jan. 16, 1888, was passed, requesting
an expression Of opinion, quoting the
section above noted. Senatr Edmunds.
in reply to this inquiry Of the commits
sion, has submitted the following:
81 think II is clear that the solicita-
ton OF such political aids by means
of the postofice is distinctly within the
prohibition OF section XII Of the act to
which you refer. The language Of this
section is that no person shall, in any
room or building" etc, solicit in any
manner whatever" etc. 1t is not that
no person being In a room or building
shall solicit, but 1t is that no sollcita-
ton shall be made in any such place.
no matter where the person making
the solicitation may be. II, for in
stance, a person on the street outside
the treasury department should send a
written offer to some person employed
within the building to pay a price for
robbing the vaults or committing any
other wrong. 1t would be clear that this
offense was committed within the
building for the writing OF the offer
would be entirely incomplete until de-
livered to the person to whom it was
addressed. l think it impossible, there
fore, to maintain that such acts as you
refer to are not within both the letter
and the spirit OF the act OF congress"
The civil service commission, follow |
ing up this opinion submitted by Sen
ator Edmunds, issues a statement, OF |
which the following Is a part: AS !
long as four years ago the civil serv- |
ice commission held that the sending !
through the United States mails OF
letter addressed to an official or en- |
ploye OF the government at his Office, |
asking for contribution OF money for |
any political purpose. constituted a
solicitation in violation OF the civil |
service act One declared purpose OF |
the act is TO prevent govern
ment officers and employees from /
being required to contribute. "a !
such. for political purposes, and /
in aid OF this purpose their fellow
officers and employees are forbidden to
solicit or receive contributions from
them under any circumstances what
ever, evidently for the reason that in
such cases they might be compelled to
contribute against their will from ap-
prehension that their refusal to do so
might be reported and get them into
trouble with their superiors. For the
same reason, also, the law forbids all
solicitation for such contributions
made in any room or building occu-
pied by them in the discharge OF their
official duties. When the political col
lector goes to the postofice or custom
house and requests every clerk and
employe therein to pay the assessment
which has been levied upon his salary,
each one well understands that this re-
fusal to do so will be noticed and re-
membered against him, and may be
by his speedy dismissal on
some pretext. Now, whether this coll
lector sees fit to make his request to
each clerk verbally or by handing to
him at his desk a written demand. or
by sending by mail such a demand ad-
dressed to each one at his office. so
that it VIII be delivered at his desk,
and every clerk will know that a sim
liar assessment has been made upon
every other employe in the room with
him, the coercion to which It subjects
the clerk is precisely the same. Upon
these conditions it is held by the civil
service commission that the soliciting
by letter as described does come clear
ly within the mischief intended by
congress to be remedied by the statute
under consideration. In its eleventh
report the civil service commission
says:
THE commission has always con-
strued the words solicit in any man
ner whatever" to apply to solicitation
by letter as much as to solicitation in
person. And, as a matter of fact. when
the law was originally drawn in this
the intention OF those who
1t was to have this construc-
ton put upon it,"
The treasurer Of the finance commit
lee Of the republican state executive