Sunday morning globe., 1901-10-27
THE PENSION OFFICE
From the Inside and the Imag-
mary Interviews
WITH PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT

On the Violations 10y Evans aud His
Chiefs Of the Civil Service Law
What the President Said to Daven-
port and Bayley-The Plain Facts
Read sulphurously Warm, and the
Grease Is Being Fried Out
In our last issue we promised ourrcaders
that we would have Commissioner Evans
introduce another batch of his favorites
and incompetents to President Roosevelt
BY this fiction we are enabled to contrast
the robust American virtues Of the latter
with the small mean, contemplate traits Of
the former aud the better set forth the
favoritsm, injustice and incompetency that
today disgr1ces our national administration.
We do not wish TO do the slightest injustice
TO these creatures. We strive TO depict
their characters as true TO the real as pos
sblc A cursory examination of the official
record and am hours acquaintance with any
of these individuals will satisfy amy honest
mind that we are far from being severe or
unjust Il is not our purpose TO iuiure them
ing for four long, dreary years but reduce
without reason and persecute without pity
men with families to maintain and children
to educate. President Roosevelps well
known devotion to the cause of civil service
reform, pure politics and honest legislation
afford abundant hope that if he could
realize the deplomble conditions that exist
in the Pension Bureau he would without
ceremony hurl Evans and his whole brood
of parasites and incompetents out Of the
positions they have prostituted and dis
graccd In his essay on Reform Methods
In Politics, Theodore Roosevelt says:
owe need fearless criticism of our public
men and public parties We need unspar.
ing condemnation of all persons and prin-
ciples that count foreyil in our public life
Is there any evil to-day In public life de.
mauding severer condemnation than the
prostitution of official power TO advance the
interests Of your relatives and friends at
the expense of the people you are paid to
serve Is there greater evil In public life
to-day than for an American citizen TO take
the official oath with predetermiuation to
violate the very laws he has covenanted to
enforce2' This is just what Evans has done
and is doing in the Pension Office every
day What Ashbridgesm is to Philadel-
phia, what Ouayism is to Pennsylvania,
what Crokerism is to New York, what Ad-
dicksism is to Delaware, Evansism is to the
national administration. A stencil in the
uostrils of honest men
Il is evident that we are doing an esu-
mable public service i'm exposing Evans
favoritsm, injustice and petty tyranny.
The way in which he has fagrautly violated
the Civil Service law demonstrates that he
is utterly incompetent to administer the
affairs Of a country post-ofice not to speak
of an institution Of the proportions of the
Pension Office He has been false to our
lamentcd Mckinley, who appointed him. and
false to the Republican party that had sol
EMMY pledged itself TO enforce the Civil
Service law honestly and faithfully His
administration of the Office has been a reign
of terror TO those who did not have politi-
cal pull One man, George Taylor was
driven TO suicide by the iuhuman
cruelty and heartlcss oppression of the
superintendent of the building Before
committing the rash act he pcnucd a note,
stating that his life was made uubc7rablc by
the Superintendent and that he hoped
the day would come when he-thc superu-
tendeut-would be subjected to the same
treatment that me had been subjected Co.
And IL is a melancholy truth that not one
paper, not one minister of Chrisps gospel
uttered word of deuunciatiou or protest
against this atrocious prostitution of official
authority in this so.called Christian city.
Murder is a heinous crime, but il is merci-
ful TO a systematic and persistent persecu-
ton that will drive a human being to self
slaughter Can our condemnation of the
perpetrators of these ouuages be too se-
we're? Is it possible for language to do them
justice2
However, we will now give a glimpse,
a faint glimmera as il were, of the hypocrisy
inconsistency and official dishonesty of
James w. Davenport, the first deputy COM
missioner, as he is introduced to and SUBJ
sequeuuy interviewed by our strenuous and
courageous President
Commissioner Evans. 'Mr President,
permit me to introduce Mr.. Davenport, my
first assistant" Mr. Davenport advanced,
extending his hand, which the President
ignored, and turned suddenly to Evans and
said Mr.. Commissioner, l have before me
copy Of last Sundays GLOBE which proves
by the register of the Interior Department
that during your inCumbency you have dis
crimuated uniustly against men with tam
lilies and in favor Of spinsters and married
women. 1 have children that love devot-
edly, and consequently il is but natural that
I should sympath'ze with a man who is
honestly endeavoring to feed clothe house
and educate those whom God in His wisdom
has sent him and made him their natural
protector. / cannot conceive how any father,
any honest patriotic citizen can make such
an unnatural discrimination, However, we
shall let that pass for the time being, as !
have no desire to take an unjust advantage
of YOU You know, or at least you ought to
know, that 1 fight 10 the open with my face
to the foe, aud never strike below the belt
or Jump on a man when he is down.
Turning abruptly TO Davenport he said
"You have been i'm the Pension Office be
lieve since 1881 You have been retained
under two Democratic administrations at
$500 per year. although there was nothing
especially to recommend you for such a
high salary Do you believe in the civil
service law ?n "YessiT" " Davenport replies
"I believe IL is q good thing when the Dem.
ocrats are iu bnt do not approve of IL
when our people are iu Yousee, Mr. Praf.