Morris tribune., 1901-12-28
HIS Ais.
CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION DE-
cIDEs ADV ERsELY IN MA
cLAY's CASE.
NOT A VIOLATION OF Law

President Has the Power to Remove
oficehoIders When the Good Of the
X Service Demands 1t Without Prefer
! ring Written Charges or Giving the
| EmpIoye an Opportunity to Make .
Defense.
Washington, Dec. 27.-The civil
service commission has notified Edgar
s. Maclay, the historian recently en-
ployed in the Brooklyn maynard, that
his removal from his position at that
point was not in violation of the civil
service act.
This notification is contained in a
letter written to Mr.. Maclay by Pres
ident Proctor of the commission and
is in reply to an inquiry from him.
Mr.. Maclay's letter is as follows:
con Dec. 90 I received the following
Communication from the secretary of
the navy:
"'Sir: l am directed by the presi-
dent to ask Edgar S. Maclay, special
laborer, general storekeeper's Office,
navyyard, New York, to send in his
resignation
"This communication was addressed
% the commandment Of this hayward
and was duly forwarded to me. de-
sire to get an authoritative opinion
from the civil service commission on
the following points:
First Has the president OF the
United States any authority under the
laws governing the civil service to de-
mand the resignation of a civil service
employe of the classified list?
Second the president of the
United States authority or power to
cause the dismissal of any civil serv-
ice employe, without presenting charges
in writing and giving said employee an
opportunity in which to make de-
6ense?"
Reply Of the Commission.
To this the commission replied:
"The commission Is in receipt Of
your letter Of Dec. 24, asking its GppSfa-
ion on the following questions:
Has the president of the United
States any authority under the laws
governing civil service to demand the
resignation of a civil service employee
in the classified list?
Has the president of the United
States the authority or power to cause
the dismissal Of amy civil service en-
ploye without preferring charges in
writing and giving said employe an
opportunity in which to make de-
fense?'
"In response you are informed that
1t is contrary to the practice OF the
commission to undertake to answer
questions. Your separa-
ton from the service according to the |
facts in your case as they appeared in
the public press was made upon the
order of the secretary Of navy in whom
the power Of removal rests. The de-
mand for your resignation, follow ed |
by your removal, upon the direction of I
the president through the secretary of !
navy was not in violation of the civil /
service act and rules IN view of the
we'll known facts in your case. The I
object of the rule requiring notice and
a hearing was to prevent political re-
movals or removals upon secret T
charges. No issue of this kind is in
vowed in your case"
New York, Dec. 27.-Edgar Stanton
Maclay, who refused to resign as spe
cial 1aborer in the Office of the general
storekeeper of the hayward, was sum-
narily discharged Thursday. Maclay
went to the hayward as usual and pre-
pared to resume his duties. Pay Di-
rector Putnam went to Maclay's desk,
.ead him the telegram of dismissal re-
seived from Washington and told him
hat he was dismissed.
- II.
BATTLE ROYAL NOW ON.