Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-27
ENFORCING THE RULES
Investigations of the Civil
Service Commission
HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE
VIOLAToRS OF THE LAW HAVE
GENERALLY BEEN REMOVED.
Brief Statement of Each of the Gases
Taken Up During the
Year
HAVE BEEN EFFECTIVE

much as the commission had no power to
take final action upon the cases investi-
gated. 1t appears, however, from resume
of all the principal cases investigated by the
commission during the past year, that these
have very generally resulted in the separa-
ton from the service of the persons who
have been found by the commission to have
| violated the civil service law brief
| statement Of each of these cases Is given
| below
Charles E. Sapp, collector of internal rev.
enue at Louisville, KY had long been con-
cerned in levying political assessments upon
his subordnates The evidence was col
lected by the commission and laid before
| the President November g. 1901 Mr. Sapp
| resigned his office, and he, together with
| two other persons, Leonard Parsons and
Joseph Potoning, is now under indictment
| for violation of the civil service act.
| Former Investigations made by the COM
| mission had shown that there were frauds
| connected with the civil service examine
ton for the customs service at Ell Paso,
| Texas, in which the collector Moses Dillon,
| was implicated, and that the collector had
also been concerned in the soliciting of
campaign funds from his subordinates.
| The commission, November 4, 1901 laid be-
fore the President the result Of it's investi-
cations and correspondence, and Collector
! Dillon was shortly afterward removed from
| office.
Postmaster Hicks Case.
sion showed that Mr.. Thomas L. Hicks,
postmaster at Philadelphia, had for a num-
Der of years violated the civil service law
| and rules by assigning laborers to classi-
fed work, by attempting to coerce the po-
| litical action of one or more of his subordi
mates, by changing the official rank and
| compensation of others because of their po-
| litical affiliations, and by indirectly secur-
| ing the entrance of various employees into
the classified service without examination
| by sending them temporarily to other offices
| to be classified and then securing their re-
| turn to the Philadelphia post Office
| On one occasion when the commission at
| tempted to investigate his office, Mr. Hicks
| not only declined to answer any questions,
but instructed his employees, under penalty
| of removal, to give the commissions repre-
sentative no information. Mr.. Hicks at the
expiration of his term was an applicant for
| reappointment, but for these reasons ne
| was not reappoipted.
| At the beginning of his administration, in
1897, D. A. Num-, collector of internal rev.
| enue at Nashville, Tenn, made a practical
| ly clean sweep of his Office and admitted
that the removals were made for political
reasons There was strong ground for be-
| lieving that fraud was practiced in the ex-
animation held for the purpose of filling the
| vacancies thus created, and under which
ceHan persons, including the son of the
collector, were appointed. The commission
| recommended the removal of Collector
Mum, and January g. 1902, he resigned
| from the service. styH ls3t..'--
A statement. WIS maze TO the COMMISSION
indicating that Postmaster George ii. RoD-
erts jr., had made certain removals, reduc-
lions and appointments in various unciassl-
fed positions in the Brooklyn post office for
political reasons, but upon a full inVestlga-
ton the evidence did not sufficiently estab-
lish this fact, and it appearing that the
changes made were for the good OF the
service, no further action was taken by the
commission except to require that the rea-
sons for these changes should be stated OF
record.
In the Agricultural Department.
An investigation was made into the in
tegrity of a special examination held on
June IS and 10, 1901, for the position of spe-
cial statistical compiler in the Department
| of Agriculture, from which 1t appeared that
unclassfied laborers of the division OF sta.
tistics had an unfair advantage as result
of their assignments. to statistical work,
and were assisted in their preparations by
the stenographer to the statistician, VINO
had part of the examination questions pre-
pared by the department In her custody,
the statisttcian having instructed her TO
give them all the help in the examination
she legitimately could. The examination
was, therefore, conceled
On March 10, 1902, T. w. Whittier, clerk
in the Chicago post office, alleged that
| Postmaster F. E. Coyne had twice reduced
him in place and salary for political rea-
sons, and had then removed him from the
service. On investigation it was found that
the reductions were made because tnere
was lack Of harmony between Whittier ana
his subordinates, and that he was after
ward dismissed because he refused to &C
cept his reduced position. Mr.. Whittier also
alleged that other reductions had been made
by Postmaster Coyne for pone1cal reasons,
but upon investigation the evidence did not
appear sufficiently conclusive OF this to
justify further action by the commission.
In May, 1902 an investigation was made
as to alleged political correction or employees
and political discrimination in the assign
ment of storekeeper gaugers TO DUTY by
John r. Bonnell, collector Of internal reve-
nue. at Terre Haute, Ind, and the colieetlon
of political contributions by his predeces-
| sor, Collector D. w. Henry. The evidence
showed no coercion, and while 1t justified
the inference Of political discrimination in
assignments, these appeared to have been
made by Collector Bonnell (who had been
recently appointed) under an excusable
Misrepresentation as to his rights IN the
premises, and the commission, therefore, de-
termined to take no further action unless
there were complaints in the future.
Dismissal Recommended.
| AS to the charge against former Collector
Henry, although there was some testimony
to show that assessments had been collected
among the employees for political purposes,
1t was not sufficieptly strong to justify the
institution of criminal proceedings There
was evidence that Storekeeper-Gauger De
Baum had taken an active part In such
solicitations, and his dismlssal from the
yet been takenu ponfthis recommendation.
In the course Of this investigation the tes-
timony of C. O. sSolf1sa storekeeper-gauger,
was required, but herefused to answer GER
tain questions and was removed from the
service upon the Recommendation Of the
commission. res
mond, Va, post office In October, 1901, it
appeared that funds were being solicited
from federal employees throughout Virginia
for the pending campaign, by means of a
circular letter Esigned by w. A. Jameson.
member of the republican state executive
committee. Although Mr. Jameson was
not a federal office, holder, all but one of
the remaining members Of that committee
were and the facts. SO far as could be
ascertained, were reported to the Postmas-
ter General. the Attorney General and the
Secretary of the Treasury, together with
the names of the officers under their re-
spective departments who were members
OF the committee.
The Postmaster General Informed the
several postmasters that their membership
upon this committee, In view of the facts
stated was in violation of section 435 OF the
postal laws and regulations, and that they
should at once relinquish such connection.
The Attorney General had previously is
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