Evening star., 1902-01-29
EMPLOYEES AS LOBBYISTS
STATEMENT nv CIVIL SERVICE
COMMISSIONER FoULkE.
Letter Carriers and Others Paid sy
the Government Were orgsaisea
Before Put I'm CIsssiaed Service,

The civil service commission Is anxious
to correct the impression that the classifi.
cation OF a service tends in any way to
make 1t an agency by which TO extract
favors from Congress. While the recent IN
crease In the salaries of rural free delivery
carriers was under discussion In the HOUSE
last week IL was charged that, following
the recent order of the President bringing
the rural free delivery service under the
civil service rules. the carriers had organ
lied, and had then. las an organization of
civil service employees" brought pressure
10 bear upon members OF Congress TO in
fuence them in favor OF an increase OF
salary.
In a letter written TO several members OF
Congress, Commissioner Foulke calls At
tention to the fact that the rural carriers
association was formed some time prior to
the classification of the rural free delivery.
and entirely independent OF it. Continuing.
Mr.. Foulke says;
II have looked into the question of the
organization of employees i'm different
branches OF the government service TO Sc
cure legislation favorable to their interests.
and i do not find grounds for the belief
that there is more pressure for such legis-
lation on the part OF employees in the clas-
sined service than now exists In branches
OF the service that remain unclassifed. or
even perhaps than there was prior TO the
passage of the civil service act. | am told
that the National Association of Letter
Carriers was first organized a system OF
local associations corresponding with each
other, and that they effected a national
organization in 1869. The civil service law
was not passed until 1888 and then applied
only to the force at the twenty-three post
Offices having more than fifty employees
1t is my recollection that there was con
siderable pressure brought to bear upon
Congress I'm behalf Of the interests of let
ter carriers prior to the classification of
the entire free delivery service which dill
not occur until 1ScS. / understand that the
National Association of Post Office Clerks
was organized about 1890.
This was three years prior to the csassi-
fcation of all the free-delivery offices. 4
casual inspection of the Congressional Rec
ord seems to show relatively as many pc
ttions on behalf of carriers prior to lsS-;
as since. The same appears TO be true
with regard to the clerks IN the railway
mail service. Compositors and other trades
employees in the government printing office
were united in labor union long before
| the classification OF that office I'm 1895. 1
can learn of but two or three organiZat tons
of distinctively classified civil service en-
ployes formed since the passage Of the act
| of 1889, and the combined membership OF
| these is mere handful"
| As indicating that organization and the
| favor OF Congress were matters entirely
apart from Classification, Mr.. Foulke men =
tioGs the fact that fourth-class postmasters
have long had national association ard
an. organ known as The Fourth-clsss
Postmaster. and quotes some remarks OF
Representative Cannon, chairman OF the
House appropria tions committee. to the ef-
feet that after investigation he had come
| to the conclusion that the House of Repre-
sentatives had one-third more employees
than ii needed, and one-third more than 1t
would were il an executive department. In
contrast with this, the statement is made
that from the time of the passage OF tn
civil service law down 60 1sN7-a period of
fourteen years-there was an actual de-
crease in the number of persons employed
| in the classified service Of the depa timer 5
| in Washington