Evening star., 1903-07-20
HITS BAcEATP PROcTER
Charles Emory Smith Writes
Another Letter.
RURAL MAIL SERVICE
DENIES 1T WAS ssPACKED" UNDER
HIS REGIME.
!
Also Replies to Insinuations of Alleged
Illegal Transfers in Post Office
Department.
RURAL MAIL SERVICE


ory Smith has written a letter to Post
master General Payne in reply to COM
| municatiOn sent to the Postmaster Cen
| eral by John R. Proctor. president Of the
| civil service commission. in which the lat
| ter criticised the administration of Mr..
| Smith during his term as Postmaster Cen
| eral.
The main points to which Mr.. Smith
| takes exception are Mr.. Procter's attack
| on the classification of persons at post
offices on the establishment Of free deliv-
| cry. and the alleged packing Of the rural
| free delivery division of the. department in
| anticipation of its classification.
On the first point Mr.. Smith says the law
| provides for classified post offices when the
receipts reach $10,OO a year and on the
second point he states that the statute,
not the department, puts the clerks of the
! new free delivery offices into the classified
| service The letter in full, is as follows:
Mr.. Smiths Letter.
Philadelphia, July ii, 1903.
Hon. Henry c. Payne.
POSTMASTER General.
Sir: You have sent copy of the
| letter of Mr.. John R. Proctor. president Of
| the civil service commission, relating to
| the Post Office Department and the Wash
| lnStOn post once, 1Or SuCn Tepty DIS
may deem fit. The only Importance l at
| tach to my answer is that such gross
| misrepresentation of facts should not be
allowed to become part of the permanent
records without being accompanied by
| statement of the truth.
The one-third of Mr.. PrOcters letter
which was in response to your inquiry nd
which Immediately touches the Washing
| ton post office may properly be left to the
answer of the postmaster whom it directly
| concerns. The tWo-thirdS which are en-
| tirely outside Of the scope of your inquiry,
| and which concern my administration as
Postmaster General. involve two points:
First the so-caled indirect clasSitica-
ton of persons at post offices on the es-
! tablshment Of free delivery. in alleged
| evasion of the law. followed by their trans
fer to other portions of the government
| service.
Second. the alleged packing of the rural
| free delivery division of the department in
anticipation of It's classification.
80 far as 1 can see. these are the only
points in Mr. Procter's letter which re-
| late to my administration. Let me meet
| them directly and unreservedly.
| The law. provides that when any post
| office shall become a free delivery Office
| that Ia, when its receipts reach $4,000 a
| year-it shall be classified and its clerks
| shall by that fact be admitted to the classi-
| fled service without being compelled to pass
| a competitive examination. Under this pro-
vision, in 1897. before 1 became Postmaster
| General, some persons were appointed to
| offices about to be classified, and, after
| their classification. transferred to other
| parts of the service. The practice thus in
| troduced continued in limited degree.
| 1T Is the statute. not the department.
| that puts the clerks of new free delivery
| offices into the classified service. Their
| classification is matter Of law Their
| transfer is a matter of rule. No rule then
prohibited transfer at any time. and no
| transfer was made without the sanction of
! = ~ ,;,,
| jected to the practice. No rule even at this
| day fOrbids transfer at any time in the
| exactly parallel case where small unclaSsi-
| fed offices are classified by being consoli-
| dated with larger classified offices.
| Mr.. Proctor states that the commission
| twice presented the matter to President
| McKinley's attention-frst on June 20, 1895
| and again on June H. 19oO-recommending
him to modify the rule SO as to prohibit
| transfer until after six months service
| This Is true. President Mckinley took no
| action except to approve the policy laid
| down in the letter of the Postmaster Cen
| erai which is here inserted:
An Old Letter to Proctor.
| Post Office Department,
| washington. December 27, 1900.
| The Civil Service Commission, Washing
| ton, d. c.:
| Gentlemen: / am in receipt of your let
| ter of the Goth instant, stating that the
| com mission feels DDIlSeQ TO repeat its
| test with reference to the indirect claSsi-
| ticatiOn of persons at post offices upon the
| establishment Of free delivery. followed by
| their transfer to other portions of the gov
| ernment service
IN reply | beg to state that some time
| before this letter was written your com
| mission was fully informed that directions
| had been given which, 1t is believed, re-
| move all just ground of complaint of this
| charac cter Whatever may have been the
| case in the past. any features of the prac-
| tice referred to which We're open to just
| criticism have been corrected. In the or
| dinary course of administration some per
| sons had been appointed in offices at which
| free delivery was afteTWard eStabiShe
and thus had come into the classified serv-
! ice. This action having been taken without
| being brought to the attention and without
| the knowledge of the head of the depart
| ment.
| In a letter of your commission to the
President, bearing date June ]. 1900, you
| state we are gratifed to record in this
| connection that the advantage which the
| Post Office Department actually has taken
| of this condition is minor in extent in COM
| parison to what this provision of the rules
seems to permit This statement is justi-
| fed in view of the fact that the total num-
| Der of such appointments from the begin
| ming is 11S, while large number of offices
| have been classified without any advantage
| being taken of the right.
| although the number of cases has been
| limited. as thus indicated, the exercise Of
| the authority without full review and ex-
cept for conclusive reasons in the interest
| of the service is rightly open to objection
| and, accordingly instructions were given
| which prohifsted the practice and permitted
| appointments of,e this character only In
emergency and after being submitted to
| the chief Of the department OF this in
struction YOUR commission was fully ad-
viSed
Il concur' with your commission in the
! Judgment that. wherever it is practicable.
| admissions to the service should be made
only upon examtnation and after applica-
| ton of the approved tests of merit and for
| this reason L greatly regret that from July
| 1. 1899. to Eaeeember 10. 1900. for want of a
sufficient register of eigibles provided by
| the civil service commission it has been alb
solutely necessary for this department, in
meeting the requirements of a growing
| service, to make S96 appointments of post
office clerks and subcarriers of a temporary
| chara cter, With all the embarrassment of
afterward snperseding trained persons with
| unframed persons Respectfully,
| CHARLES EMORY SMITH
IT u POSTMASTER General
The Question of Transfers.
This is my reply to Mr. Proctor made
not now, but on December n, 1900. So far