The Savannah morning news., 1903-04-22
SURPRISES AHEAD
FOR ROOSEVELT WHEN HE COMES
OUT OF THE PARK.
THINGS HAVE TRANSFERRED
SINCE HE BURIED HIMSELF IN
WESTERN WILDS.


Odeu Fight in New York, Both of
Which Have Bearing on His Cam
didacy-The Smuggling Cases
Also of Political ImpOrtance-Ad-
vantage With Democrats Advance
in Civil Service Rules.
By R. NJ. Uarner.
Washington, April 21-When Presi-
dent Roosevelt comes out of the yell
lowstone Park in a few days and
leaves the snow bound trails for the
rapid travel of his special train, he
will learn that a lot of things have
been happening at the Capital, and
elsewhere, which have significance to
his administration. He will learn for
the first time full details of the court
decision in the Northern Securities
merger suit and of the movements in
that very important suit of his Ata
torney General, all of which will pos
sibly affect his political prospects more
than any single event since ne en-
tered the White House. He will also
hear some unpleasant things about the
army and navy officers in Porto Rico
and the Philippines, who have been
smuggling silks. wines, liquors, and
cigars, and have been not only trap
| ped by the wary customs officers, but
| both at Manila and San Juan are al
ready facing criminal prosecution with
remarkable efforts being put forth to
save them from prosecution. The
| President will also hear the details of
a political war in New York state,
which has broken out afresh during the
| past week, between Senator Platt
| and Gov. Odell, and which threatens
to disrupt the organization so that the
| President will lose his own state next
year to the Democrats.
All of these matters prove how rapid
| ly the world moves forward and how
likely it is that when the head of the
! civil government of 100000 people
retires to inaccessible places the pro-
cession of important events will pass
| him by. However, if the President
had been in Washington all the while
there could have hardly been any diff
| ferent management of the various af-
| fairs in question and the people do
4 not begrudge him his splendid out
| ing.
Smuggling of wines, liquors and ci-
| gars would not cause much of a SEN
| sation under ordinary circumstances.
The customs officials have such cases
| to deal with constantly, but for five
| years the high authorities of the gov
| ernment have prated extensively about
the splendid lessons in honest govern
ment which we were teaching to the
| natives dwelling in our island possess
sions. There have been several rude
shocks to those ideals, although it is
| not to be overlooked that extensive and
| far-reaching reforms in government
| have been inaugurated by the Ameri-
| cans IN Cuba, Porto Rico and the Phil
| ippines. But, at any rate, it is most
unfortunate that the favored officials
| of the government should involve ii
in such embarrassment by violating the
very laws which they are expected to
enforce with dignity.
Special emphasis has been given to
the recent cases, because the Depart
ment of Justice is attempting to shield
the army and navy officers in Porto
Rico from prosecution, which the Porto
Ricans happen to regard as unfair,
when they are themselves prosecuted
severely for like offenseS. 1t is all true
enough that the customs at the Treas
| ury Department has been to assess a
double duty on those trying to SNUG
gle goods for private consumption,
whereas those bringing in goods with
out payment of duty for gain, are pros
ecuted in the courts, but the average
Porto Rican Is not calculated to reason
on such fine points. The cases in Porto
Rico, where the grand jury went for
ward and indicted, notwithstanding the
instruction of the Department of Jus
tice to stop prosecution, have added
significance because they will undoubt-
edly figure on the presidential cam
paign of next year. The prosecutions
of importation of silks and other valu-
ables at Manila by army officers had
gotten well under way before the War
Department got any knowledge of what
was doing, and it has become ques-
ton whether the verdicts have not al
ready been rendered. The Democratic
orators will find those matters luscious
for discussion on the hustings next
year.
Civil Service Extension.
Since President Roosevelt plunged
into the wilds of Yellowstone Park,
there mas been an important advance
in the administration of the civil serv-
ice law, although it was inaugurated
with his full knowledge and consent.
For the first time since that law was
passed by Congress about twenty years
ago, it is now in force with a severity
never before known. In other words
practically every employe of the gov
Cfnment, VINO is QOlnS anything ike
clerical labor is under classified serv-
ice and beyond the reach of political
influences. This applies to a large
army of many thousands of clerks
men and women, not only in Washing
ton, but in most of the cities of the
country, wherever the government has
offices for postal, customs, revenue or
legal business.
Theoretically this has been the case
for several years, ever since different
Presidents extended the classified serv-
ice over various bureaus and depart
ments, but in practice there have been
many loopholes. which the politicians
of the dominant party not only guard
ed with great secrecy. but used dill
gently for the smuggling of constitu-
ents into good places. The appoint
ments of unskilled laborers, and thus
under the classified service, where they
could be promoted without great diff
Guilty. The hundreds of presidential
postofices (postoffices where postmas-
ters are appointed by the President,)
were also utilized as an underground
railroad for the transportation of fav-
orites into the classified service, and
in the last three or four years hun
dreds upon hundreds of clerks have
gotten into the classified service by
that route. In both cases the Civil
Service Commission was powerless. be-
cause the President was not disposed
to hold to the letter of the law.
Believes in Civil Service.
President Roosevelt. however. Ia an