Arizona republican., 1904-01-21
PHoENIx, ARIZONA. JAN. 21, 19O
Rights of Federal Officials.

The Associated Press yesterday stat ed that Postmaster General Payne hac said that there was nothing to bal postmasters or other federal officials from serving as delegates in national state. county or other political conven- tions. l. was not mentioned in the dis patch whether the statement was called out by inquiry or whether it was gratu- itous information for the guidance of the servants of the government.
 Most of the employees of the depart ment must have been aware that there was no constitutional or ether legal ob- jection to their serving as delegates to conventions. It is possible that the statement of the postmaster general is therefore intended to disabuse the minds of the postmasters and others in the postoffice service of the fear that there may be some rule in the depart ment preventing them from immersinG themselves too deeply in politics. How ever the postmaster general goes be- yond the jurisdiction of the postoffice department and says that all fedora! of- ficials are equally free from restriction in their political movements.
 From the earliest times it has been = the practice of federal officials to par Ia i,,v and in state and county conventions held for the selection of delegates to na- tional conventions, it being the idea, no doubt, of the federal officials that the present regime should be perpetuated.
 We believe that no objection was ever raised to the practice; it was contend ed by no one that because a man hap pened to ba so fortunate as to secure all appointment under the government he should be deprived of the rights of candidates for office.
 In the first administration of MT. Cleveland, that gentleman, the coiner of many happy expressions, coined an other, ''pernicious activity" made ap- plicable in certain cases to persons who were holding offices under the govern ment. "Pernicious activity was made sufficient cause for removal from of flee and many were removed, but it was disclosed that a very large ma jor- ity of the perniciously active turned out to be republicans. Mir. Cleveland In barring employees of the government, nude 1t clear that he did so, recognizing their rights as citizens, but he explain ed that the public duties in which they were engaged, if they were properly performed, must so engross their time that they would be unable to engage in politics.
 When MT. Harrison became a canIi- date for renomination the federal em- ployes were given to understand Sat the bars had been thrown down and that the term "pernicious activity" had rot only become obsolete but that they Q were expected to assist in the contfnu- ation of an excellent administration during another period of four years. Any activity they might exert to that end would be regarded as a mark of good citizenship.
 It is remembered that while this coun- try has had very few better presidents than President Harrison he never sue ceeded in bringing himself very close 10 the people so that before the national convention at which he was renominat- ca he was far from being the popular choice. No national convention ever held in this country contained so great ratio of federal employees. Mir Har- rison was nominated and subsequently, defeated. There were many explana- tions of the republican disaster of 1892 and one of them was that mistake hal been. made in the nomination of the, choice of the officeholders of the coun- try and not the choice of the people.
 Four years ago President Mckinley. then candidate for renomination. caused the heads of departments to ir- form the officials of these departments of his desire that the convention be left as free as possible from a hint of federal official manipulation. It was further said that the president would be better pleased if there should be no federal employees among the delegates to the Philadel- phia convention. The wish CT the pres tdcnt in this matter was pretty gener- ally respected and the convention con- tained fewer persons interested in the perpetuation cf an administration than any convention that had ever been held. | President Mckinley was reelected by a very decisive vote, %