The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-04-18
ROOSEVELT HAS
 WARM DEFENDER Foulke Stands Up for Civil Ser
 vice Record
HAS NOT BROKEN RULES
Representative Hays Statement That the President Made a Large Num- Der of Irregular Appointments
 Said to be Misleading.

Washington, April 17.-Chairman Gillett of the house committee on civil service reform wrote W. D. Foulke, former civil service commissioner calling his attention to recent congressional and other criti- cisms of President Roosevelt lon the ground that he had made a larger number of irregular appointments to the classified service than any of his predecessors, and in view of the fact that the period cov cred was while MT. Foulke was commis- sioner, asking his opinion as to the changes. In reply MT. Foulke, under date of April 15, wrote
 "The fact is exactly the other way. There have been fewer appointments without competitive examination under President Roosevelt than under any other President and there has been no adminis- tration since the passage of the civil ser vice act in which the competitive system has advanced with greater rapidity and certainty. It has been necessary for every president to permit certain posi- tions to be filled without examination. The number has been reduced from time to time. his process has gone on faster under President Roosevelt than under
 
 of suspensions of the rules during his administration. only thirty-three are of persons who were allowed to enter the service without examination.
 What They Comprise.
 'In other words out of more than TO- 900 appointments to the competitive ser- vice since MT. Roosevelt became Presi- dent it was deemed unnecessary in these thirty-three cases to require competitive exfi nations. These cases form less than one-twentieth of one per cent of the ap- pointments. They comprise for instance, steward In the White House, coach man in the navy department, two special agents in the bureau of corporations the superintendent of the government hospital for the insane and other cases, where on account of special reasons, the applica- tion of the rules was considerable in- practicable, unwise unjust and unneces- sary These cases are explained in detail in the annual reports of the civil service commission They were usually made on the recommendation of a competent of feer and with the approval of the com nds sion, In all these cases the person was excepted and not the position,
 This has been found by experience to be much the better plan. If, for instance th, position of coachman had been ex- pected generally and not the particular rran would be found that the number or coschmen would increase and many exceptions would creep in instead of one
 The statement of Secretary Hay made that during the administration of Cleve- land and Harrison there were no suspen- . sions Of the rules, and only three during during the administration Of Mckinley while In Roosevelt's administration there has been 60 leads to a most erroneous inference.
 Excepting Certain Classes.
 "Under previous administrations, ex- captions were not usually made by means or suspension of the rules, but by means of changes In the rules, thus excepting certain classes of positions from competi- tive examination.
 From time to time President Cleveland Mckinley and Harrison excepted from examinations hundreds of positions which had been competitive. On one occasion alone, S,047 such places were excepted But these exceptions were not in the form of suspensions of the rules which was the only matter called for by the house resolution. President Roosevelt, 1 however, made them in the form of such suspensions for the purpose of limiting their number.
 Moreover. prior to April 15, 1903, there was provision allowing appointments without examination where the position to be filled required such peculiar qualifi- cations in respect to knowledge and abil- ity, or such scientific or special attain ments wholly or In part professional or technical as are not ordinarily acquired in the executive service of the United States Under this provision President Mckinley made twenty-one appointments and President Roosevelt only five. h. stead of making appointments of this kind under a general rule. President Roosevelt preferred to deal with each case separately by a suspension of the rules and several of the thirty-three ap- pointments referred to are of this char acter. as for instance that of a cable en- gineer in the signal service in the Philip pines.
 During the last year 45SS more ap- pointments were made through competi- tive examination than in the previous year, and S007 more appointments were made in that year than in 1902
 Heretofore extensions of the classified service have usually taken place near the close of an administration, and the exceptions made soon after the adminis- tration commenced But President Roose- welt at the very beginning of his admin istration began to extend the number of competitive positions and to strengthen the rules. He also dealt out summary justice to offenders, several of whom ha, high positions in his own party.
 
 OPENING NEW MINES.