The National tribune., 1905-11-09

of the Civil Service Commission. name
ly. the President OF the United States.
can unmake them faster than they can
be made. The President was annoyed
by the actions of man driving an auto
mobile, and he at once promulgated an
order which said that when a clerk or
any other Government employe did
anything which his chief, or a Cabinet
head, thought was "unbecoming an OFF,
Ger and gentleman" so to speak, said
employe might be fired at once with
out benefit of church or clergy" Then
the President fired the automobile driv-
er. This nullified the power Of the Civil
Service Commission, no matter what
excuses may be made, what explana-
tons are offered for the order. 1t SIM
ply means that if the one in power
wants to get rid of a clerk he can do
so; his word goes, and the clerk has no
recourse whatever. That is what makes
such bloOmin' farce of Civil Service,
don't you know.
1t is a well-known fact that what
may now be done openly and above
board has all along been done on the
sly. 1t needs but the statement from a
Bureau Chief that q clerk is ''ineffi-
cient" to get that clerk transferred to
a lower grade. lower salary, and ulti-
mately dismissal If the new Chief makes
the same complaint. Civil Service pro-
fesses to protect the Government en-
ployes, but it does not and never has
and now it couldn't under the new order
of the President, If it wanted to never
SO much. When the President was at
the head of the Commission he wanted
1t understood that the Civil Service
Commission was "IT," and it was pretty
nearly. 1t was as much as a Cabinet
officers life was worth-or his posi-
ton, at any rate-to talk about ap-
pointing to a Chief Clerkship a man
who had not passed the Civil Service
examination. 1t is different now. Col.
Michael retired from the Chief Clerk
ship of the State Department the other
day, to become Consul to Calcutta, and
the President wanted to appoint Charles
DENLY to that office. Mr.. DENLY, under
the laws of the Civil Service Commits
sion, could not be appointed until he
had taken the examination. For some
reason Mr.. DENLY did not want to take
the examination, and he didn't. The
announcement was made some time ago
that he would be appointed but that
he was waiting to take the examination.
Last Thursday the President issued the
following order to the Civil Service
Commission: Mr.. Charles DENLY may
be appointed Chief Clerk of the State
Department without examination under
the Civil Service rules" And SO the
farce of Civil Service gets another very
black eye.
While the President was aboard the
West Virginia on his way up from New
Orleans, he. visited the bowels of the
big warship, and made the acquaintance
of the stokers. A brand-new shovel
decorated with red, white and blue was
given him, and he was asked to throw
a shovel of coal into one of the new
furnaces, just used for the first time,
and for the occasion. The President
laughingly took up the shovel, and in
stead of one shoveIful of coal, proceed
ed to fire in half a dozen, much to the
delight Of his sooty admirers. The fur
mace was Immediately christened the
Roosevelt" and the shovel was broken
into infnitesimal pieces, and divided
among the ffremen and engineers as
souvenirs of the occasion.
The new independent Government of
Norway practically has been recognized
by the United States. Secretary Root
has acknowledged Mr.. Hauge as Charge
d'Affaires for Norway in the United
States. 1t Is understood at the State
Department that the Norwegian Gov
eminent plans to make Mr.. Hauge it's
first fully accredited Minister to this
country.
The new Government will be without
a regular Minister from the United
States. however, until special act can
be passed by Congress providing that
Minister be accredited thereto. 1t is
the understanding at the State Depart
ment that c. II. Graves, the United
States Minister to Norway and Sweden,
with his Legation at Stockholm will be
required to act in a dual capacity for
both the Governments till special pro-
visions can be made by Congress.
The delegating Of Minister to Nor
way would, Of course, be direct recog-
milton OF that country's Independent
he
rule Of the twin Kingdom.
Theodore, Jr., is football hero. He
is not very tall and he is lightly built,
with not very good physique, but some
way he seems to have caught on at
football. 1t seems incredible, because
he Is az nearsighted as his father, and
must play by faith as much as any
thing else: but anyhow, the word comes
that he has caught on at Harvard, and
that goes.
Do you know how tight the lines are
drawn between the Army and the Navy?
Well, here Is a story which illustrates
IT. Up in the section OF the city where
the State. War and Navy Building takes
up whole block stand two great build
ings erected for offices. One party owns
both buildings, which are rented to the
War Department and the Navy Depart
ment, and there is party wall between.
Doors are cut in this party wall all the
way up on each floor, but these doors
are usually locked, and If you want to
go from one building to the other you
must go out on the pavement and enter
by the big street doors The electrical
power-house blew up the other day and
cut off the power from the building
rented by the War Department, and con-
sequently stopped the elevators In that
building, which Is about nine stories
high.
w. Leon Pepperman, Assistant Chief
of the Isthmian Canal Office of Admin
istration, who has quarters in the An
son, the War Department Building,
opened the door leading from the 18TH
milan Canal offices to the Mills Build
ing, the Navy Department Building, to
give access to the Mills Building eleva-
tors. Then he telephoned the Superin-
tendent of the Mills Building to open
all the other doors; butthe Superintend-
ent declined, saying the Mills Building
was under the Navy Department and
the Arson Building under the War De-
partment, and 1t was against the rules
to connect them. He referred Mr.. Pep
perman to Admiral Baird, Superintend-
ent OF the State, War and Navy Build
ing, and ordered the door which Mr..
Pepperman had opened to be locked.