Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-01-14
PRESIDENT PLUMS
Mr.. Roosevelt Has Many
Places to Fill.
SOME HIGH SALARIES
WHERE THE BEST PIcKINGs ARE
TO BE HAD.
Choice Positions in the Various De-
neutrality-suspicious. and
Consular Service.
Wilton for The Evening Star.

consular Service.
Written for The Evening Star.
Washington is preparing for it's quad
| rennial invasion by the ever-ravenous army
| of officeseekers
Mr. Roosevelt now has at his disposal
6,2o3 "piums," guaranteeing a salary any,
where from $1,000 a year to nothing. This
estimate includes only those civil offices
| which the civil service commission lays
aside as presidential, and whose ineum-
| bents must be confirmed by the Senate. In
| addition there are permanent commissions
in the army. navy and Judiciary which can
| not be counted, and sxty-one presi-
| dental appointments to minor positions of
| that great category of the classified civil
service known as excepted" i.e., those ex-
| cepted from civil service examination For
| ty of these excepted presidential appoint
| ments which need not be confirmed by the
| Senate are employees of the White House.
| The other twenty-one are miscellaneous po-
| SluonS, some of which carry with them
glory, but no money. Perhaps a third of
| these six thousand and odd ''plums'' will
| not be considered ripe for n year or more,
/ the President having filled them recently.
That the presidential plum tree will suf-
fer thorough shaking soon after the 4th
1
| ical prophets. Almost all of the appoint
ments which Mr.. Roosevelt made early in
| his term were given to men understood to
have been selected by the late President
| Mckinley whose policies Mr.. Roosevelt
| agreed to carry out so long as the calendar
| should continue to tell off the days of the
unfinished Mckinley administration.
| Where Plums Are Thickest.
The most productive acre in the presiden-
! tial plum orchard is that assigned to the
Post Office Department. Here there are
| 5,082 executive "plums," all but fourteen of
| them postmasterships of the first, second
and third class. Fourth-class postmaster
ships are not presidential Offices" Among
| those of the first class are some rather
| tempting salaries.
The postmasters of large cities, such as
| New York Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston
| and st. Louis receive more pay than sena-
! tors. The incumbent at New York draws
$1,000 per annum, equal to the salary of the
| Postmaster General himself. Those at the
| other cities named receive $4,000, and thence
| the compensation dwindles down to $1,000
| per year, given to some of the third or
| lowest class of presidential postmasters
| From pecuniary point of view the post
| mastership of New York is more to be
| hankered after than the Postmaster Gen.
erals or any other cabinet officers port
| folio. While the salary is the same, as
stated, there is no expense eXacted for So
cial display. But the responsibilities of
postmasters in the large cities are very
great At the New York post Office over
$40, 1000 600 in revenue is being handled an
nually; in Chicago more than 100000.
| Over fifty presidential postmasters re-
| ceive So. 500 or more yearly in salary. The
list of presidential poStmaSterS is, indeed, so
| enormous that recent chief executives have
| not attempted to make personal appoint
| ments to all vacancies. Members of Con-
gress are usually consulted, and this GUS
| tom has given rise to the popular notion
that these legislators are the direct appoint
| ing authority. The President recently re-
buked a representative who complained that
he had not gotten his just dues in the dis
| tribution of such post Office "plums. Mr..
! Roosevelt informed him, in effect, that his
| consultation with congressman on such mat
| tiers was an act of grace.
Largest Salaries.
| The largest salaries of presidential ap
| pointees are to be found on the pay rolls of
the State Department, which has the next
| most productive acre in the executive plum
orchard. Five ambassadorships pay ST.
| 500 per year, which is the next highest sal
airy to the Presidents $4,000. and more
| than twice as great as that of Secretary of
State Hay. But, as has often been stated,
| the chief executives salary would hardly
compensate an ambassador at big court
| like London, Paris, Berlin or ST. Peters
| burg. Two ambassadorships-th at vi
| emma and Rome-pay but $1,000, although
| the expenses of living at those courts is
probably as great as at some of the others
named Vienna. indeed, is the most aristo-
cratic and formal court of Europe, and the
etiquette governing return of court hospl-
tality is most eXacting upon the foreign
diplomatic corps.
Our thirty ministers abroad receive from
$4,000 to $1,000 per annum, five OF them
receiving the maximum figure and ten of
them $4,000, but the same is true of min
listers as of ambassadors at European
courts, so far as expenses are concerned
Many rich young men are already seeking
seeretaryships of embassies or legations,
which presidential appointments pay from
s., 625 to 81 800 per year, although expenses
are at least $4,000 annually, at the large
European courts, for secretaries who are
married and who wish to shine at court.
1t is rumored that Cornelius Vanderbilt is
seeking the Berlin secretaryship. If he
obtains it he will about cover his Wallets
wages with his official salary. The latest
diplomatic plum is said to be in store for
Edwin H. Conger our present minister to
China. This is the Enthusiastically to Mex
leo, where living expenses are at a mini
mum. The appointment would mean a
promotion from $4,000 to $4,000 per year,
with a much greater chance for saving.
Presidential appointments under the
State Department amount to 1,169. This
total includes both the consular and diplo-
matte services Consuls general receive
from So, 600 to $1,000 year and fees. Ten
receive the maximum allowance, which is
also given to one consul The salaries of
the remaining consuls proper are $500 TO
81 600 but below this salaried class are 425
consular officers allowed fees alone. These
are permitted to engage in private bust
ness, and their fees often amount to pit
lance, insufficient to buy tobacco.
Best Paying Plum.
The best paying presidential plum in
point of net gain, is probably the consul
generalship at London, now held by ex-
Commissioner of Pensions H. Clay Evans
Last year his salary and fees amounted to
more than SIS 600, and he is expected to do