The farmer and mechanic., 1906-10-02
PERNICIOUS ACTIVITY
IS ESTABLISHED
Senator Simmons Furnishes Evidence of Violations
of Law to Civil Service Commission


Washington y. G.
Dear Sir nave the honor TO ac-
knowledge receipt Of your letter Of the
cath inst, in which you refer 10 an in
terviaw with me which recently APP
peared in the News and Observer. Of
this STATE, and which was. l under
stand, copied in whole or part, in the
( Washington Post, in which con lnent-
ed upon the political activity Of Ger
/ tain Federal officials OF this state. in
Guiding those in the Fifth Internal
/ Revenue district.
In this letter YOU advise me that by
q recent order of the President the en-
tire force in the District in question,
executing the collector. was put under
the Civn Service You also say that
the intention of the President in classi-
flying these positions was undoubtedly
to secure better performance of is
work and to that end to limit its polit
cal activities You further say that
President Roosevelt has said thai
Federal officials not within the clas-i-
fled service must not use thcir offices
to control political movements: must
not neglect their public duties: must
not cause political scandal by their
activity" You also say that the Presl-
dent has said among other things.
''that those in the classified service
should not take an active part in Dolit-
ical arrangements or in political cant
paions for precisely the same reasons
| that Il Judge. an army officer. :; regu-
lar soldier. OF. a policeman is debarrcd
from taking such active part and yon
| advise me that the Commission desires
| that Violators of these instructions II
any of the Civil Service Rules. or the
! provisions of the Civil Service Law of
January 16. 1883, shall be brought TO
its attention with Il view Of investiga-
ton ana such action OF the part OF
| the department as will prevent the re-
| currenCc of the Violations.
| When the President says in the Ian
guage quoted by you that Federal
officials not within the classied service
must not use their offices to control
political movements" and those in the
| classified service should not take an
active part in political movements or
political campaigns for the same rea-
son that a Judge, etc, is barred from
| taking such active part" | understand
| him to mean movements and activity
both within the party to which the
| official belongs and against the party
to which he is opposed.
| / did not receive your letter until
| this morning and as | shall leave the
city tonight, will not have an oppor
tunity at this time to furnish you rs
| much Information as / would like.
| but I will give YOU as a basis for your
| investigation. ample data to show the
| political activity of these officials
ON the Goth instant, [ forwarded to
the Honorable George r. Cortelyop
quite a number of affidavits preferrinG
| charges of offensive conduct while at
| tending 4 political meeting of one J.
| F. Dagenhart, rural free delivery
| carrier on route from Waugh, Iredell
| county, North Carolina. Mr.. Dagen-
| hart, attended. as these affidavits al
| lege, a Democratic meeting which was
attended by many ladies. and during
| the address of the Democratic candi-
| date for Congress. behaved in such a
bOisterous manner, staggering about
the hall. smoking cigar and in an
audible voice referring to the speaker
| as a good negro preacher. as to ser
i iously interrupt and disturb the meet
ing and the speaker. l have no dup
| licates of these a1idavits and I will
ask that the Commission apply to tho
Post Master General either for the
| originals or for COPIES
| | also enclose You 4 page from the
! Western North Carolina Times of Sep
| tember 14th, 1906 containing an arti-
Gle entitled ga Warning" signed by
| O. V F. Blythe, in which Mr. Blythe
| who | am advised is a United States
| Commissioner, INDUCES in q bitter as
sault upon the Democrats of Hender-
| son county because of certain So
| called "CitiZens Movement" in that
county and earnestly appeals to Re-
| publicans to have mo political connec-
| tions with this unprincipled clan that
| clandeStinely place themselves in the
way OF every disappointed or dissatis-
| fed Republican like SO many wolves
| Or Vultures."
enclose an address to the voters
of Craven county in which it is said
| eve are about to inaugurate in this
county tireless and aggressive cam
| DalSn, etc. InlS document, Wnlch IS
| intensely bitter and partisan and high
! ly calculated to arouse resentment of
many in the community in which it
was published and circulated. is sign
ed by Seymour w. Hancock. Chair
man of the Republican Executive Com
mittee of Craven county, and Chas.
IC. Clark. Jr. Secretary Of the Re
publican Executive Committee Of
Craven County. Mr. Hancock, the
siener of this document, is now and
was at the time it was issued a few
weeks ago, post master at Newbern.
and Mr.. c. c. Clark. Jr., is at present
and was at the time this circular was
issued, deputy collector of customs at
| NeWbern.
| 7 also send you several copies of the
Apex Journal containing articles re-
! Gently written by Mr.. Thaddeus Ivy.