The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1909-02-06
RESOLUTION FOR
CENSUS VETOED
President Forwards Special
Message to House.
CALLS IT 'SPOlLS SYSTEM


CALLS IT 'SPOILS SYSTEM
Says Both the Eleventh and Twelfth
b Were Taken Under a Provision Of
Law Excluding Competition and
That Every Man Who Speaks With
Authority Has Stated That the Re.
suit Was to Produce Extravaganza
and Decentralization.
Washington, Feb. Sin vetoing the
house resolution providing for the TAX.
ing of the thirteenth census, President
Roosevelt sent the following special
message to the house:
81 return without approval the reso-
luton entitled, An Act to Provide for
the Thirteenth and Subsequent Decen.
nial Censuses.' do this with ex.
IRENE reluctance, because fully real
ize the Importance of supplying the
director of the census, at as early
date as possible, with the force neces.
sary to the carrying on of his work.
But it is of high consequence that the
statistical work of the census shall be
conducted with entire accuracy. This
is as important from the standpoint OF
business and industry as from the
scientific standpoint.
Calls 1t "Spoils System"
t'It is, therefore, in my Judgment, es-
sential that the result should not be
open to the suspicion of bias on politi.
cal and personal grounds; that it
should not be open to the reasonable
suspicion of being a waste Of the PEG.
pies money and a fraud.
Section z of the act provides In ef
feet that appointments to the census
shall be under the spells system, for
this is the real meaning of the provi
sion that they shall be subject only
to non-competitive examination. The
proviso is added that they shall be
selected without regard to political
party affiliations. But there is only
one way to guarantee that they shall
be selected without regard to politics
and on merit, and that is by choosing
them after competitive examination
from the lists of eligibles provided by
the civil service commission.
ITO provide that the clerks and
other employees shall be appointed
after non-competitive examination, and
yet to provide that they shall be select.
ed without regard to political party af.
filiations, means merely that the ap-
pointments shall be treated as the per.
quisites Of the politicians of both par.
ties, instead of as the perquisites of
the politicians of one party.
Refers to Last Censuses.
81 do not believe in the doctrine
that to the victor belongs the spoils;
but think even less of the doctrine that
the spoils shall be divided without a
fight by the professional politicians on
both sides; and this would be the re.
suit of permitting the bill in its pres.
ent shape to become law. Both Of
the last censuses, the eleventh and the
twelfth, were taken under a provision
of law excluding competition; that is,
necessitating the appointments being
made under the spoils system. Every
man competent to speak with authori.
ty because Of his knowledge Of and
familiarity with the work of those cen.
suses has stated that the result was to
produce extravaganza and demoraliza.
ton.
"Mr. Carroll D. Wright, who had
charge of the census bureau, after the
census of 1890, estimates that $4,000.
900, and more than a years time,
would have been saved If the census
force had been brought into the classi.
fed service, and adds:
Wright Admits Waste.
"T do not hesitate to say one-third
Of the amount expended under my own
administration was absolutely wasted,
and wasted principally on account OF
the fact that the Office was not under
civil service rules.
In October, 1893, when I took
charge Of the census office, there was
an office force of 1902. There had
been a constant reduction for many
months and this was kept up without
cessation till the close of the census.
While these general reductions were
being made, and in the absence of any
necessity for the increase of the force,
$50 new appointments were made
t'This, of course, meant the destruc.
ton Of economy and efficiency for
purely political considerations.
"Fraud Upon the Public"
1.-THE non-competitive examination In
case like this is not only vicious, but
is in effect fraud upon the public.
No essential change is effected by pro.
viding that 1t be conducted by the civil
service commission; and to provide
that the employees shall be selected
without regard to political party affilia-
Rions is empty and misleading, unless,
at the same time, It is made effective
In the only way In which it is posi-
BILE to make it effective, that is by pro-
viding that the examination shall be
made competitive.