The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-02-06
President Declares it Hostile
to Peoples interests
MEANS SPoILS SYSTEM
Recommends That Bill Be Also Amended
SO That Eight-hour Law Shall Apply
to All the Printing Done Outside
the Government Office.

| the Dill prOVlding Tor the taking OF Che
thirteenth census. His principal reason
for the veto which he gave wss that
the bill contemplates the employment Of
employees without competitive exam
ination, which, the president thinks, IA
nothing but a return to the old spoils
system He also wishes the bill to be
amended requiring that all the printing
done outside the government Office be
under the eight -hour law.
President Roosevelt emphasizes the me-
cessity OF the census, but he states that
he believes competent employees cannot
be secured under the terms of the pres
ent bill, which would turn great under
taking into an engine 10 further the self
interest Of small section OF people who
make a profession out Of politics. A
two-thirds vote is necessary to pass over
the veto.
The veto message reads as follows:
To the House Of Representatives:
| herewith return, without approval
H. r. 1884, entitled, "An act to provide
for the Thirteenth and subsequent de-
cennial censuses" / do this with ex-
treme reluctance, because l fully realize
the importance Of supplying the director
of the census at as early date as pos
sible with the force necessary to the
carrying on Of his work. But It Is of
high consequence 10 the country 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 scien-
tifc standpoint. 1t is, therefore, in my
Judgment, essential that the result
should not be open to the suspicion Of
bias on political and personal grounds 7;
that 1t should not be open to the reason
able suspicion Of being waste Of the
peoples money and a fraud
Section of the act provides in effect
that appointments to the caucus shall
be under the spoils system, for this is
the real meaning of the provision that
they shall be subject only to noncom-
petitive examination. The proviso is
added that they shall be selected with
out regard to political party Affiliations.
But there is only one way 10 guarantee
that they shall be selected without re-
gard to politics and on merit, and that
lis by choosing them after competitive
examination from the lists Of eligibles
provided by the civil service commission
The present director of the census in
his last report states the exact fact
about these noncompetitive examinations
when he says;
"A noncompetitive examination means
that every one of the many thousands
who will pass the examinations will have
an equal right ito appointment, and that
personal and political pressure must
in the end. as always before, become the
determining factor with regard to the
great body OF these temporary employ
ments, ] cannot too earnestly urge that
the director OF the census be relieved
from this unfortunate situation"
The Spoils System.
To provide that the clerks and other
employees shall be appointed after non
competitive examination, and yet to pro-
vide that they shall be selected without
regard to political party affiliations,
means merely that thR appointments
shall be treated as the perquisites Of
the politicians of both parties. instead
Of as the perquisites OF the politicians of
one party | do not believe in the doc
trine that the spoils shall be divided
without fight BY the professional poll
ticians on both sides; and this would be
the result Of permitting the bin in its
present shape to become a law. Both of
the last eensuses, the eleventh and the
twelfth were taken under q provision of
law excluding competition: that is, me-
eessitating the appointments under the
spoils system. Every man competent to-
speak with authority because Of his
knowledge Of and familiarity with the
work of those cersuses has stated that
the result was to produce extravaganza
and decentralization.
A Fraud on the Public.
In view Of the temporary character
of the work, it would be wen to waive
the requirements Of the civil service law
as regards geographical appointments,
but the appointees should be chosen by
competitive examination from the lists
provided by the civil service commission.
The noncompetitive examination in case
like this il not only vicious. but il in
effect fraud upon the public. No es-
sential change i effected by providing
that it be conducted by the civil service
commission; and to provide that the
employees shall be selected without re-
gard to political party affiliations is
empty and misleading, unless, at the
same time, it is made effective in the
only way which it il possible to make
it effective, that Ii BY providing that |
the examination shall be made eompeti.
tive.
! also recommend that If provision is |
made that the census printing work may
be done outside the government printing
office, ii shall be explicitly provided that |
the government authorities shall see that
the eight-hour law is applied in effective
fashion to thesa outside Offices.
Outside these matters, | believe that |
the bill is, on the whole, satisfactory
and represents an improvement upon
previuos legislation on the subjet But
It Is of vital consequence that we should /
not once again permit the usefulness
Of this great decennial undertaking on
behalf of the whole people 70 be married
By permitting it TO be turned into an
engine to further the self-interest of
that small section Of the people which
makes a profession OF politics. The evil
effects of the spoils system and of the
sustom of treating appointments TO the
public service as personal perquisites of
professional politicians are peculiarly EVIL
lent in the case of great public work
ike the taking Of tie census. a work
shieh should emphatieally he done for
he whole people and with an eye single !
o their interest,"