The labor journal. [volume] (Everett, Wash.) 1909-1976, 1909-08-27
THIS RULE
OBNOXIOUS
History of the Roosevelt
Edict Gags Quarter of
Million Citizens

In the administration of all law the
governing power must perform three
distinct functions, legislative, judicial,
and executive. The legislative function
is exercised in the PRONUNCIATION of the
law, the judicial function in its inter
pertation, and the executive function in
its enforcement.
In such countries as China these
three functions are centered in one
person. Laws are promulgated by i'm
perial edict; they are interpreted and
applied according to the imperial judg
ment they are enforced by imperial
command.
After enjoying several thousand
years of the unspeakable injustice that
such unchecked power will inevitably
result in, the people in some parts of
the world got wise enough to take this
power out of the hands of one man, and
nominally put it in the hands of the
whole people In this country they
took especial care to provide against its
future centrilization, by carefully sepa
rating the three governmental functions
and defining the limits of each. These
limitations are set forth in an instru-
ment called the Constitution, which also
sets general limitations upon the govern
mental power, notable among them be-
ing the first amendment, which begins
Congress shall make no law abridging
the freedom of speech
Most of our readers may know these
things. but we would like to call them
to the attention Of one Theodore
Roosevelt. the inventor of the famous
policies which bear his name, and which
his successor in office pledged himself
to carry out. Mr. Roosevelt's Civil
Service Policy bears so much resemb
lance to the free speech policy of Mr.
| Abdul Hamid. that it seems to have
rather missed the one-time spirit of
| American government.
Power Vested in President.
He found his opportunity for the
despotic policy he inaugurated in this
service, in the authority granted by Sec
7j3 of the Revised Statutes, which
reads. The President is authorized to
prescribe such regulations for the ad-
mission of persons into the civil service
of the United States, as may best pro
mote the efficiency thereof and
establish regulations for the conduct of
persons who may have received appoint
ment in the civil service" OF course this
did not give the President the right to
violate the Constitution, nor was it in
tended to give him authority to meddle
with any of the fundamntal rights of
citizenship exercised by the men who
make their living in the civil service. 1t
simply was intended to save congress
the tedium of going into all the details
of the service and making all the trivial
rules which have to be determined by
i experiment anu IN ptllclCNs
But what did T. Roosevelt care for
that! He was the President; and he
proposed to have a bully time and that
he played well the part indicated by his
fayorite word, no one subject of his
orders will deny. To unite in himself
the threefold function of government
was a pleasure to him. The indefinite
grant of authority, and the timidity of
the employees, gave him chance to do
it.
He exercised the legislative function
by changing section l of rule to mean
something that he had no shadow of a
right to make it mean; he exercised the
judicial function by declaring that the
rule requiring "iust cause for removal
meant "any cause" which would result
in improving the efficiency of the ser
vice. which result would of course be
determined by his own impartial wis
dom. In his enforcement of his rules
he abrogated the necessity of a hear,
ing before a removal. and he gave au-
thority to the commission TO punish for
political activity interpreted to mean
free speech, which the commission have
been doing with a right good will.
The Rule Before ROosevelt's Time.
The Civil Service Act contains nothing
. in regard to political activity except
to provide that no employe shall be
: Disseminated against because of his
/, politica affiliation, and TO protect EN-
| ployes from political contributions.
1 Up to June, 1907, the only section
4 of the rules which referred To politioa
! activity was the rule promulgated by
e Pres. Cleveland which read, NO per
/ son in the executive civil service shal
: use his official authority or official in
:. fluenee for the purpose of interfering