Bisbee daily review., 1909-04-11
TENACIOUS |S ACTIVITY OF
 PIE BRIGADE
Reform League Reports on the Political Movements of or ficeholders During the Pres identiaI Campaign

NEW YORK. April 1O.-The report of the street committee appointed by the National Civil Service Reform league to investigate the political ac- tiyity of the federal oficeholders was made public. The committee syste- matiealy gathered current press re- ports of alleged undue political activ- ity and sitting out the more serious accusations, through correspondence with the parties involved and by de tailed inquiry into the circumstances, sought to determine the truth.
 The conclusions of the committee, briefly stated, are that the charges to a great extent are sustained A not able exception is reported in the ale cations made during the last cam paign to the effect that Mir. Roosevelt coerced certain federal office holders into the support of Mfr Taft for the republican nomination. With his per m.ssion the lists of the presidents ap- pointments for a considerable period prior to the national convention were | scanned by the committee, which | finds that evidence to sustain the | charges made is wholly lacking. On the contrary, Mir. Roosevelt is cred | tied with having advanced the cause | of civil service reform by so amend | ing the civil service rules as to pro hibit employees in the competitive ser vice from taking part ia political cam paigns.
 Pernicious Activity Menace. On the broad question of the perni- cious activity in politics of federal 1 officeholders, however, the committed finds that a most undesirable situa- ton exists. Of the more than 30O.00O federal officeholders, one-third are not amendable to civil service classi- fication. These officers often exer- else a power influence in politics, and constitute, in the opinion of the com mittee, a menace to free institutions, The remedy is to be found, the com mittee believes, in an extension of the classified competitive service and clearer definition of the executive order governing political activity in the unciassified service. It Is also suggested that the civil service com mission, or some other body free oi departmental dictation, be empower ed to investigate cases arising under | the executive order.
 Among the points covered in the report are the following:
 '1t has been found in this investiga tion, by means of comparing the off cial roll of delegates at Chicago witt the latest government blue book. thai
 at least one delegate in every ter
 sent to the national convention was {
 federal officeholder. Of the 300 dele
 gates from Texas, Arkansas, Louis
 jana. Mississippi. Alabama, Florida Il Tennessee. Kentucky North Carolina
 South Carolina, Virginia, West Yir
 ginia, and Georgia. 99-practicall!
 one in three-were federal ofiicehold
 CTS. In the Georgia delegation of 2
 there were 12 federal oficeholders
 in the Arkansas delegation of Il there were g federal oficeholders; il
 the Florida delegation of 10 ther' ] were federal oficeholders. and fl , the Alabama delegation of 22 ther were 16 federal officeholders.
 Most of Them for Taft.
 With regard, however, to the pro , portion of officeholders in these del' ! gations, it should be kept in min , | that practically the entire delegatio , of every southern state above name
 was elected and controlled throug e the oficeholding machine. Allowin |, for delegates absent or with ha
 votes. 279 were actually cast by th delegates from the thirteen state above named. Of these, 2 were cal for Hughes, for Fairbanks, II fc Foraker, and 261 for Taft. Thes l figures are taken from newspaper T ports of the official vote"
 | were political. that is, outside of q jurisdiction of the civil service aC 1 and in most cases thier appointmel was subject to confirmation by tf | United States senate.
 The omceholders in the south pra | tically control the republican par | organization in their respective stat 1 and frequently resort to unfair meal 1 in order to retain their power. The | support is a tremendous political a | set to any candidate for nominatio i As the southern democratic stat { have as many votes in the republic; l national convention as the republic; : states of equal population under ( : dinary circumstances the southe I delegates would control the balan ] of power in the national convention . SllCUcS OHCCS OuNCcSSs i These organizations controlled [ oficeholders are mainly interested
 the distribution of the patronage al the naming of delegates to convt tions. It is not to the interest these oficeholding cliques to elect publican congressman or to bril ( about party growth and party succe which would mean curtailment ( loss of the control of the patrona. The conditions in regard to the | tivity of unclassified federal ofl' . holders in politics are at their vol ! in the south, but throughout t z country, in accordance with est lisbed custom, they are expected
 be active in primaries and conv'
 tions in the interests of those
 whom they owe their appointment a
 by whose favor they are continu
 in office. This leads to neglect of O
 cial duty and absenteeism on a lar scale, and the government is nC paying a large sums in salaries l officials whose main interest and U tivity is devoted to politics. wh
 l.a s..