The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1909-02-06
PRESIDENT HITS
SP0ILS SYSTEM.
Message vetolng Census Bill
Sent 10 the House.
WOULD Be FRAUD ON PUBLIC

Noneompetitive Examinations Near
Addition to Expense and Time In
volVed In Enumeration. Declares
Mr.. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Census OFF,
eials In Support OF His contsntions.
Has No Sympathy With Doctrine
That ito the Victor Belong the
Spoiis.-
Washington. Feb. :. President
Roosevelt sent today to the house OF
representatives special message We
toing the bill which provides for tn,
taking OF the next census. He Eases
his objection to the bill ON the provi-
sion that appointments to the census
force shall be made by noncompetitive
examination.
The president says:
To the House OF Representatives:
/ herewith return without approval
house resolution 1884. entitled An
act 10 provide for the thirteenth and
subsequent decenuial censuses." dc
this with extreme reluctance. because
l fully realize the Importance Of sup
plying the director Of the census at rs
early date as possible with the force
necessary To the carrying on OF his
work But II 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 aud
industry as from the scientific stand.
point IL is therefore. in nv iudy.
ment. essential that the result should
not be open to the suspicion Of bias
on political and personal grounds that
II should not DE open 10 the reasonable
suspicion OF being waste Of the PEG.
pies money and a fraud.
Section Of the act provides in effect
That appointments to the census 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 +
added that they shall he selected with
out regard to political party affiliations
But there is only one way 10 guaran.
tee that they shall be selected without
regard To politics and on merit. and
that Is by choosing them after connect
tive examination from the lists Of eli.
gibles provided by the civu service
commission.
Objects to Spells Idea.
To provide that the clerks and other
employees shall be appointed after non
competitive eXamination and Yet e
provide that they shall be selected
without regard To political Iartv ami
htionS means merely that the appoint
ments shall be treated as the peraui.
sites Of the politicians OF both parties
Instead OF as the perquisltes 81 the 20.
iticianS ~ one party. do not believe
IN the doctrine that 60 the victor be
long the spoils. but think even les
OF the doctrine that the spOlls shall bs
divided without a tight by the profes
sional politicians on both sides and
this would lie the result OF permitting
the bill In its present shape to become
law. Both OF the last cenSuses. tn.
eleventh and the twelfth. were taken
under provision Of law excluding
compctitiOn-that Is. nccessitatinr the
appointments being made under th.
spells system. Every man competent
Ia speak with authority because ~ hi
knowledge Of and familiarity with thu
work Of those censuses has stated that
the result was To produce extravaganza
and decentralization.
1.-THE president here quotes in suppor
Of his contentIons Robert L. Porter
who took the census OF 1890: Fred
erick ii Wines. the assistant director
OF the census OF 1900 and Carroll II
Wright. director OF the census bureat
after the census OF 1890. The last
named says that 100000 and NOR,
than years time would have beer
saved II the census force had beer
brought into the classified service
Fraud Upon the Public"
The noncOmpetitiye examination n
case like this is not only vicious. but
Is In effect a fraud upon the public
No essential change Is effected hy pro
Viding that it Ice conducted by III,
civil service commission, and To pro
vide that the employees shall be. se
leeted without regard to political party
affiliations is empty and misleadin.
unless at the same time IL Is made
effective In the only way In which IL
is possible to make il efrective-that Is
by providing that the examination
shall be made competitive.
/ also recommend that IL provision
Is made that the census printing work
may be done outside the government
printing Office II shall be explicitly
provided that the government authorl
ties shall see that the eight hour Law
is applied In effective fashion To these
outside offices.
Outside Of these matters / believe
that the bill Is. on the whole. safisfac
tory and represents an improvement
upon previous legislation on the sub
Ject. But ii Is OF vital consequence
that we should not once again permit
the usefulness OF this great decennial
undertaking on behalf Of the whole
people To be married by pegmitting il
TO be turned into an engine TO further
the self interest of that small sector
OF the people which makes "a profession
Of politics.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The White House, Feb. 2, 1900.