Norwich bulletin., 1909-02-06
.IEOlD.
:1SPOILS 81
Message VetOlng Census Bill
Sent to the House.
would Be FRAUD ON PUBLIC

homeopathic Examinations Mea
Addition to Expense and Time In
VoIved In Enumeration, Declare
MIR. Reosevelt-Quotes Census Off
oiaIs In Support of His Contention:
Has No Sympathy With Doctrin
That ito the Victor Belong tn
spoIIs."
Washington, Feb. 5. Presiden
Roosevelt sent today to the house O.
Representatives a special message We
toing the bill which provides for the
taking Of the next census. He bases
his objection to the bill on the provi
mton that appointments to the censu:
force shall be made by noncompetitiVC
examination.
The president says:
70 the House of Representatives
] herewith return without approval
house resolution 1884, entitled Gar
act to provide for the thirteenth and
subsequent decennial censuses." 1 dc
6his with extreme reluctance, because
] fully realize the Importance Of sup
plying the director Of the census at az
early a date as possible with the force
necessary to the carrying on Of his
work. But it Is Of high consequence
TO the country that the statistical work
Of the census shall be conducted witt
entire accuracy. This is as important
from the standpoint Of business and
industry as from the scientific stand.
point. It Is therefore, in my 1udg.
ment, essential that the result should
not be open to the suspicion Of bias
on political and personal grounds, that
1t should not be open to the reasonable
suspicion OF being a waste Of the PEG
pies money and 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
petltive examination. The proviso Is
added that they shall be selected with
out regard to political party affiliations
But there is only one way to guaran
tee that they shall be selected without
regard to politics and on merit, and
that is by choosing them after compel
ltive examination from the lists OF ell
Eibles provided by the civil service
commission.
Objects to Spoiis Idea.
To provide that the clerks and Other
employees shall be appointed after non
competitive examination and yet tC
provide that they shall be selected
without regard to political party affil
iations means merely that the appoint
ments shall be treated as the perqui
sites Of the politicians Of both parties
instead of as the perquisites of the pol
iticians of one party. l do not believe
IN the doctrine that to the victor be
long the spoils, but l think even less
of the doctrine that the spoils shall be
divided without fight by the profes
sional politicians on both sides, and
this would be the result Of permitting
the bill in It's present shape to become
q 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
spells system. Every man competent
TO speak with authority because of his
knowledge Of and familiarity with the
work Of those censuses has stated thai
she result was to produce extravaganza
and Generalization.
1.-THE president here quotes in support
of his contentious Robert p. Porter
who took the census Of 1890; Fred
erick H. Wines, the assistant director
of the census Of 1900, and Carroll d
Wright, director Of the census bureau
after the census of 1890 The last
named says that 100000 and more
than a years time would have beer
saved II the census force had beer
brought into the classified service.l
"Fraud Upon the Public"
The noncompetitlve examination IL
n case like this is not only vicious. bui
As I'm effect a fraud upon the public J
No essential change is effected by pro |
viding that it be conducted by thu
civil service commission, and to pro |
vide that the employees shall be Sc |
lected without regard to political party |
affiliations is empty and misleading
unless at the same time it is made
effective in the only way in which 4 |
is possible to make it effective-th is |
by providing that the examination |
Ahall be made competitive
1 also recommend that if provision |
is made that the census printing worl |
may be done outside the government |
printing Office it shall be explicitly
provided that the government authori. |
Ties shall see that the eight hour law
is applied in effective fashion to these
outside Offices.
Outside Of these matters l believe |
that the bill is, on the whole, satisfac. |
tory and represents an improvement |
upon previous legislation on the sub. |
Ject But it is Of vital consequence !
that we should not once again permit |
the usefulness Of this great decennia'
undertaking on behalf of the whole
people to Re married by permitting il
TO be turned into an engine to further
she self interest of that small section
Of the people which makes profession
OF politics.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The White House, Feb ), 1909.
Root and the Primary.