The Winchester news. [volume] (Winchester, Ky.) 1908-19??, 1909-02-06
SPOILS SYSTEM
IS DENOUNCED
Census Measure Vetoed By
President Roosevelt.
SENDS MESSAGE TO HOUSE

>inatioE OF Applicants For Positions.
Says It's of the Highest Conse-
quence That Work of the Census
Shall Be Conducted Accurately.
Washington, Feb. - Without ap-
proval. President Roosevelt returned
to the house of representative today
the house resolution providing for the
taking of the Thirteenth and subse-
quent decennial censuses. In a spe-
cial message the president gives his
reasons for vetoing the measure. He
says:
10 the House Of Representatives:
II herewith return, without APPROX
al, H. r. 1884, entitled AN Act to
Provide for the Thirteenth and Sub
sequent Decennial Censuses.' I do
this with extreme reluctance, because
fully realize the Importance of sup
plying the director of the census at
as early date as possible with the
force necessary to the carrying on of
his work. But Il Is of high conse-
qnence to the country that the Stats
teal work Of the census shall be con-
Quoted with entire accuracy. This is
as important from the standpoint OF
business and industry as from the
scientific standpoint It is therefore,
In my Judgment, essential that the re-
suit should not be open to the suspi-
cion Of bias on political and personal
grounds; that it should not be open
to the reasonable suspicion of being
waste of the peoples money and a
fraud. ~
Section of the act provides in
effect that appointments to the CEN
sus shall be under the spoils system.
for this Is the real meaning of the
provision that they shall be subject
only to noncompetitive examination.
The proviso is added that they shall
be selected without regard to polit-
icI Affiliations. But there is only one
way to guarantee that they shall be
selected without regard to politics
and on merit, and that is by choosing
them after competitive examination
from the list 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 examina-
lions will have an equal right to ap-
pointmsnt and that personal and DO
litical pressure must in the end, as al
ways before, become the determining
factor with regard to the great body
of these temporary employments. /
can not too earnestly urge that the
director of the census be relieved
from this unfortunate situation
ITO provide that clerks and other
employees shall be appointed after
noncompetitive examination, and yet
to provide that they shall be selected
without regard to political party affil-
iations, means merely that the ap-
pointments shan be treated as the
perquisites Of the politicians of both
parties, instead of as the perquisites
Of the politicians of one party. I do
not believe in the doctrine that to the
victor belongs the spoils; but I think
even less of the doctrine that the
spoils shall be divided without a
fight by the professional politicians
on both sides; and this would be the
result Of permitting the bill in its
present shape to become a law. Both
of the last censuses, the Eleventh and
the Twelfth. were taken under a pro-
vision OF law excluding competition;
that is, necessitating the appoint
ments being made under the spoils
system. Every man competent to
speak with authority because of his
knowledge Of and familiarity with
TIE work Of those censuses has stated
that the result was to produce extrav-
agance and decentralization.
In view of the temporary charac-
ter OF the work, 1t would be well to
waive the requirements of the civil
service law as regards geographical
apportionment, but the appointees
should be chosen by competitive ex>
eA]AAoSAOh AAOLu Inc llSIS PROVIDED Dy
the civil service commission. The
noncompetitive examination in a case
like this is not only Vicious but is .n-
effect fraud upon the public. No
essential change, is effected by provid-
Ing that it be conducted by the civil
service commission: and to provide
that the employees shall be selected
without regard to political party anil
iations Is empty and misleading UNI
less, at the same time, it is made ef.
fective In the only way in which ii
is possible to make it effective: that
is by providing that the examination
shall be made competitive.
Il also recommend that IL provision.
Is made that the census printing
work may be done outside the gov
eminent printing office. 1t shall be ex-
plicitly provided that-the government
authorities shall see that the eight
hour law Is applied in effective FASH
ion to these outside Offices.
Outside of these matters. believe
that the bill Is. on the whole, satisfac-
tory. and represents an Improvement