The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-10-16
TAFT GOES AFTER | TIE PORK BARREL River Improvement People Are
 Frightened EXTEND CIVIL SERVICE This Does Not Get the Full Endorse ment of the President--It Would Rob the Senate of Some of
 Its Rights
 
EXTEND CIVIL SERVICE
Fly SIDNEY EsPEY

4f Washington, October 16-(Specia1) )-If il President Taft succeeds in reforming the pork barrel' system, by which name 4 the river and iharbor appropriation bin Y is famiiarly known, he will do what 2 his predecessors have tried to do and failed. Just at this season of the year \ many of the national lawmakers are z telling the people through the newspa- { pers that hereafter there will be no < more pork barrels" for President Taft has signed the death warrant for this species of legislative log rolling
 N This kind of talk frightens the folks who believe in liberal appropriations for
 the improvement of our waterways, and a the effect is to make them get busy and
 flood their Congressmen with petitions a urging an appropriation for the improve 4 ment of "Salt river" or the deepening A of Fish harbor." but it is always be- 4 fore the short session of Congress that 4 the cry against the pork barrel" is i raised, and it is generally successful in $ that Congress seldom enacts waterway \ legislation then unless 1t be what is
 known as an emergency river and har-
 bor bill carrying perhaps $S,0O0,oO0 or s90o0,0Oo Of course, such an emergency
 measure is always endorsed by the 1 board of army engineers.
 4 nAnother thing that operat0 against 4 the "pork barrel'' at the short session \ of Congress isy that the opportunity to trade is not so potent as during the long sessions, when members seek re- nomination. The river and harbor bill has always been known as a most per- suasive measure to assist the House
 leaders in securing legislation that is
 backed by the administration. It is the J great vote getter, and the treasury watch dogs in the House often fall
 asleep when the big waterway budget
 Is reported from the rivers and harbors committee.
 Senator Carter of Montana is one of
 the Presidents supporters in the fight to reform the method of preparing the rlVer and harbors bill. It is but a few years since that the Montana senator talked to death river and harobr bill that had passed the House by a good majority If the House ignores the Pres | idents recommendation next December A In the matter of correcting the abuses
 to De found in the river and harbor bill ana an attempt is made to put through 4 the House such measure at the short k session 1t can be set down that the bill will be talked to death, an easy matter 4 at the wind up of Congress.
 According to the talk heard about the civil service commission offices, Presi- dent Taft takes different view of his power regarding the extension of the \ classified service than was entertained by former President Roosevelt who is- sued the order converting into the clas- siiied service some 15,000 fourth class q postmasters as an experiment.
 q President Taft, instead of issuing an executive order to exempt from the pie 2 counter presidential postmasters, as has j been suggested, will ask Congress for X the authority. It was pointed out today fhat to place presidential postmasters 4 under civil service would be an invasion 1 of the rights of the Senate, as that body 4 must pass on all nominations, and & successful applicant for postmaster who has been certified by the civil service commission for confirmation, might be rejected by the Senate and would have no redress. To carry out the suggestion of this extension of civil service will require legislation and with the known antipathy of Congress to the civil ser vice law it is pretty safe prediction 2 that nothing will be accomplished in this ' direction during the short session of a Congress.
 ] It will be recalled that former Pres 4 ident Roosevelt attempted to place the & United States consuls in the classified service, but as the appolntees had to be & confirmed by the Senate the extension E could not be made in the manner apply < ing to other positions To get around { tie objection raised Roosevelt issued an sl order to the effect that all applicants ' recommended for consuls would have to < pass an examination to determine their Z r11ad ha 4 showing would be selected for appoint H ment. This order proved successful, and 4 state department officials say the ser < vice has been greatly improved by req K son of the fact that a higher grade of V consuls are obtained by the system of x examination.
 Republican members of the House who have had occasion to visit the depart nlents on official business during the < summer say that the House will be with 4 President Taft in his programme of r economy and that the short session of t Congress will certainly make a record. The republican leaders declare that if f the House would return to the old sys-
 tenn of handling the budgets the appro-
 priations would be cut many millions 4 of dollars.
 X One of the veteran employees of the 4 House. speaking of the old system of
 handling the supply bills, said today that | prior to the Forty-ninth Congress the & appropriation committee of the House <. had Jurisdiction over all the appropria- 4 tion bills save agriculture and rivers and N harbors, and even these two bills were A framed by that committee until the V session of the Forty-sixth Congress-
 #> 'In those days" said the House em- Ploye, 'the expenses of the government kNYere as nothing compared to what they 5dire today; but there was the same de- ksfyee of persistency for local appropria- JHions, and the members stood by each Bother then as they do now. However, kNthere was this check, which has been M since the Forty-ninth Congress, when N the House. after bitter fight, took |i from the appropriation committee, the t postoffice, naval, army, Indian, military X and diplomatic appropriation bills, and M distributed them among the committees A having Jurisdiction of measures relating 9Fo the postoffces, Indians. army, navy, M Etc. The effect of this was a noticeable \ Increase in the government budgets tYer the preceding Congress. The sup NpN bills have steadily grown since, until last session they exceeded s1 000, 0,000 0CU,- Al X0OO House leaders say that if all supply N bills are again placed under the control of the appropriation committee the
 pruning knife can be used without in jury to any of the executive depart
 ments and big saving effected.
 There is much talk that when the
 House meets in December Representa-
 tive Tawney of Minnesota, chairman of
 the appropriation committee, will make
 an effort to have all supply bills referred to his committee, and If he does make