The Washington herald., 1911-07-13
CLERKS PROMOTION
RESULT OF "PULL"
House Investigating Com
mittee Obtains Testimony.

motion of clerks, and the general SET
back thereby Of a system II economy,
fairness. and dispatch, which President
Taft directed should be established in
the executive departments, is the burden
of story which is being methodically
gathered in by the House Committee on
Expenditures in the Treasury Depart
ment according to members of the COM
mittee.
The Treasury Department is the branch
Of the executive government where the
committee claims to be tracing out &
line of political hypocrisy, which the
Democrats hope will at least shear some
of the glory from the heralded march
toward economy Of the Republican forces.
From two individuals Of long expert
ence at the head Of accounting divisions
in the Treasury, one Of them the present
Auditor for the Treasury Department,
the committee has obtained what Is held
to be direct evidence that economy and
efficiency in the dispatch Of public busi-
ness have been thrown to the winds when
It has been found that political reward
demands the advancement OF an indi-
vidual, no matter how lily fitted he
may be to the duties assigned to him,
nor how disproportionate may be the
salary accorded him as compared with
the pay of his working associates who
have not basked in the sunshine of
pull"
Gives Inside History.
Inside details of one Treasury incident
which was handled by the officials for
weeks during the early part OF Secretary
MacVeagh's administration, and which,
on the promotion of an employe who was
held to be entirely unworthy by his chief,
threw the force in the Office of the Audi
tor for the Interior Department into alb
solute Generalization and rebellion, has
been related to the committee by Robert
S. Person, the former head Of that par
tIcular auditing division.
From w. z. Andrews, the present Au-
ditor for the Treasury Department, who
subsequently was on the stand, the COM
mittee learned that there had been SINH
lar instances Of recent date in his own
division. In a frank manner, Auditor
Andrews told the committee Of a battle
that ragged for weeks in the department
over an individual whom he considered
was unfit for promotion, and whose ad-
vancement, he held, would have done in
calculable injury to a classification sys-
TEN which had been laboriously built up
by him, the economy and efficiency of
which was proven. Against testimonials
and letters from influential Republicans
from four States, pressed upon him by
the secretary's Office. Auditor Andrews
fearlessly placed the record of the clerk
and his own emphatic refusal to indorse
Prevents Clerks Promotion.
Although the clerk was not promoted,
and although he subsequently left the
service, 1t was told the committee by the
auditor that the incident had seriously
undermined the policy of system and
economy which the Secretary of the
Treasury himself had directed should be
installed
In the case related by former Auditor
Person, the latter said:
Shortly after the present administra-
ton of the Treasury Department came
in received a telephone message from
a clerk in the appointment division direct
ing me to recommend the promotion of
this particular clerk from $1,000 to S1;4O0
a vacancy existing at S1,4OO. To put it
very mildly. was amazed. In my twelve
years rs'experience in the government serv-
ice, never had had any experience like
that. 1 had always considered that my
recommendations must reflect my best
judgment, and no Secretary ever before
had assumed to direct me what to rec
ommend. He might direct what to do in
any event, but he could not direct
particular recommendation and expect It
to be of value. When one is asked for
his recommendation, he is supposed to
be asked for his best judgment, untram-
meled by arbitrary directions, and even
uninfuenced by the mere wishes of a
a superior officer.
Person Refused to Obey.
MY answer was: I cannot make any
such recommendation as that. Where
does this order come fromT Tt comes
from Sthe Secretary of the Treasury
was the answer over the telephone.
said: 1t is impossible. I cannot believe
that Secretary MacVeagh would issue
such an order. He has never conferred
with me about this case. He has never
asked my opinion about it. So far as
know, he has no knowledge what
ever of the qualifications of this man.
and I have said: I wish you would
tell me more definitely Just how this
comes The answer was that Mr.. Bailey,
the Secretary's private secretary, gave
the direction to call me up and give ME
the directions Of the Secretary.
'T went to the Treasury Department
and interviewed Mr.. Norton, and found,
to my surprise, that the Secretary's or
ders were peremptory. declined to
make the recommendation. even went
so far as to say that my resignation |
would be handed in before would make |
such a recommendation. I said that It
meant utter Generalization to the serv-
Ice in my office; that every one Of my |
clerks knew that that man was lincom- |
petent to earn even the salary that he
was drawing; that to promote him ar
bitrarily, without any reference to the
order which was in effect, |
would thoroughly demoralize my office; |
and that I could not do II.
ITO make the story Short" continued |
Mr.. Person, che was promoted, not only |
without my recommendation, but over |
my protest and over the protest Of the |
chief of the division in which he was
employed, who made this statement: I |
have been in the department forty-one |
years, and this is the worst piece of |
favoritism that I have ever known"
Duty on PupsR mol
Pomeranian pups, yellow pups, and