Perth Amboy evening news., 1911-09-15
TAFT PRAISES
DR.. H. ". WILEY
President Says He Shall be
Retained in Office Also
Others Attacked.
COMPLETE VINDICATION
Excuses Attorney General
Wickersham and Intimates
Others May Be Removed.
Special bp United Press Wire,

Special bv United Press Wire.
Beverly, Mass, Sept. 15;-Dr
Harvey w. Wiley, government
| chemist and champion of the people
against the food adulterators, will
hold his job. Some others in the De-
partment Of Agriculture may not.
This was made known today in q
decision by President Taft in the
eleventh hour of his stay in Beverly
and just previous to his start on his
six weeks speaking tour of the west
The action of the President fulflls q
promise made when he left Wash
ington to settle the famous case
which has already extended over sew
eral months, before leaving Beverly.
In his decision, which is in the
form of letter to Secretary of Agri-
culture Wilson, the President de-
clares that DR.. Wiley was justified In
all that he did in the employment of
DR.. H. H. Rusby as expert chemist;
that he was no party to the corre-
spondents involved in the case; that
DR.. Wiley acted in accordance with
numerous precedents; that he can
not but commend the sympathy Of
everyone for his earnest efforts to
maintain the pure food law.
The President also recommends
the retention Of DR.. H. H. Rusby in
the governments service and rules
Personnel Board of the department
which advises that besides Dr. Wiley
chief Of the bureau of chemistry,
DR.. L. F. Kebler, chief of the drug
laboratory Of the bureau, be al
lowed to resign.
The Personnel reports also recon-
mended that DR.. w. D. Bigelow, as
sistant chief, be denoted or allowed
to resign on account of alleged ir-
regularities in the appointment of
DR.. Rusby. The President recon-
mends, however, that DR.. Kebler be
reprimanded from what he declares
was, "disingenuous conduct. as
shown by the letter he wrote in con-
nection with the employment of DR..
Rusby.
"The language of his letter does
not have commendable tone" said
the President, "and shows a will
ingness to resort to evasion that
call for omc1aI reprooI.
President Taft intimates plainly
that much more radical action may
be expected when he takes up the
very much broader question in
volved in the investigation of the
Bureau of Chemistry by congress
sional committee. He asserts that
he made up his mind in the case of
DR.. Wiley weeks ago, but withheld
the announcement of his decision to
await the result Of the inyestiga-
tion in congress.
President Taft explains the ac-
ton Of Attorney General Wicker
sham who, when asked for legal
opinion on the recommendation Of
the Personnel Board, Joined with
them in advising that "condign pun
ishment" be meted out to DR.. Wiley,
by declaring that Wickersham was
given only part of the actual evil
dence on which to base his opinion
and "hence the Judgment was differ
ent, doubtless from what 1t would
have been if he had had the whole
records before him as I have now"
In the many weeks which
have ensued since the publication of
the charges President Taft has been
we'll aware Of the popular demand
that he not only decide the case,
but that he retain DR.. Wiley in the
government service. The contro-
versy has been unique in the popular
moral support given man holding
a comparatively minor position as far
as salary goes, in the government
service. The President began the
actual work of writing his decision
early yesterday morning, but it was
not put into shape ready for publica-
tion until early today.
After given an extended review
of the entire case and quoting from
the letters of the several individuals
connected with it the President
says:
1.-THE government ought not to be
at a disadvantage with regards to
the pure food law and one cannot
withhold one sympathy with an
earnest effort by DR.. Wiley to pay
proper compensation and secure ex-
pert assistance for the enforcement
of so important a statute, certainly
In the beginning, when the questions
arising under it are of capital I'M
portance to the public. If this was
a knowing, wilful, deliberate effort
to evade the statute as constructed
by the attorney general accompan-
led by a scheme to conceal the eva
sion and violation I should think
the punishment recommended by the
Personnel Board and concurred in
by the attorney general was not
too great; but an examination of
the whole case satisfied me that a
different construction ougt to put
on what was done; that the evidence
does not show that DR.. Wiley was a
party to the correspondent up which
the chief charge is founded, and that
his action in the matter was only in
accord with previous precedents IN
the department which justified him
in doing what he did
nCnicI0N IN EhM0tI2