The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1913-01-09
DEMOCRATS HAVE
PLAN TO GUST
REPUBS.
PATRONAGE COMMITTEE OF SEN.
ATE WOULD MAKE APPolNrEEs
TERMS EXPIRE JULY I, 1918.

Washington, jan S.-The heads of
thousands of Republican officeholders
will fall on July 1, if the plan evolved
by the Democratic patronage commit
tee of the Senate succeeds, and there
is every reason to believe that it will.
The committee will recommend to the
Democratic caucus a comprehensive
scheme which, if adopted, will result
in vacating thousands of Federal Of
fees almost instantly.
1t will give President Wilson an op-
portunity to dispense all of this pa
tronage within a few months after his
Inauguration. This scheme is under
stood to have the approval of the en-
tire patronage committee, of which
Senator Hoke Smith is a member.
The plan proposed would make
vacancy in the Atlanta postoffice with
ing five months, instead of eighteen
months hence. 1t would automatically
vacate every presidential postoffice
in Georgia, including the United States
marshals, district attorneys, revenue
collectors and others by the first of
next July.
Briefly stated, the patronage COM
mittee proposes the enactment by Con-
gress of a law to make the terms of
all Federal officeholders run almost
contemporaneously with the terms of
the President, by whom they are ap-
pointed
There are now pending in the Sen
ate about 1900 nominations that have
been sent in by President Taft since
his defeat in November. All of them
have been held up by the Democrats
pending the formation of a compre.
hensive and practical method of han.
ding the question of patronage. The
Democrats have successfully resisted
any attempt of the Republicans to con.
firm any Of these nominations.
The Democratic caucus will probably
accept the recommendations of it's pa
tronage committee next Thursday II
the Republican Senate will agree tc
accept the plan and join with the
House in the enactment of a law al
this session to vacate all presidential
offices on July I, the 1900 nomina
lions now being held up will be con
/ firmed Immediately, the nominees tc
hold office until July, when they will
be succeeded by Democrats.
The patronage committee believes
that the plan it has finally evolved
| furnishes practical method, and they
/ believe that it's fairness will appeal to
the country. They appreciate, how
ever that the proposition may be de-
cidedly unpleasant to the thousands
of postmasters, marshals, district at
torneys, collectors, ETC., whose nomi-
nations were confirmed at the last ses,
sion of Congress and whose terms of
office would ordinarily continue for
: three more years. From these per-
sons and their friends they expect that
! a storm of protest will be provoked
by their proposal
1t is urged in favor if the patronage
committees plan that originally the
term of most federal offices ran con-
temporaneously with the terms of the
heads of the departments under which
they served. Postmasters, for he
most part, were appointed for terms
of four years, to serve contemporane.
ously with the postmaster general /;
district attorneys and marshals were
appointed for the same term of years,
running INDEPENDENTLY with the
Attorney General on whose recommen-
dation they were appointed and for
whose official acts he was held respon.
sible. The same was true of the col
lectors and other presidential appoint.
, ments in the treasury department.
!. designations from time to time, the
creation Of an additional Federal
court, collectorship, etc, have resulted
in bringing about confused and more
or less chaotic condition relative to
the expiration of terms of office
The plan of the patronage committee
will restore former conditions, har.
monte general scheme and will
bring the officeholders directly under
the men on whose recommendation
they were named and who were re
sponsible for their public act.
It is difficult to give an accurate
statement of the exact money value in
salaries of the offices involved in the
Democratic plan. But it has been es
timated by competent authorities thai