New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-03-16
life as Governor Would Be
Pleasant Were 1t Not for
Pressure of Office Seekers.
CIVIL SERVICE CORRECTION
candidate Who Stood Sixteenth
Gets $4,000 Berth After Be-
ing Assigned Third Place
on Eligible List.
rRy Telegraph to The Tribune. !

Albany. March 15.-Governor Sulzer
made II known to-day that his chief COM
,lsint Is patronage He told his friends
.bst the lob of beinC Governor would De
o,o long sweet dream if IL were not for
tho demands of Office seekers. But the
o-,ce Is a nightmare he admits. with the
executive chamber ever filled with promi-
psnt citizens desiring TO talk over patron
age matters.
As for federal patronage. he is through
With il absolutely. Outside of writing a
,e,,er 70 Senator O'Gorman or President
Wilson now and then for one OF his per-
sonal friends he has washed his hands
clean Of dabbinc in federal jobs.
While in Washington during the in
oucuratjon Governor Sulzer attempted to
,ntercede for some Of his friends who
uanted places. but was given 10 under
stand By Wilson. O'Gorman and Murphy
that ne had nothing 10 say about federal
patronage. in spite of his pretensons 70
heing the Democratic state leader.
The Governor. of course, realizes. &C
cording u his friends. that the distrlbu-
ton Of state patronage is a duty which
he cannot shrk. He has therefore re-
signed himself 10 any hardships that II
NAV inAict upon him.
The patronage question was brought 10
his attention to-day by request TO see
the PAPERS in the case Of Richard V.
somerviIle. whom State Engineer Bensel
has appointed chief clerk. at salary Of
e CO wear Somerville stood sixteenth
on the eligible list. although he had four
appointment. His percentage was 1888
while the highest man on the list had a
percentage of 81 and had taken civil
engineering course.
The influence Of the state Engineer IN
getting the Job for his particular IA
yorite and the aid given him by an In
yestigator Of the Governors commission
~ inquiry are shown in the negotiations
that followed Somerville protested TO
the Civil Service Commission because or
,he percentage given him and asked Tor
rerating. ]. W. Root, the examiner
and n y. Saxton. chief examiner, OBJ
,acted 10 a rerating being given. but
chairman Neu Of the State Civil Service
Commission. after looking over the
rspers decided TO allow Somerville per
CertdEe OF S-N, lidNlI- I4Hi N''A'N ~
eligible list Bensel then lost no time IN
appointing him 10 the $500 year Joo'
Somerville's letter 10 the commission
requesting a reratins was accompanied
by an Endorsement by NJ T. Horgan an
investigator Of the Governors commission
az inquiry. who wrote: This is another
case where experience in the work, VIZ
the actual performance of the duties
seems to amount to nothing in the eyes
Of some people"
The secretary of the Civil Service COM
mission al first refused TO give out the
papers in this case but Governor Sulzer
AZ the request of a reporter directed that
they be made public. The Governor de-
clared that he is a firm friend of civil
service. and that II he had his way every
Office except the elected Offices would be
filed by the merit system only Whether
any action can be taken in the SomerVlHe
case was not made known.