El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-03-08
Office Filling Is Hard Task
For the II 600 Presidential Appoint
menfs There Are 100000
Applicants
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M To the person who never has
had to choose between dozen
rival claimants in the filling Of one posi-
ton. the claims of each urged BY men
who know how to beg beseech, and
even to demand, the task that cOnfrOnis
a president when he assumes office
and sees 100000 applicants for II, O00
jobs may not appear so serious But II
is task that has almost resulted in
I the political UndOing Of some presl-
dents, has made enemies for others,
and has ruffled the temper even Cf
such q placid chief magistrate as
William Mckinley
1t was a task that tore the Repu0-
ncan party asunder when Garfield be-
came president and received his ''Cuss-
ing OUT at the hands of COnkling; q
task that made innumerable enemies
for Grover Cleveland; a task that dis
! gusted the younger Harrison and caused
him to become the human icicle in Of
flee; a task that only Roosevelt could
approach with equinamity, and that
Tart escaped only because ne started
out to carry out my policies"
Many Office Seekers This Year.
President wilson's reputed feeling
that the best argument against an APP
pOintment, generally speaking, is made
I by the act Of the man seeking it. mas
not. as might be expected deferred the
office seekers They have felt that
that was one Of those white lies" THAI
a man high in authority must tell TO
save his office from swarms Of office
seekers who try to win his favor. 1t
might be estimated that there are ap-
! prOXimately a million voters in the
United States who are as willing as
Barlis that their distinguished ser
vices should be utilized By the Wilson
administration. and that Is probably
under the fact rather than over the
mark.
Certainly, there will be several hun
/ dred thousand active candidates for ap-
! polntment, and the majority Of these
will feel that II they could lay their
cause directly before the president
they would be sure to land the job they
/ seek They VIII, therefore. for several
moons make miserable the lives Of the
40 people around the white house.
Diplomatic Appointments First.
The president seldom decides any
I other appointments than those Of The
members Of his cabinet before his IN
auguratiOn- He waits to hear the
I claims Of all who are put forward for
( the bigger berths in the departmental
| and diplomatic services, and usually
| waits until he has these decided Upon
I before he takes up, except in unusuaI
cases, the postal customs. internal
revenue. and department Of justice
I places in the field. Some idea of how
/ the task Of the president has grown
/ from Mckinley to Wilson may be gath
/ cred from the fact that while Mckinley
/ had only 4S15 offices to iii with the
/ advice and consent Of the senate, VIZ
/ son has 1000.
It Will be seen that although the
/ civil service between the inaugura ton
/ Of Mckinley and that Of Wilson goes
] FAR up into the thousands, the tremel-
] dOus growth of the service OF Uncle
/ Sam gives Wilson nearly two and a
/ half times as much patronage as Nc
I Kinley had
Burden on Cabinet Members.
I President Wilson viii have several
I hundred appointments to make in the
| service IN Washington In the state
| department he VIII have three assist
| ant secretaries and half dozen CT
more other prominent officials OF
/ course, he will be guided largely by
the recommendations OF the secretary
> OF state in making them A president
very seldom goes over the heads Of
/ his chief advisers in making such ap-
! pOintments; unless the reasons are ex-
J tremely. urgent he defers almost en-
I tirely to the selections and recOmmen--
I datiOns of his cabinet officers. When
there are such urgent considerations
he viii probably say something like
! this: Mr. Secretary, it seems that we
cannot ignore the claims Of Mr. So and
So, and If you can see your way clear
z TO appoint him. 1 shall be pleased" CT
course, the secretary. when it comes
down to that gladly, unless he has the
most urgent reasons, valves his own
choice in the matter.
More usually the president shifts the
I burden to the shoulders Of his cabinet
4 pllcants to the one under whose port
folio the position being sought is given
out
Numerous Treasury Positions.
Next to the post office department
I the largest list Of presidential appoint
mentS, outside of the army and navy,
Is 10 be found in the treasury depart
ment- HeTe are three assistant secre-
! tarleS, and under them the supervising
architect; the director OF the bureau
OF engraving and printing; the chieE
OF the secret service the general SUP
erlntencenC OF ne life saving services
the controller of the treasury. who
passes upon the legality of all money
paid out BY the treasury; the registrar
OF the treasury, job that nearly al
ways goes 10 negro; the auditors fOr
the several departments; the treasurer
of the United States; the controller Of
the currency; the commissioner OF in
ternal revenue; the director OF the
mint and the surgeon general Of the
public health service
such positions as these the president
mis- IN all the departments in Washing
ton Outside Of Washington he has the
5000 post offices Of the presidential
class the several hundred customs and
internal revenue officials the 500 20
SitOns In the diplomatic and consular
service, the several hundred United
and the like
Conversational Recommendation.
!. with the positions in the several
states, including the marshalshfps. the
utStrlcI attorneyships, the collector
shlns. and the Ostmasterships. The
SuuA E mas oeen somewhat SlImpll-
lleo, ana certain positions are flied
upon the recommendation of senators
ana others upon the recommendation
OF representatives. 1t is not probable
that the policy of the Wilson admins
IrauOn Will depart radically from this.
because, although it generally is re-
garded as a bad method. it seems to DC
ABOUT the most satisfactory one yet
devised for filling these places
With the largest list of presidential
employees to appoint that ever has con-
IfonJed any president and with the
greatest number of hungry office
seekers on record. it is easy to i'm
aSine that long before his battle with
them IS over. Mr.. Wilson VIII wish that
every position in the government ser
wee outside Of the presidential chair
ltselt were under the classified service.
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