New Britain herald., 1915-12-07
TAFT AGAIN TAKES
 GARRISON TO TASK
Hits Non-Partisanship Claim in
 Philippine Service

New Haven, Dec. 7,-EX-PreSldeni l William H. Taft, last night issued a
 statement in reply to Secretary Gar
 rison's answer to his statement as a result of an attack by the secretary upon his stand regarding the admin istration's conduct of affairs in the 1 Philippine Islands. In this second
 statement, Professor Taft takes up l again the claim of no partisanship | in the dismissals in the Philippine service, claimed by Garrison, and goes into quite a review of the ma jor cases in which dismissals oc- cured. In the statement he says, in part:
 'I earnestly and sincerely hope that
 the American people will not be pre-
 vented from realizing the truth con-
 corning the present administration $
 policy and it's effect in the Philip pines, by what I must call the spe- cial pleading with which MT. Garri- son seeks to convince himself that it can be justified. His defense of the Harrison regime in the Islands when the truth permeates the local atmos- phere will only awaken ridicule and surprise that he could so deceive him self. There has been no partisanship in the policy, it is said.
 Upho1ds Col. Mccoy.
 MT. Harrison is reported by MT. Garrlson to have denieu, and I ac- cept his denial. that he said in the public press at Honolulu that he took a sardonic pleasure in removing re- publicans. Yet his first act when he reached the Islands was to force the resignation of Col. H. B. Mccoy, who had served the government since 1898, first as a soldier, and then in various positions in the civil service until he won his way to be collector of customs, the highest fiscal posi- tion in the commission. He was most efficient. No charge is made against him of inefficiency, unloyalty or of his integrity. He was removed be- cause he held the largely nominal position of national republican com- mitteeman in the Philippines. There were no elections in the islands for him to take an interest in. There was no opportunity to become an offensive partisan or to neglect his office in politics. It was not a vio- lation of any civil service regulation. Except for the partisan motive, the act is not explained.
 Could Have Kept Mccoy.
 eff MT. Harrison had wished to re- tain for the public service a highly trained veteran and had really thought his holding an official rela- tion to a political party was improper, the mere suggestion would have led to it's severance. Mr. Garrison seeks to fasten on to Presidents Mckinley and Roosevelt and myself responsibility for the course of the present adminis- f1n 1clo Ics and replacing them with Filipinos and in enlarging the power of Filipino politicians by insisting that it is only continuance of our avoWed policy. If that were so, why was it necessary to make a clean sweep of the commission of trained Americans with no politics and substitute parti- san and active democrats and one progressive? If the policy was to be the same, what is there in the argu- ment that the executive officers of a colonial service trained by years of experience and faithful service are like cabinet officers at home, and should be felled by one blow of the political axe? Such commissioners, it goes without saying, were much more competent to continue such a policy than mere tiroS who had never been in the islands and did not know the language or the people. The import ance of continuity in colonial service is shown by all the great world suc- cesses in this field and such sudden sweep as MT. Garrison seeks to justify in conclusive proof of the partisanship that prompted it. As a make weight in his defense of the clean sweep, MT. Garrison says that vice. Governor Gil bert and MT. Worcester resigned Does he mean to intimate that they would not have been forced out if they had not resigned and that it was not a deliberate purpose to make a clean sweep of them as we'll as the others?
 Let us not be confused as to par