The Butte daily post., 1917-05-08
POLITICIANS ARE
NOT IN FAVOR Of It

Tho Ponte Whshinpton bureau
N"Hhingion, May The poll
licihhh ~ congress are in n state of
hlBh dudRcon over the new executive
order which n is expected will 40 into
erect April !, placing all presidential
posi- ainhstcrs under the civil service. n
has been n long time since they were
50 rolled rs they have been at This
order.
Many little congressional indignation
meetings are being held around the
capitol when opinions Of very dcrog-
atory character are expressed regard
Ing the new order aud Postmaster Gen.
eral Bnrleson, who Is accredited with
having urged the president 10 adopt
this reform.
The pcppcry comments are not con
fined 10 the politicians Of the demo
cratic party. In fact, IL seems TO be q
| situation where all politicians feel they
must stand together 10 prevent fur
| thcr encroachmcnts Of the merit sys-
tenn. The democratic politicians are
Immediately affected. because the new
| order would take away their postofficc
preserves, but the republican politicians
do not overlook the probability that the
| country will go republican again some
time and they are Solicitous lest access
| to the pie counter may be cut off in
The years to come.
From the viewpoint Of the politicians
Postmaster General Burcson is a
vcritable bull in china shop. His or
der promulgated Just before the Inst
campaign for the establishment Of mo-
tor vehicle routes is believed TO have
caused the defeat Of many democratic
members of congress in Indiana and
other close states because Of the dis
satisfaction it created among would-bc
rural carriers and their friends, and
although the department was com
PEELED to back up" on that order the
reversal came so late that the damage
| already was done. politically speaking
Speaker Clark, who, Is democrat Of
the Jacksonian type and adhereS
| strongly to the theory that the spoils
Of office belong to the victors, is one
Of those who see only mischief TO come
to the democratic party as an organ
ization from the new order. The
speaker long ago took issue with Post
master General Burleson's management
of the postoffice department in Its po-
| litical bearings The postmaster gen
erals theory that the highest man on
the civil service list should be selected
in filling fourth-class postoffice vacan-
cies is not approved by Senator Clark,
who said:
THAT order raised more Cain in poll
tics than anything else and 1t is one
Of the main reasons why the next
house is so close. People in demo-
cratic district want democrat in Of
flee as postmaster"
| II Is an interesting fact that Vice
President Marshall would be one OF
the hardest-hit politicians II the new
| order goes into effect, although, OF
course, the president had no such in
tention in view. The retirement OF
the democratic senators from Indiana
LEAVES the vice president as the pat
ronage distributor for the state, but
the proposed executive order also will
leave him without any patronage to
distribute, except few prominent fed
eral positions In the state, such as dis
trict attorney, United States marshal
and revenue collectors. Nine-tenths OF
more of the vice presidents prospective
patronage will be taken away by this
new order. Plans had been made for
the use Of patronage by the vice presi-
dent to build up a forward-lookins
democratic organization in Indiana
which would help to wrest the state
from republican control, but even a
lforward-looking organization must be
grounded in patronage il it takes on
any ginger. and the vice presidents
plans for a reconstructed and revivi-
fled democracy in Indiana are up In
the air. =.
The temper OF democratic members
of the house has not cooled off any as
n result of a disclosure that the post
master general called at least one stall
wart republican member Of the house
into consultation in regard to pulling
off this new patronage arrangement
II has been learned that Representative