The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1917-07-12
FOOD BILL JOBS
GO TOFAITHFUL
Senate Cuts Ont Provision Put
ting Hoover Board in
Civil Service.

WARRINGTON. July 11.-The portal
for the introduction of political prefer
ment in lieu Of merit as the standard
for appointments to the various major
and minor offices of the proposed food
administration bureau was written into
the pending food control bill to-day. BY
a vote of 3S to ~ the Senate adopted
the provision appropriating 10000
for the salaries of officials and struck
out the provision which the House had
included under which these appoint
ments were to have been made from
the ranks of the civil service and under
civil service rules.
The proposal was warmly attacked by
Senator Lodge, who alleged that the
action proposed in the Senate was q
fragrant and unjustifable attempt &c
load the new bureau with partisans OF
the Administration and TO pay political
obligations.
'To resort to partisanship. to draw
party lines, in making these appoint
| ments is to put food control in serious
, peril" said Senator Lodge. ut is in
jecting politics into a war measure In
the most offensive way imaginable"
PenrOse Arraigns Democrats.
Senator Penrose also entered the dis
| cussion and arraigned the majority fol
| intruding politics or the opportunity fol
| the Administration to indulge in politi
cal debt paying.
| "It Is done to provide sinecures 70,
deserving Democrats he asserted
These loyal war horses must be caret
for, and by eliminating civil service thu
Administration can crowd the food con
troll up with them. l don't suppose fol
| a moment that these deserving Demo
Gratis will be appointed because of thei
particular knowledge of agriculture o.
! horticulture OF anything else that will
| come within their purview. They will
simply be appointed to fat Jobs becaus
4 they are Democrats. The conscript arm!
that will fight in France will be mad
up Of Republicans, while the easy, com
Portable jobs behind desks far from tn
| danger zone will be held down by Demo
4 Gratis
1T have not any doubt that the foot
| controller will be a brigadier-genera
or something like It and he will wea
a uniform with shiny buttons and spurs
And 1 suppose he will draw his swor,
on farmers who don't get around fas
enough to suit him. The food contro
bureau will be a military adjunct L
the Government, and / imagine II vii
be a most imposing one with the uni
formed controller as its dignihed gen
eral and all the loyal Democrats fror
back home wearing khaki and lookin
quite smart.
Hints at Military Abuse.
while / am about It I want to tel
1 fnfa
offer a resolution calling on the Secre
tary of War for a list of civilians VIII
have been elevated to high military ran
while still performing civilian dutie
This / do not hesitate to say Is one {
! the greatest abuses of military authorit
that has been perpetrated in this wa
} The list 1 speak Of once the Senate gel
, II will be found to be so grotesque as I
; furnish a burning scandal in this Go,
ernment."
? Senator Chamberlain defended the al
D pointment OF civilians to military ran
in certain phases of war activity 9
. having been authorized under a la
recently passed. The appointees wei
D chiefly engaged In survey work and ma
3 the rank of major
yes, and from what ! have heard
: lot OF them don't know enough Of mil
tary tactics to drill ten men witho,
} getting them all tangled up In the
| feet" retorted Senator Penrose.
Following the adoption OF the amen,
ment with the civil service clause elm
1 mated Senator Penrose exclaimed:
} II want to go on record right here
, predicting that before the end of tn
! Congress we will see the President a
{ pointing Democrats to every one OF Il
= offices provided for in the food contr
. ! hill b"