New-York tribune., 1920-10-04
Campaign Levy
On Newark us.
Clerks Charged
Sunday Call Alleges That
Federal Employees in
Fifth District Have Been
Assessed From $23 Up
Collected on Pay Day
Charles V. Duffy, Head of
Bureau, Declares Dona-
tions We're Voluntary

Definite charges were made yester-
day that clerks employed in the Newark
Office of the collector of Internal
Revenue have seen deliberately as
sessed varying sums Of money to sup
port the Democratic national campaign
in violation of both the Federal laws
and the resolutions of the Civil Service
Commission.
The charges were embraced in a
news article and prominently displayed
in The Newark Gail.
After saying that repeated official
denials of these allegations had been
made by the Department, the article
adds that it is certain that the assess
ment plan has been systematically car
or Newark district. This is the dis
trict presided over by Collector Charles
V. Duffy,
1t shows that collection, of funds for
political purposes from Federal en-
ployees is expressly prohibited by sew
eral sections of the United States
Statutes and by rules of the Civil Ser
vice Commission, as we'll as by the
Treasury Department, of which this
collectors office is branch. The ar
ticle then adds that notice is con-
spicuously posted in their office, located
in the Hanna-Stagg Building, at Cen
tral Avenue and Broad Street, which
declares that the solicitation or the
giving of money for use in political
campaigns is illegal, and that any per
son who so contributes will not anly
be dismissed from the service, but be-
come liable to criminal prosecution as
well.
Story Denied by Duffy
Continuing, the article recites in
part:
"Collector Duffy declared he did not
believe the stories of assessments to
be true. If any such thing is going on
| will Immediately stop it, he said. 1T
is violation of the law and the rules
of the Civil Service Commission and I
do not care to have my Office violate
those. I suppose that the only cam
paign contribution going out of this
Office will be mne
AT one time the members of the
Office staff seemed to have an idea that
would run for Congress and some of
them expressed a wish to help me.
promptly told them / had no intention
of making the race. | have told some
of the clerks who have asked for ad-
vice that if they desired they might
make voluntary contributions for their
political parties, and, mind you, there.
are both Republicans and Democrats in
my otfice-but | have expressly forbid
den the solicitation of contributions
for political campaign purposes
But, in spite of the warning, the
collections have been made According
to The Sunday Calls information the
male and female employees a week or
more ago were told the sum he or she
was expected to contribute. Friday of
last week being pay day, it was fixed
as the time at which the money was
TO be paid over. and three of the en-
ployees of the department were desig-
mated as collectors of the fund Some
OF the employees protested and others
absolutely refused to be assessed But
majority of the clerks paid without
protest.
Minimum Levy $25
"The plan of assessment contem-
plated that those who received $1,000
year were to pay $25 out of the Sep
tember salary, while other employees
earning more were assessed 5 per
cent of their annual wage. These
were permitted to pay 21a per cent on
Friday and the remainder on Novem-
ber l.
"Another person who informed The
Sunday Cali of he assessment de-
clared that the plan had been pursued
successfully during the campaign of