Norwich bulletin., 1921-10-25
WASHINGTON AFFAIRS
(Snecial +o The Rulletin

iodtH lP TuSn them Into Oillce Dy alS- l placing democrats holding the coveted i positions. The president is moving right along towards filling appointiVe of fees with men of the political faith of | the party in power, but he is nc1 the sort of man to advise undue haste, .un- 1 less the good of the service requires quick change.
 | The question of dealing with post master appointments was called to his attention soon after his inauguration and hot headed partisans urged an im- mediate overtu-n of such offices But i the president smiled and said "ali in good time, but when a man is serving ! well and giving satisfaction to the pat 1 rons of the office I prefer he should be | permitted to serve out his term" So as offices become vacant they are filled i with republicans who pass the civil ser vice test, but many democrats are serv l ing out their terms unmolssted, where 1 the community is satisfied with the ser vice they give.
 1 The old days have passed when a member of congress could stroll into the 1 White House and remark he wanted MT. So and So appointed postmaster at such and such a place, and it was done with out further question. But the method of paying off campaign debts in that
 
 1 proval it ceased and now a civil service examination is held for post offices of 1 every grade. Up to the third, second 1 and first class it is a genuine civil ser vice position and the man so chosen can l hold his office during satisfactory ser vice regardless of political changes in 1 the administration. The examination for such offices is competitive. For tEe higher classes the examination is based | aIY- lcation-the examination is not com petitive or perhaps assembled is bet ter word. The applicant states in writ ing his age, residence, education and 1 business experience, and the civil ser vice commission does the rest. They make inquirier as to his moral and business stanolng, and rate him on what ehey get from others as well as what 1is written statement shows. Then the names of the three men of highest rating are submitted to the postmaster general, who passes them along to the president, who. under the terms of the executive order, may properly appoint any enc of those three men he prefers. In the old days a congressman had the final wortl-now, the list of the three eligible candidates is submitted to him merely as a matter of courtesy. He may advise the president which man he prefers and which he believes best
 adapted to the position-but that is en.
 Just as the speaker of the house is new
 shorn of the old time Cannonism power
 of committee appointments, so are mem bers of congress now shorn of their old time power of patronage. And it is
 quite apparent both the speaker of the house and the members of confress are
 entirely content to have it so. Natural
 ly their advice after the list of three eligibles has been submitted counts for
 much, but all the same, final responsi- |. bility rests In the president.
 Connecticut hss done her full share of urging quick replacement by repub-
 licans, but the Connecticut members
 hold fast to the rules of the executive
 order, and for the most part are keeping
 their hands off5-1eaving it for commu- mites and aspirants to decide who has
 the inside of the track. Commenting
 recently on the situation Congressman
 G!ynn, in which district important va. cancies must soon be filled, said: q wait the city to have the man it want!
 and the one who can best fill the posi- tion. The department has said to m the best business man makes the bes postmaster and I fully endorse that sen e timent. But in no case shall I take ? hand till the list of three elig;blas i 0 shown me and I know the strength C r. their endorsement Other Connection
 members feel the same. And althougl
 Connecticut republicans will eventually ', be called on to<fH postmasterships. U is a safe guess that it will be don e quietly and as far as possible. to carr. | ut the preference of communities. Republicans made a strong move to wards factional harmony when they SC lected Senator Curtis of Kansas to sue . ceed to many Of the important position j. made vacant by the death of Senate t Knox. Senator Brandegee was iargel ,. responsible for this adroft move. No l. only is MT. Curtis capable and fuii
 lqualified for such responsibilities, bu l he is the only man who seems to com t bine qualities that make him acceptabl ; to the various factions that now threat
 en to split republican ranks, MT. Cur f tis is a staunch partisan, but not per e pery 1n his assertions; while holdin O fast to his convictions he does not I'll l. his colleagues the wrong way; the
 trust his honesty and fairness, and a , though the places to which he has sue u iceeded were openly coveted by man other senators, his selection was agree e- to without creating friction.
 MT. Curtis IS not an orator, nor doe
 he take much part III the running de Il bates, but he does notable work fo !e each bill which he personally favors
 which has been decided on as a part d r 2 armament conference will be ac+ l. ing leader in the enforced absence o Senator Lodge, as an American dele N gate; he is whip of the senate, he -e on the aI important committee on rule IS which grvern senate procedure, and C al other major committees The respons If bilities piled high on the shoulders
 Curtis would break the back of nan
 8 stout man, but he takes them all wit
 a smile. and just goes to it, and dot
 the work. If MT. Curtis has a sloga e it surely must be fWhy Worry?'
 He takes care of his constituenc
 makes the daily round of his varied q * ties whips his colleagues into line, h; W plenty of time to tell the newspa pt !. men all he thinks they ought to kno, -s with never a show of .mpatience or a,
 noyance. If any one can unite the U
 ruly blocs and bring harmony out disagreement, Curtis is the man VI y- can do it.
 d. Senator Mclean has boen stro1
 factor in the presentation of the ts
 bill to the senate, being a working mer CT Der of the finance committee.
 .ir On several occasions it has devolv
 on the Connecticut senator to straigf 'd' en out parliamentary tangles or expla le the meaning of certain disputed claus
 of the bill But there was one oec is sion when he took no part in the d of bate, but quietly chuckled as the tab, cb were turned on some of his colleagu,