The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-02-25
HARDING ID PUT
 POSTMASTER JOBS
 BACK |NTOPOL|T|CS
New President Hankers, He Admits, to Distribute Plums Even Little Plums-
 Among Hencmmen
Rx RoRERr q. SHALL

St. Augustine, Fla, February 4.-(Spe- cial) )--One of Warren c. Harding first acts as President of the United States win be to rescind the order of President Wilson placing all postmasters under the protection of the civil service. MT. Hard ing will insist that merit should control in the appointment of postmasters, but he does not believe the democrats who have been placed in the postmasterships during the last eight years should be per- petuated in office.
 MT. Harding contends that only one class'so post1nasters are classified by law under civil service. These are of the fourth class and are of minor impor- tsrce. President Wilson came to the con- csuson, after several years in office, that in the interest of efficient service, all postmasters should be made permanent governrnent officials, subject to dismissal | only for cause. and entitled to serve un- til they saw fit to resign. He issued an executive order to that effect but execu- tive orders are subject to repeal at any moment and President Harding has in- dcated to a number of senators and rep resentatives that he will declare the Wll- son order null and void, and will open the principal postmasterships of the country once more to political patronage
 CHOICE PLUMS
 Mr. Wilson's order was so sweeping it included such choice postmastership plllms as those at New York Chicago Philadelphia Detroit and similar cites included in the first-class designation. Under this order no postmaster could be displaced for political reasons, and in the event of a resignation the job was open to the man who could attain the highest mark in "a competitive examination whether democrat, republican, socialist or bull mooser. A number of important or fees have been filled in this manner and number of republicans have won post lnasterships under the democratic admin istration.
 lot of influential republicans are in- clined to agree to the Wilson idea of pro- tecting the postmasters from politlcai scramble every four years, but they say this protective idea should not take eff feet until most of the offices are filled by deserving members of the G. .. r. They say that if MT. Wilson had been in earnest about bettering the postal ser vice through civil service protection he should have issued the order when he first came into the office instead of wait ing until deserving democrats had pre- enlpted all of the desirable places. They declare that a vast number Of postoi- fee appointments made by Mir Taft dur ing the last four months of his term as President were held up by the demo- crats i'll the Senate and all che places thus offered were filled by dem ocrats.
 DEMOCRATS DOOMED
 This has accounted for the fact that some. 2200 postoffice appointments made recently by MT. Wilson have been held up by the republican Senate, de- spite the fact that these appointments have been made only after civil service examinations. After Mir. Harding comes into office, these several thou sand postoffice appointments will be thoroughly examined. Where repub- licans have been named, and can show their loyalty to the party and their ac- ceptability to the congressman of their district and the senators of their state, they may be renamed. Already MT. Harding has had called to his atten- tion the cases of a good many repub- Iicans who have won postmasterships under the Wilson civil service arrange ment and who are afraid now that they will be thrown down and out under a republican administration.
 From present indications all demo- crafs whose names have been sent to the Senate after examination for post masterships of the so-called presiden- tial classes Will De eACluucu lIViti 1 further Consideration and their places Twill be taken by workers in the politi- cal ranks The terms of all the incum- bent postrnasters will be considered at an end four years from the date of their appointment.
 FLOOD IS EXPECTED
 Mir Harding's statement that he con- siders only one class of p6stmasters protected by the civil service. and the forecast of his early changing of the Wilscon executive order protecting all classes, will be the signal for great rush of applicants for office. As a mai t. ter of fact, the rush already has begun. Senators and congressman are telling z the President-elect they are being be- sieged from all quarters and that there are niae or ten strenuous applicantx for every postmastersh1p in the country which can be filled by presidential ap- pointment. z
 The postoffice department offers the greatest opportunity for the reward of the politically faithful It is the great avenue of party patronages and in the coming administration it is to be pre- sided over by the directing genius Of the republican political organization chairman. Will H. Hays. While post nlasterships generally are conceded to inc congressman and senator's MT. Hays will have virtually the last say as to all who are recommended. MT. Hard : Ing win make the formal appointments, but Mr. Hays will give the o. K.