Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-04-07
THE PATRONAGE PROBLEM.

President Harding may have many
problems to solve before he steps into
that vale Of Immortality which we re-
serve for all former Presidents. but
none can compare with the delicate ono
Of postofIice patronage which confronts
him today.
The Republican party leaders. i'm the
heat Of campaign. promised many men
! lucrative positions in the postofficc de
! partmcnt In nearly every political
district one or more mon were told that
! II the sign Of the elephant conquered.
the pic would he sliced neatly and with
dispatch The elephant did conquer.
but il seems that the leaders forgot that
! sometime ago Woodrow Wilson signed
an executive order placing postmastcrs
under the protective care of the civil
Service Commission.
Under that order a great many Re
I publcans. in Republican districts. re-
ceived postmastcrships which pay
healthy sums Of money. In other dis
tricts loyal Democrats are directing the
handling Of mail. The executive rul-
ing has worked TO the fairness Of both
parties But here is Mr.. Hardings di-
lcmma:
II is desirable TO get the Democrats
out Of ONCE. especially in the Demo
/ cratic districts. where Republican ma
I chimes must bc built; il is necessary
/ that Republicans. who were not "oriEi-
nal Harding men," he dislodgcd from
office SO that the Presidents carly sup
porters may reap just and due reward
I for honest labors. IT is unthinkablc
/ that Wood Republican. or Low
den Republican. or any but Harding
Republican should be left upon the
! payroll.
/ But the Civil Service roles state that
mo person in the classified Civn Ser
! vice Of the United States shall be re-
moved therefrom except for such cause
as will promote the efficiency Of said
+ service and for reasons given in writ
| ing" The fact that a man is Demo
crat. or was not an original Harding
man" is not sufficient 10 drop him from
the roll.
OF course Mr.. Harding is President.
i and as such possesses quite a bit Of
/ power. He may revoke Woodrow WI
sons ruling. But If he does. he will
meet with storm Of protest which
| will rock his political ship dangerously.
! Many reform bureaus. many news
| papers. and many more powerful indi-
! viduals who for years have sought
civil service reform. viii take up the
| fight in manner which will make Mr.
/ Harding. and that grand seigneur of
/ the postal service. Mr.. VIII H. Hays,
wish that they had never heard Of
patronage.
II is the original Harding men" who
are giving the most trouble We be-
lieve that the President would be will
ing for Wilson's order to stand if those
/ pcstiferous persons did not constantly
remind him that they increased the vote
in Squash Hollow district by nine votes.
etc. Mr.. Harding is a loyal and a true
friend; he values his word highly; he
wishes TO see the men who Iabored for
him rewarded That is natural de-
sire. and one which all persons un-
| derstand
These men are making it especially
hard for the Administration to solve
this problem, because they are remind
ing the President that If a postmaster
ship is not vacant, an Enthusiastically
will be accepted. Many men capable of
| holding the former position are not en-
dowed with the ability 10 fill greater
posts; and it is hard TO tell them the
bald truth. e.. The foreign relations
Of the United States are easy to solve
compared with this problem. ASK Mr..
Harding-'he knows"