Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1922-04-14
Hardinq's Dismissal Order De.
nounced As Heartless.

The strongest criticisms Of President
Harding's executive order dismissine the
Director Of the Bureau Of Engraving and
Printing and thirty other officials there were
made by Senator Caraway, Of Arkansas.
in the Senate. and Representative Byrns,
of Tennessee. in the House. Among other
things, Senator Caraway said:
Men with services ranging all the way
from 20 to SO years. services that had
been acceptable to both Republican and
Democratic administrations, men against
whom no charge has ever been made,
either of inefficiency or Of dishonor, were
removed from their positions and dis
charged from the public service by an
Executive order. venture the assertion
that no President in the history Of this
country since civil service has become the
law of this nation ever dared so auto
cratically to disregard the law and dis
regard the rights Of human beings as did
the President by this Executive order.
THE law is plain. II required the Presi-
dent-and he is not above the law-to
follow a certain procedure under which
these men could at least have protected
their reputation by denials. The Presi-
dent ignored that. He ignored this law
with the Attorney General in conference
with him. Therefore there is no reason.
il there was any knowledge of the law in
the Attorney Generals Office. why the
President should have run rouehshod over
the rights Of these men and wholly dis
regard the law of the land.
Il think the gravest hurt is to the public
morale. When men and women lose con-
fidence in the justice Of their Government
and in the men who are charged tempo
rarily with the administration of law, they
have been done great injury. do not
care how man may apologize in his
heart for the administration he may as
sert that the President was within his
rights; but say that there is no man with
any human kindness in his heart who can
read that order and not know that it was
an inhuman order. and no man with any
knowledge of the law of his land can read
1t and not know that it was violation of
the law by the President when he issued IT,
There is a little word called honor. II
is as binding upon the President of these
United States as upon the humblest citi-
zen Of this land and it is all the more re-
grettable when the President shall forget
it and deny justice to men upon whom he
has the power to infiict an irremediable
injury.
There were four women who went down
under this drastic and unjustifiable order of
the President, women who had gone into the
bureau years and years ago. who had toiled
upward against all the obstacles that have
been placed in the way Of women's ad-
vancement in public employment through
all the years, who had kept their regulations
pure, who had perfected their efficiency
and had finally come to places of respon-
sibility and places that paid them well.
Without an opportunity to be heard, without
opportunity to utter one word in their own
defence. and now with the statement from
the Secretary Of the Treasuary that there
was not a charge against them. they were
all dismissed from the public service. They
were turned out. their regulations destroyed
and the (Washington) Post says. and il
speaks for the administration, or always
has, that the President does not intend
ever to tell why he dismissed and diseraced
these women.
Il imagine that the women will also
notice that not only did the President dis.
miss these women but filed their places
with men.
This administration shuts the door Of
hope in the face of women, who through
long years Of faithful service had toiIed
upward to places of responsibility. They
were summarily discharged and diseraced
and four good Republicans whose reputa
tion will pass muster even with the junior
Senator from Oklahoma, are given their
places, and these four good Republican,
are men,"
Representative Byrns said in part
Il have made inquiry. and understand
that there were number Of Republicans
possibly majority. among those who were
dismissed. The very fact that these Of
icials were retained by the last admins.
tration as chiefs Of divisions is conclusive
proof that a Democratic administration
did not play politics in the civil service.
What right did the President have tC
abolished by executive order positions
created by an act Of Congress and Great,
new positions which he can fill without
regard to civil service. What right has hi
to destroy civil service status of these
officials by abolishing their officesi II he
can do this then no civil service employee
is safe.
The removal of these officials is ar
outrage on decency. 1t is blow to ad
ministrative discipline. II is a strike a
governmental efficiency. II is an under
ths-belt, Knockout blow at economy anC
morale.