Evening star., 1923-12-15

To the Editor Of The Star,
Thursdays issue of The Evening
Star contains a news report to the
effect that 1t Is believed that the
employees of the bureau of engraving
and printing. dismissed by executive
order OF March, 1922. would be re-
stored to their old positions"; that
1T Is known thatta strong feeling ex-
lists among some of the republican
senators that an injustice was done
the employees dismissed, and that they
should have their places back" The
article continues that: Mo reflection
on the late President Harding. who
issued the order, Is intended. The be-
lief Is growing that he was misin-
formed and that the executive order
was issued on an incorrect under
standing Of the situation given th'
President"
In the article referred to. as well as
in numerous previous pubilcatiohs'
The Star has given marked PROM
nenye to the DISMISSAL nearly wv,
years ago OF twenty-eight en.pioye.
OF the bureau oI engraving aA"'
printing, including the chief or tina,
important governmental institution
anu to the efforts from time To tiih>
made to have the mys Ay Oh tn. .
dismissal cleared up and tne in)ustic.
done the dismissed men ana Wonei
~orrt c,ed as lar as possible. Aou
newspaper is to be colnmchueu ~
Us attitude and action In the prem
ses. 1t is haIuly possible 10 oseIsta'
the importance of this case IN its re
.ation to common JusCIce Ina 10 IN,
.enab,litation OF the regulations u
honorable men and women VINO ar
the victims of a great wrong.
4
President Harding was undoubted!!
misled. grossly misied, but who mis-
ed him? II, as l am sure any fuli an
ionest disclosure of the facts will re-
veal, the generous, amiable, huma,
President of the United States wa.
misled into taking an action inoe-
scribably cruel. what has been dom
or is to be done with respect to tht
person or persons responsible FOR
lis informing or deceiving that Presl-
dent and causing him to take that &C
ton? We are too apt in I, time Wheh
great public problems, internatloha.
as well as nat .onai, press for solution.
70 forget the individual citizen.
whose lives may be wrecked Dy th'
aasty i'll considered, or mailclou-
abuse of governmental power, TOO ap'
20 forget that the protection OF tne
Individual citizen WIS the keyStoHt
10 the arch of our form OF constitu-
,ionaI government. 1t Is well that W.
sometime pause to give serious I'm
Liberation, serious puDhc cohsioea
Ion. to wrongs done the lnuiVIouais
and to the righting of those WRONGS
And the bureau of engraving ant
printing employees case aHoros opPoi
tunity for just such action now.
y 4 r
A brief review of the facts serves
to call to mind that late in the after
noon of a day in March. 1922. at
about the time that the departments
IN Washington We're closing, twent!
eight men and women employed in
The bureau of engraving and PRINT
ing received brief communications
from the President of the United
States summariiy dlsmlsslns u'nm
rom the government service. MAhS
nj these employees had spent the pest
years of their lives IN that service.
A number of them had grown oid IN
the faithful performance OF lneii i!
duties. Practically all had slowly:
during "A course of long years, worked
their way from the lower grades up
10 positions of responsibility ana
trust, attached TO which were saia1ies
pared with the character of the POSI-
lions. IL
These employees were given no
previous notice OF their contemplated
d discharge. No reason was assignee
for this unprecedented and drastic
.criou. Thei, desks and papers were
immediately seized and they were not
even allowed to take their private De
Iongings from the bureau except un-
der surveillance. The widest PUBLICITY
was given to their discharge. the
protection which the civil service
laws and rules are supposed 10 give
20 employees of the federal govern
ment was shown to amount to noth-
ing. Sensational reports to the eHecl
hat il had been discovered that
gigantic swindie had been perpetrateo
by the duplication OF bonds We're
published in the press of the coun-
try. The United States secret serHiGe'
whose duty it is to protect the opl-
cations of the government, including
ia bonds, and to investigate wron2s
affecting those obligations. was put
aside and allowed to have no part IN
the investigation which we learned
from the press was under way.
1t was reported, and not denied,
that Secretary Mellon had neither
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