Evening star., 1934-11-19
PATRONAGE RIDER
is CHALLENGED IN
D. c. COURT ACTION
Alcohol Tax Unit Employees
Obtain Rule Against
Morgenthau.
INJUNCTION HEARING
IS SET FOR MONDAY
Bill of Particulars Charges Con-
fict With Procedure of
Civil Service.

The patronage rider" which is
throwing more than 900 employees of
the alcohol tax unit out of service De-
cember was challenged in District
Supreme Court today.
Gen. Samuel T. Ansell, counsel for
a large group of affected employees, ap-
peared before Chief Justice Alfred A.
Wheat and obtained a rule calling on
Secretary of the Treasury Morgenthau
to show cause why a permanent in
junction to restrain the operation of
the rider should not be issued. The
rule is returnable next Monday.
The action was instituted in the
name of Paul Sarlo of Brooklyn, N, Y.
Direct Conflict Charged.
In his bill OF particulars, Gen.
Ansell, formerly judge advocate gen.
eral Of the Army, charged that the
rider was passed under a miscon-
ceptlon and that it is in direct con-
f1ict with civil service procedure.
The bill pointed out that when in
vestlgation of the status of affected
employees was originally begun in the
Senate (at the instance of Senator
McKellar Democrat, of TenneSsee). 1t
was done on the plea that the work
ers had been brought into service
without real civil service examina-
ton; that practically all belonged to
one political party" and that such
appointive method is mot consonant
with the civil service law and is con-
trary to the spirit and intent Of
the laws
Upon this resolution" the bill con-
tinued. there were some hearings by
the Senate Civil Service Committee,
but no legislative action was taken
But it appears that from said hear
ings the committee was under the inn
preston that the employees referred to
therein had never taken a real Civil
Service examination, but had been
character tested, or blanketed into
their Civil Service positions"
Predecessor of Rider.
This resolution, it was added, ap-
parently is the predecessor of the rider,
which provided that no employees who
were transferred from the old prohibi-
ton set-up in the Department Of JUS
tice to the Alcohol Tax Unit in the
Treasury could be paid after December
| unless they qualified under q new
competitive examination.
Plaintiff is informed and believes
and, therefore, avers," the bill con-
tinued, that the Senate Committee
adopted said amendment upon the
representation made by the author of
the said predecessor resolution to the
effect that the employees named therein
had been appointed upon character
tests only and not as the result of
open competitive examinations held by
the Civil Service Commission; that the
committee without inquiry accepted
and acted upon such representation.
and that at no subsequent legislative
stage was there a word of inquiry or
debate.
Plaintiff likewise AYERS that the
President in approving the said act
containing this proviso did not believe
the proviSo applied, and did not in
tend it to apply. to those who held
their positions as a result of open COM
petitive civil service examinations.
And plaintiff likewise AYERS that the
President has more than once pub
licly declared it to be his intention to
uphold and strengthen the civil serv-
ice system, and that with apparent
reference to this particular proviso, the
President stated that the administra-
tions position was that the employees
affected by this legislation were those
who had been put under the civil serv-
ice without examination in the first
place, and that the new regulation
righted an injustice by requiring them
to prove their fitness"
Appealed to Morgenthau.
The bill pointed out that when the
employees saw the danger in which
their positions had been placed, they
appealed to Secretary Morgenthau for
assistance and were advised by him
that he was anxious to protect the
employees involved just as much as
may be found to be legally possible. -
1t was further set out that Attorney
General Cummings was asked for an
opinion on this rider, and that Con-
troller General McCarl was called
upon to render a decision as to its
applicability, and that their findings
were in conflict.
In summation, 1t was pointed out
that Congress should never have in
tended that permanent civil service
employees who held a competitive
status should be required to compete
again in another examination, "for
no such requirement has ever been
made in the history of civil service f"
Plaintiff avers," 1t was amplified.
that thus to construe and apply said
provlso is to construe and apply said
proviso according to its bare letter and
not according to the intention and
the purpose of the law makers.
Plaintiff AYERS that such construc-
tion of the proviso brings the proviso
into direct collision with the long es-
tablished civil service policy of our
government and the organic civil
service law expressing such policy,
makes an assault upon the civil serv-
ice system, deprives plaintiff and
other honest and faithful civil service
employees of the protection in their po-
sitions given by organic civil service
law, and to fix upon them the cruel
injustice of depriving them of their
positions obtained and long held as a
result of bona fide open, protective
civil service examination, discrim-
mates in favor of and securely retains
in the same service those in the same
service who obtained and hold their
positions by other than civil service
methods, and, in effect, labels as
fraudulent civil service administration
which results in the appointment of
plaintiff and other civil service en-
ployes."
The bill said about 1,400 employees
will lose their positions December 1;
Treasury officials have estimated the