Evening star., 1934-05-17
Merit System and Patronage.

Inc row over WneJncT tne new
Federal prohibition enforcement
agency-the Alcohol Tax Unit of the
packed with Republicans when, ap-
parently, 1t should have been packed
with Democrats, is best understood
against a background of the history
of the personnel OF this organizat ation.
At the outset of the Hoover admin
istration, when the scandals of po-
litlcally chosen prohibition agents
were receiving increasing condemna-
ton from the public, the old Prohibi-
ton Bureau was transferred from the
Treasury to the Department of JUS
tice and a new deal was promised in
requiring that agents must take COM
petitive civil service examinations
along with strict character tests
About half of the prohibition agents
failed in one test or another and were
thrown cut. From that time on pro-
hibition agents were selected from the
civil service list, providing they could
pass the character test.
With repeal of the eighteenth
amendment, the Prohibition Bureau
was abolished, as such, and its func-
tions split among various bureaus OF
the Department of Justice. The
executive order abolishing the bureau
contained a section permitting en-
ployes who were dropped to retain
their civil service status and to be re-
inStated within four months without
new examina tion. As 1t is a we'll
established principle of the civil serv-
ice that employees who are dropped
without cause retain their civil serv-
ice status, this particular section of
the executive order was superfuous
and confusing.
Now Secretary Morgenthau is max
ing a commendable effort to build up
the alcohol tax unit to cope with
a bootlegging industry which appar-
emily has suffered nothing-snd even
gained in prestige because of its rela-
lively cheap liquor-throush repeal OF
prohibition. Some IT'S old employees
of the discarded Prohibition Bureau
have been reinstated in the alcohol
tax unit without competitive examina-
tion. They already have civil service
status, despite the confusing section
of the executive order which appar-
emily sought to limit the retention OF
that status to four months. They
are men who have had from two to
seven years experience and who have
already passed civil service COMPETE
tive examination and the character
tests and have good records.
The charge that they are Repub-
licans and therefore should be made
to take new civil service examinations,
is somewhat astonishing. II the in
ference is logically extended, it means
that Republicans cannot pass civil
service examinations, while Democrats
can. II that is the case, 1t means an
end of the merit system and an un-
disguised return to the sp0ils system.
Many of the former Prohibition
Bureau employees, under civil service
were discharged when that bureau was
dismantled at the Department of JUS
tice last July. and their places were
taken by patronage appointees who
have never passed a competitive civil
service examination.
If the merit system is to be ap-
piled to maintain efficiency and
to block politics from the new pro-
hibition enforcement agency, nobody
can object. But If the merit system
is to be applied through a competi-
tive civil service examination under
taken to weed out alleged Republicans
and to save deserving Democrats, the
administration might as well kiss the
merit system eood-by and throw 1t
out of the window. 1t will no longer
be a merit system.