Evening star., 1936-08-02
New Deal Jobs as Cam.
paign Liabilities.
BY OWEN L. SCOTT.


worst fears.
big Jim" Farley surveyed the situa-
ton little more than three years ago
and saw the following:
A quota of 100000 non-civil service
Jobs that go to any political party with
the strength to capture control of the
National Government from its rivals.
The alluring prospect of what turned
out to be 250,000 additional jobs growing
from the increase in the tasks performed
by Government.
A chance to send checks to $500 600
farmers. 3,500,000 unemployed and hun
dredS Of thousands Of other voting citi-
zenS who fit into Government spending
program.
Nothing quite like it had occurred in
the peacetime history of the country. To
politician the combination appeared
unbeatable.
Yet now President Roosevelt, seeking
reelection finds what had appeared
earlier to be an unparalleled political
asset turning out to be big potential
liability and the chief basis of opposi-
tion attack. He faces the necessity of
defending emergency spending of $12.-
600 100000 and of explaining an expan-
high of 820,000-a figure rivaled only
during the war.
He is charged with allowing his pa
tronage dispenser. Mr.. Farley, to pad
the pay rolls with scores of thousands
OF deserving Democrats, with using re-
lief rolls as means of furthering party
interests, with making party regularity
requirement for ob-holding and with
abusing spending powers.
X
What do the facts show, so far as
they can be determined?
They show that. out of 100000 Federal
employees fewer than 47O.OOO are in the
classified civil service This means that
350.000 regular Government jobs-out-
side the millions in w. P. A-are avail
able for party workers.
They show that political clearance"
involving Endorsement of the applicant
by party officials extending down to
precinct committeeman, is required for
nearly all jobs outside the civil service,
extending even to foremen and super
visors on Works Progress Administra-
ton projects.
They show that pay rolls are padded
In many departments with deserving
gress. former Senators. former Governors
and others-who do little or nothing to
earn their salaries.
They show that Federal pay roll
with 572.091 jobs on July /. 1893. had
increased to Federal pay roll of ap-
proximately 850.000 on July /, 1886.
But the aScertainable facts also show
that:
pn1itiNaV n1a fy, To-
centage of cases involved a mere
formality that became routine This
was particularly true in the selection of
personnel in the grades of service above
stenographers and clerks. Similar re-
quirements had been applied during pre-
vious administrations, with the practice
attracting attention only because of the
larger number of new jobs
The classified civil service was unpre-
pared to provide personnel with the
speed required during the period when
the New Deal was swinging into action
1t is hedged about by endless red tape.
It's methods are not modern and its
machinery is not geared to pick out
the type OF specialists needed by the
Government for the experiments of
recent years.
Gov. Landon. as Republican presi-
dental nominee, promises that all Gov
ernment jobs from the grade Of Under
secretary of a major department down
to the grade of clerk in that department
will be placed under civil service in the
event of his election.
Most old-line Government depart
ments already are under civil service.
Mr.. Roosevelt is just extending the clas-
Sif1ed service to include first, second and
third class postmasters.
But a major criticism of the President
in the campaign will center around his
creation of a huge Federal machine
among emergency departments outside
of civil service.
The arguments Of Gov. Landon, in
any event, are to be met with presenta-
ton of facts that show there exists no
civil service of any kind in the State of
Kansas. and with evidence that, as Gov
ernor, Mr. Landon has made no attempt
at home to put the State workers under
civil service system.
Chief worries of the Presidents po-
litical aides. however, grow out of an
other question. That question is: Are
the billions for direct relief and work.
ICllCA lain olO dLlu WOlho
being distributed on political basis?
Opponents of the President argue that
they are. They have offered letters to
applicants for C. C. c. jobs and for
w. P. A. jobs telling them to put their
job requests through the regularly estab-
lished political machinery. They point
to actions by Washington officials to
punish some relief officials for engaging
in political activity as evidence that this
activity is INDUCED in.
Actually, the situation Is this: In
creating w. P. A., Congress inserted a
requirement that all appointments
carrying salaries above $4,000 must be
confirmed by the Senate That is the
signal for political selection of higher
officials. Those officials, particularly
State administrators, in turn were ex-
pected to select their stats on partisan
basis.
There Is little denying that politics
figured in selection of w. P. A. personnel
down to the level of supervisors and
foremen on jobs The big question is
whether the selection of unemployed to
get work on projects was based on politics
and whether work was based on political
support for the machine represented by
the State administrators.
Relatively little evidence is to be had
that the millions of w. P. A. jobs we're
doled out on a political basis When
nn1itical activity has heep hrnI,uht to