Evening star., 1939-07-30
Signing Of Hatch Bill Will Open
New Era in American Politics
Ban on Activity by Government Employees Likely
To Mean Wholesale Change in Delegations
to 1910 National Conventions
By J. A. O'Learv.

The national conventions of 1910 will
usher in a new era in American politics
If President Roosevelt makes the Hatch
bill law by signing it.
Throughout the country local political
leaders no doubt are waiting with more
than casual interest to see what the
President will do, because even the
stanchest friends of the measure, de-
signed to divorce the Government service
from politics, do not believe it could be
passed over a White House veto.
The section of the bill prohibiting
nearly all holders of patronage jobs from
going as delegates to the conventions
would cause wholesale changes in the
cast of characters of the next Demo-
cratic conclave. Likewise, whenever the
Republicans are in power it would
change materially the makeup of G. O.
P. delegations by preventing all except
officials in policy making positions from
taking any active part in the manage
ment of campaigns.
For many years the conventions OF
both parties have been marked by the
presence of a goodly number OF office
holding delegates, Republican or Demo-
cratic, depending on which party was in
power the preceding four years to dis
pense the patronage.
There has been periodic agitation for
restrictive legislation, on the theory that
an offce-holding delegate is likely to
vote to retain the power that appointed
him. But, like so many reform meas
ures, this came to be regarded as some
thing that would be debated now and
then, but never passed. Within the past
three months, however, it gained sur
prising strength and is now an impor-
tant feature of the Hatch bill which
seeks also to protect relief workers and
Government employees generally from
political coercion.
Measure Twice Defeated.
The headway made at this session on
the proposal is all the more remarkable
when it is recalled that in April of 1898
only Is months ago-the Senate de-
feated by a decisive vote move by
Senator Hatch, Democrat, of New Mex
leo, couched in the identical language
of the present bill, to bar political ap-
pointees from active campaigning, such
as becoming delegates to party conven-
tions.
Then came the work relief bill of
June, 1888 when Senator Hatch again
was defeated, by narrow margin, in an
effort to ban politics from relief. In the
ensuing primary and election campaigns
charges of politics in relief few thick and
fast, keeping the Senate Campaign Ex-
penditures Committee, headed by Sena-
tor Sheppard, Democrat, of Texas, busy
until Congress met in January.
When Congress reconvened several bills
were drafted and referred to the Privi-
leges and Elections Committee. After
the committee had gone over them,
Senator Sheppard, Senator Hatch and
Senator Austin, Republican, of Vermont,
joined in offering the measure which
now needs only the Presidents signature
to make it law. The allegations made
during the 1888 campaign undoubtedly
gave the bill the strength it needed to
get through the Senate and House.
The bill is being interpreted by many
In political circles here as an aid to the
boom for Vice President Garner for the
Democratic nomination next year Un-
doubtedly it would make it somewhat
harder for New Dealers to line up a
Roosevelt third term convention-as-
suming the President decides to run. To
that extent. it would help any aspirant
seeking to succeed Mr.. Roosevelt.
Began Work in 1886.
But, to show that he was not think
Ing of next year, Senator Hatch points
out that he began working on the bill
Immediately after the 1886 convention,
when no thought was being given to
1910, or to possible candidates for that
year. In fact, the New Mexico Senator
was attracted to the subject first by the
efforts of a Republican, the late Sem
ator Steiwer of Oregon, who began prior
to 1885 urging the Senate to prohibit
the selection of Government office hold
ers as delegates to political conventions.
Discussing the effect of the bill on
future political conventions, Senator
Hatch said:
Il hope that with the elimination of
Government office holders from the con-
ventions, citizens generally will take a
greater interest in the affairs of the DO
litical parties. hope that interest will
increase, and I believe it will make for
freer and better conventions"
The section of the bill which would
leave United States marshals, district
attorneys, customs officers and a host of
other Government appointees ineligible
to be convention delegates, or to take
the stump as campaign orators, reads
as follows:
at shall be unlawful for any person
employed in the executive branch of
the Federal Government or any agency
or department thereof, to use his official
authority or influence for the purpose
of interfering with an election or af-
fecting the results thereof. No officer
or employe in the executive branch of
the Federal Government or any agency
or department thereof, shall take any
active part in political management or
in political campaigns. All such persons
shall retain the right to vote as they may
choose and to express their opinions on
all political subjects For the purposes of
this section the term officer or EN-
ploye' shall not be construed to include