Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-01-23
New Mexico Senator
Sees Need of Curbs
On Politics

On Politics
Senator Carl A. Hatch, Democrat
of New Mexico discussed the cur
rent movement to extend the Hatch
Act political activities ban to State
employees last night in the National
Radio Forum, arranged by The Star
and broadcast over Nation wide
network of the National Broadcast
ing Co. The text of his address
follows:
In a recent broadcast, I COM
mented on the fact that notwith-
standing the passing of more than
so years since the enactment of the
original civil service law, the goal
of an effective merit system for civil
employees had not been completely
attained. Tonight, thanks to the
opportunity afforded by The WASH
ington Evening Star, sponsors of
this program, and James B. Burns,
president of the American Fedora
ton of Government Employees, who
kindly requested me to speak this
evening, shall discuss some of the
obstacles against which the merit
system has had to contend through
out the years.
Scoffers may say the law is at
fault, but the Pendleton Act, which
is the foundation of our Federal
merit system, is not deficient. 1t is
broad and comprehensive measure.
Damage Began in 1920.
The beginning of practices detri-
mental to the merit system may be
traced to the year 1920. In that
year, Congress passed what came
to be called the -four years law"
That law vastly increase the num-
Der of Federal appointees and gave
a fixed term of four years for many
of them. OF this law, Thomas JET
ferson, writing to Madison, said, and
I quote Jefferson's words: 1T will
keep in constant excitement all the
hungry commorantS for office,
render them, as we'll as those in
place sycophants to their Senators,
engage these in eternal intrigue to
turn one out and put in another, in
cabals to swap work, and make of
them all what all executive direc-
tories become, mere sinks of cor
ruption and faction" 1 end the
quotation. Whether responsibility
should be placed on the four years
law or not, the fact remains that
early in the history of our country,
pork and patronage became securely
fixed in our Government. Efforts
to build an efficient system of merit
have always been opposed, held back
and hampered by what we COM
monty term the "spoils system"
The spoils system has been
described by one of America s
leading historians in the following
language, which quote: When
ever a new political party came
into power, all, or nearly all, the
employees were turned out of Office
to make room for members of the
victorious party. Persons were ap-
pointed, not because they were
competent, but because they were
Republicans or Democrats, or
partisans of some other kind.
Competent officials and laborers
were discharged after long and
faithful service, and inexperienced
politicians were put in their places.
Unnecessary positions were created
to provide employment for party
workers. Salaries were not closely
related to the nature of the work,
but rather to the requirements Of
the political incumbent. Those who
held Offices were expected to de-
vote part Of their time toward
helping the party in elections, and
often they gave more hours to
partisan services than to public
duties. They made large contrib
utions from their salaries to party
campaign funds. and if they failed
to contribute, they were assessed
by the party treasurers. In course
of time, the public officers in each
party, and those who aspired to
hold Office, became closely organized
as party workers. They made up
the bulk Of party committees and
conventions. They were directing
captains in election campaigns. In
short, the political party became,
to considerable extent, an Office
getting machine; the ordinary citi-
zen was elbowed aside by Office
holders who had an abundance OF
time at public expense to do the
active work Of parties. Thus ad-
ministration was perverted from
Its true purposes OF serving the
public and made subordinate to
the job-hunting interests" The
quotation ends.
Merit Attempts Made.
That the spoils system is ac-
curately described, and that it has
ever been the enemy Of the merit
system cannot be denied by any
one who is at all familiar with his
country's political history. Yet the
struggle to build an efficient merit
system began early. In 1871 Con-
gress passed law authorizing the
President to prescribe rules to adj
minister the civil service. President
Grant appointed a Civil Service
Commission, but after two years
Congress refused further appro-
priations and the effort died. Last
week the House Of Representatives
eliminated an appropriation for
the Council of Personnel Admins
tration, which President Roosevelt
believes is essential to the efficiency
of the civil service. Is history at
tempting to repeat itself? But more
of that later
On January Is, 1888, the Pendle-
ton Act became the law. That law
tN ,,o ro,,,ioo