ining surgeons from some 30 classified boards, the removal of surgeons from boards in which one or two of the members receive a compensation entitling them to classification, and the creation of additional boards composed of members who have not passed a civil-service examination, to which boards the applicants for pension are sent; the removal of special pension examiners for the admitted reason that their places were desired in order that ex-employees might be reinstated, and the making of a large number of reductions and promotions in the force of the Pension Bureau proper. From March 1 to October 31, 1897, there were 264 persons reduced in salary in the Pension Office and 457 persons promoted. The disproportion between the number of reductions and promotions is due to the fact that oftentimes a high-grade employee is reduced through several grades, thus making possible a number of promotions. It must be borne in mind that a number of removals and a large number of reductions in rank were made in the force under the Commissioner of Pensions during the early part of the last Administration. In the response of the Commission to a resolution of the Senate of January 23, 1894, calling for a statement of investigations of alleged violations of the civil-service law and rules, the following appears: "The Commission has recently begun two investigations, which may or may not come under the head of those embraced in the Senate resolution. One is in reference to 24 clerks in the Bureau of Pensions, Interior Department, who, it is alleged, were discharged for political reasons, all being Republicans, while at the same time, as is alleged, about 200 reductions and promotions were made in this Bureau for similar reasons." * * * All instances of apparent violation of the law or rules coming to the knowledge of the Commission have been brought to the notice of the Interior Department, its attention called, wherever deemed necessary, to the particular provision of the law or rules apparently contravened, and the correction of the matter requested. Thus far the Department has done little looking toward a final settlement of these cases. The reasons assigned for removing pension examining surgeons have rarely been meritorious, and in some instances political influence has been admitted. In the following pages will be found in outline the history of all instances of alleged violations of the civil-service law or rules in connection with boards of pension examining surgeons, together with the specific action taken in each case. In three of the five cases investigated (throughout the classified service), in which persons were charged with levying political assessments, evidence was secured which resulted in the removal from the service of the parties implicated, and in one instance in their conviction and punishment through the Department of Justice. Investigations of alleged appointments and removals in violation of the rules have been made by the Commission in every case to which its attention was called in which the charges appeared to be based on reasonable grounds, and every effort has been used to prevent such removals and appointments. As a step in this direction the following correspondence was had with the Treasury Department: "The SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. "AUGUST 31, 1897. "SIR: Under civil-service acts in New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, and in several cities whose charters embody systems of appointment through examination, checks are imposed upon the payment of salaries by comptrollers and auditing officers to persons appointed in violation of the rules governing the examinations. As a result of these provisions, illegal appointments and evasions of the law are there comparatively rare. "The Illinois civil-service act, for instance, contains provisions on this subject as follows: Sections 29, 30, 31, and 32, in brief, forbid the payment of salary or wages by a comptroller or other auditing officer unless the officer or employee is occupying an office or place of employment according to the provisions of the law and is entitled to payment therefor. The city commissions established under the Illinois act are required to certify to the comptroller or other auditing officer all appointments to offices and places in the classified service, and all vacancies occurring therein, and all findings respecting discharges approved by the commission. Nominations to the Postmaster-General for appointment at post-offices are sent by messenger from the Post-Office Department to the Commission for check of approval before final action is taken by the Department. Under this system complaints of illegal appointments at post-offices have ceased. "The complete success of the civil-service act depends upon the cooperation of all public officers in making appointments, promotions, and transfers under the methods provided by the civil-service law for those purposes. An absolute restriction upon the payment of any salary or compensation to a person appointed in evasion or violation of the law would be of the greatest aid in securing its enforcement. The Commission is of the opinion that under the seventh section of the civil-service act of January 16, 1883, no person can be lawfully paid from the public treasury who has not been appointed in conformity with the rules, for the reason that such appointments are prohibited, and are consequently illegal. "If all disbursing officers would regard this statute and insist on evidence of legal appointment before making payment, there would soon be no cause for complaint of illegal or evasive appointments. The Commission hopes that the Secretary of the Treasury will take such action as will forbid the payment of salary or compensation by any disbursing officer to any person in the classified civil service unless evidence shall be furnished to such officer of the appointment of the person in conformity with the civil-service rules. "The people at large, who must furnish all the means for the payment of the expenses of the Government, and whose rights are entitled to respect from their own servants, would then be fully protected against ingenious evasions or bolder violations of the law. "The Commissioners will be in readiness at any time to confer with you respecting the adoption of measures looking to the establishment of some check upon the payment of salaries through the Treasury Department, the Comptroller, Auditors, and subordinate officials to persons illegally appointed. "Very respectfully, 66 WILLIAM G. RICE, Acting President." "TREASURY DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, "To the United States Ciril Service Commission. "A 'Departmental Service Record' is now being compiled, which will show how every officer, clerk, and employee entered the classified service. If, upon completion of this record, it shall be discovered that illegal appointments have been made, H. Doc. 314—19 proper measures will be taken or recommended to either remedy defects in such appointments or to remove the appointees. "In this connection permit me to call your attention to the fact that under date of July 25, 1896, the Comptroller of the Treasury decided that a compliance with the civil-service law has been treated by the accounting officers as one relating specifically to the various administrative departments, and that they have assumed that persons duly appointed to office or positions by the heads of the varions Departments or others have been so appointed in accordance with the provisions of the civil-service law and regulations, and in the absence of specific information to the contrary they will treat all such appointments as having been so made, and allow credit for compensation paid to such persons. "Respectfully, yours, “L. J. Gage, Secretary." Following are extracts from the opinion of the Comptroller of the Treasury referred to in the letter of the Secretary: "I would say that compliance with the civil-service law has been treated by the accounting officers as relating specifically to the various administrative departments and that they have assumed that persons duly appointed to office or positions by the heads of the various departments or others have been so appointed in accordance with the provisions of the civil-service law and regulations; and in the absence of specific information to the contrary they will treat all such appointments as having been so made and allow credit for compensation paid to such persons. “Rule VIII, referred to, only authorizes such temporary appointments 'subject to the approval of the Commission,' and limits the time of such appointments to ninety days. Under this rule it seems quite clear that no payment could be made to the person employed thereunder until his appointment was approved by the 'Commission, and in no event could payment continue for an employment exceeding ninety days."" In cases in which appointments appear to have been made in violation of the law or rules the Commission has requested the removal of the persons so appointed and addressed the Secretary of the Treasury requesting that the attention of the accounting officers be called to the appointments in order that such officers might have specific information that the persons were not appointed in accordance with the law. It has also recommended the reinstatement of all persons shown to have been improperly removed, and in two instances requested the removal of collectors of internal revenue for having violated the rules. SENATE INQUIRY INTO THE CIVIL SERVICE. By a resolution adopted by the United States Senate on March 23, 1897, the Senate Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment was directed, among other things, to "examine the operation of the law creating the Civil Service Commission and report whether the same should be continued, amended, or repealed." A subsequent resolution empowered this committee to send for persons and papers, to administer oaths, and to examine witnesses, under oath, touching the matters which it was empowered to investigate. In accordance with these resolutions witnesses were examined during the period from April 24, 1897, to the latter part of February, 1898. The testimony taken covers nearly 900 pages of the size of this report and enters into nearly every detail concerning the civil service of the Government and the operation of the system of appointment by competitive examination in the various services of the Government to which that system has been applied since the passage of the act inaugurating it. Three reports were submitted by the members of this committee, which, while varying in many respects, agree in finding that there is no need of legislation in regard to the classified civil service, the President having the power to make such modifications of the rules as may from time to time be found desirable. In one of these reports no suggestions or recommendations are made. In the other two the conclusions vary widely as to the number of places which should be excluded from classification, which exclusion would permit of their being filled at the pleasure of the heads of departments or bureaus. The more conservative report recommends the exclusion only of deputy collectors of internal revenue, deputy collectors of customs, private secretaries for whom, as such, appropriation is made by law, and law officers of the Government (assistant attorneys and deputy marshals). It also recommends a complete revision of the system of local boards of examining surgeons in connection with the Pension Bureau. The other report regards the present classification as too extensive and recommends the exclusion of deputy collectors of internal revenue, the deputy commissioner of internal revenue, internal-revenue agents, certain employees in the Light-House Service, the position of paymaster in the New York Custom-House, all positions in the custodian force, assistant attorneys and special agents in the Department of Justice, deputy marshals; a large number of positions in the Interior Department, including chief clerks in the Department proper and bureaus thereunder, confidential clerks, special agents, law examiners and law clerks, special examiners of the Pension Bureau, boards of examining surgeons, and several others; chiefs of divisions in the various departments, post-office inspectors, special agents in the Department of Agriculture, etc. Three of the eight members of this committee were also of the opinion that the classification of the Government Printing Office was not authorized by law, but recommended, in the event that this office remained in the classified service, that appointments to positions therein be apportioned, as far as possible, among the various States. With reference to the President's order in regard to removals this report finds that it appears to have been interpreted too narrowly; that the power of removal should be very broad. Two reports recommended that existing regulations be so changed that when a vacancy occurs and three names of persons eligible are certified for such vacancy the three names be forwarded to the local officer in charge of the office in which the vacancy exists, who shall designate the person to be selected for such vacancy, subject to the approval of the head of the department having jurisdiction of such office. The report recommending the smaller number of exemptions contains the following: "Much of this testimony is trivial, relates only to individual grievances, and throws no light upon the general working of the civil service. A smaller portion is of real value and deserves to be read in its entirety by all who are interested in the civil service of the Government and who desire to understand the present system of selection and appointment, as well as the work of the Commission, which has been faithful and honest, and which is described at length in the testimony of Mr. Procter. * "Under the law of 1883 the President of the United States has ample authority to extend or modify, by rules promulgated for that purpose, the conditions of entrance into the civil service of the United States and to determine the classes of persons in the Government employment to be selected and governed by these rules. If changes in rules or classifications are needed in any direction they can be made by the President, and they should be intrusted to him in conformity with the sound policy embodied in the law of 1883. "It also seems to the committee that the classified service ought to be extended to the Library of Congress and to all persons not unskilled laborers employed in the service of the District of Columbia, and that these extensions would be of great value to the public service." The full report of this committee, together with the testimony taken in the investigation, appears in Senate Report No. 659, Fifty-fifth Congress, second session. I. COMPLAINTS AFFECTING THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT. (1.) THE INTERNAL-REVENUE SERVICE. Richmond, Va., Internal-Revenue District. File 851. Collector Brady assumed charge of the office at Richmond on September 1, 1897, and at that time stated to the outgoing collector that while he was not in sympathy with the civil-service law, yet he had determined to make removals only in the case of persons holding excepted positions. Later he visited Washington, and upon his return dropped nine deputy collectors, who immediately filed protests with the commissioner against their separation by the act of the collector without compliance with the civil-service rules. Following this the Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue wrote to the collector that his action was entirely satisfactory to the Department and that the line on which he had proceeded was in conformity with the verbal instructions given him on his visit to the Department. The vacancies created were filled by the appointment, without examination, of new deputies, in violation of the civil-service rules, and some of these were shown to be members of political committees and active political workers, engaging in political work even after their appointment, contrary to the order of the President of July 14, 1886, limiting the partisan activity of Government employees. In regard to making appointments without examination the collector claimed that he was forced to do so by reason of the fact that at the time they were made but two names were on the eligible register, while he was entitled to three names from which to make a selection. It may be stated in this connection that on September 3, within three days after Mr. Brady assumed charge of his office, a sufficient number of eligibles to meet the exigencies of the service were supplied, and these could have been supplied within twenty-four hours had the Commission known that such action would be taken. Even if there were but two names upon the eligible register neither Mr. Brady nor the Department had authority to make temporary appointments by reason thereof without first obtaining the approval of the Commission in accordance with the provisions of section 12 of Rule VIII. The Comptroller of the Treasury has decided that no payment could be made to a person appointed without the approval of the Commission. In the matter of removals, however, Mr. Brady raised the contention that deputy collectors had been improperly classified, basing his contention on the provisions of section 3148 of the Revised Statutes. CONTENTION OF THE TREASURY DEPARTMENT UPON THE STATUS OF DEPUTY COLLECTORS. The following communication of the Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue, addressed to the Secretary of the Treasury, sets out the contention of the Treasury Department upon the status of deputy collectors: "WASHINGTON, D. C., September 20, 1897. "The honorable the SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY. "SIR: I have the honor to inclose herewith letter from Collector James D. Brady, of the second district of Virginia, setting forth his protest against any modification or limitation of the power vested in him as collector by section 3148 of the Revised Statutes with respect to the appointment and removal of his deputies. "This is a matter of so much importance in the administration of the internalrevenue laws and the proper transaction of the business of this Bureau that I request that it be referred to the honorable the Attorney-General, with the request that he advise your Department for the benefit of this Bureau what the law is on the following points: "Does the act of January 16, 1883, providing for the establishment of a Civil Service Commission, by implication or otherwise, repeal sections 3148 and 3149 of the |