Evening Star Newspaper, October 28, 1936, Page 6

BY the Assoclated Press. PITTSBURGH, October 28.— The text of Gov. Alf M. Landon’s address last night follows: This great gathering of Ameri- eans is a stirring sight. It is proof of yuur deep concern in the prob- lems that face us. One of these I ‘want to discuss with you tonight— the problem of the mismanage- ment of our Government by the present administration. I am go- ing to talk about the most open, the most crude and the most brutal use of the spoils system this coun- try has ever seen. It is fitting that T should discuss this subject in Pennsylvania on the birthday of Theodore Roose- velt. You in Pennsylvania were devoted to him. You, in common with all Americans, recognize the great lift he gave to the ideals of American Government. And I may recall to you that Theodore Roosevelt began his na- tional career in Washington as a member of the Civil Service Com- mission and he put this commis- sion on the map. Government is a public service enterprise, Every official is a trus- tee for the people. Men and wom- en who work for the Government should devote themselves without conflicting loyalties to the public service. They should be selected on the basis of their ability and irrespective of their politics. Instances Cited of Outspoken Support by President. ‘We had every reason to expect that these principles would be ob- served by President Roosevelt when he came into office. He had fre- quently, in the course of his public life, heartily indorsed the merit system of classified civil service. After his election he continued to indorse the merit system. For instance, in a letter to the Civil Service Reform League in Au- gust, 1933, the President wrote: “The merit system in civil service is in no danger at my hands.” Two years later in a letter to the Civil Service Reform League, dated September 17, 1935, he again wrote: “The merit system has been and will continue to be extended dur- ing my administration.” And in a letter to the League of Women Voters, read on the radio January 30, 1936, he said: “There can be no question of greater moment or broader effect than the maintenance, strengthening and extension of the merit system * * * I am glad to assure your great or- ganization of my support in this effort.” These are words that could not help but meet the approval of all those interested in the cause of good government. Now let us look at the record of the past four years. Farley Article on Patronage in American Magasine Cited. In July, 1933, in a signed article in the American Magazine, called *“Passing Out the Patronage,” the Postmaster General of the United States said: “The Democrats have the right * * * to supplant one- fifth, or 150,000, of the Federal office holders * * * The final decision on all these questions naturally rests with the President himself. I am simply his helper.” Then the Postmaster General continued: “The patronage is a reward to those who have worked for party victory. It is also an as- sistance in building party ma- chinery for the next election * * * I am a trustee of something that does not belong to me. The patron- age belongs to the Democratic party.” ‘Those were frank words. It is not even necessary to read between the lines to understand them. They mean that every job that could be made available to party workers was to be made available. They meant that every dollar of the public money that could be used to help the party was to be used. They meant that the Postmaster General—who was also chairman of the Democratic National Com- mittee, and who was also chaire man of the New York State Demo- cratic Committee—was authorized to create a vast army of political mercenaries in order to entrench the present administration in power, ‘There you have the sordid, oper= ating plan of a President who claims to believe in the ideals of civil service—a President who only a month later wrote: “The merit system in civil service is in no danger in my hands.” Number of Patronage Jobs Grew by Leaps and Bounds. Now let us see how this plan was put into effect. Here are the figures. On March 4, 1933, there were regular departments? They had their pay reduced and many were discharged in the name of econ- omy. And this is not good govern= ment. The net result has been that the proportion of executive employes under the civil service has dropped- from above 80 per cent in 1933 to approximately 60 per cent last June. The progress of a quarter of a century under five-Presidents has been lost—Ilost in three and one- half years under one President—a . President who said only a year ago: “The merit system has been and will continue to be extended during my administration.” This administration insisted that the depression had all the aspects of a great war. It maintained that ordinary traditional methods must be set aside—that great power must be centralized temporarily in the executive. It pleaded that all par- tisanship be forgotten—that petty advantage be sunk in this time of common need. Along with the great majority of my fellow-citizens I co-operated with the Chief Executive in our common fight for national recon- struction. We all had the right to assume that the administration would set aside and work as & genuine National Gov- ernment. This it has not done. The great authority asked, and given, in the name of emergency has been used for personal and party advantage. Letter and Spirit of Merit System Held Disregarded. For three and one-half years both the letter and the spirit of the merit system have been synically disregarded. Government em- ployes have been forced into the ranks of & national political ma- chine, headed by the President and his Postmaster General—a machine organized by the President’s Cam- paign Committee, supported off the public pay rolls, and controlled by the President’s power of appoint- ment and removal. And this is not good government. This administration has gone hog-wild in adding new agencies and accumulating new powers. It has created 75 new alphabetical what-nots. Many of these are little more than duplications of agencies already in existence. The conflict and confusion among all these agencies is so great that finally the President has appointed a grand co-ordinator—a grand co- ordinator whose functions over- lap the functions of three over- lapping agencies studying the prob- lem of over-lapping functions of over-lapping agencies. Some of these agencies have im« mense powers, yet are responsible to no cabinet officer. They report only to the President or to some independent agency. In addition, under this admin- istration 42 corporations have been created by Congress or incor- porated under State laws. Many of these are absolutely in- dependent of Congress. Many have the power to pledge the Govern- ment’s credit withdut control by Congress, and can even compete with private business. And this is not good government. Small wonder that the President told Congress in his report on the state of the Union last January that his administration had set up new instruments of public power— instruments capable of shackling our liberties and enslaving the people unless they were in the hands of & people’s government. G. O. P. Opposed to Powers That Would Shackle Liberty. The Republican party is opposed to powers and policies that could be used by any one to shackle the liberties of the people or enslave the public. It is doubly opposed to such powers and policies when the people’s Government is itself threatened by a disciplined na- tional political machine. We are seeing today, for the first time, the machine politics of our large cities applied on & national scale. We are getting the first taste of the bitter fruits of personal governe ment. We are feeling the yoke of & Electrified Mileage Text of Landon’s Pittsburgh Address Nominee Pledges Sweeping Return to Merit System—Attack Made on New Deal Patronage Policies. ‘Government of spoilsmen, by spoilsmen and for spoilsmen. ‘With the increasing ibili- ties of government, it is absolutely ‘essential that we have a body of trained public servauts. The merit system must be restored, expanded and improved. The extension of the syslem must include the open- ing of higher positions to advance- ment through merit. Building & better and broader civil service will raise the standards of both the administrative and legislative branches of our Govern- ment. It will save us money. It ‘will not only give us better admin- istration, it will give us better legis~ lation. It will enable our legisia~ tors to concentrate on legislation. The time has come to end this political debauch. The chief need of the Federal Government today is a good old-fashioned Spring house cleaning. When I am President, I propose LISTEN: TO to make such a house cleaning. They are not overpaid. They are not responsible for the waste and extravagance of the administra- tion. The waste and extravagance is outside the classified civil service. As Chief Executive I intend to give my close personal attention to the actual administraiton of Gov- ernment departments. I intend to ask Congress imme- diately for legislation giviog me au- thority to extend the merit system by executive order. Every position in the executive departments and agencies below the rank of assistant secretary should be filled either by promotion for merit or by competi- tive examinations. At the same time, I intend to ask for authority to insure a real re- organization and consolidation of Goverament bureaus and agencies, And I intend to ask that adequate appropriations be given to the Civil Service Commission. I shall appoint.4o the cabinet and other executive positions only those ‘whose belief in the merit system will lead to its full support. I shall ap- point only men of ability with records of actual accomplishment. And under my administration ho man who remains a member of the C., WEDNESDAY. Republican National Committee will be connected in any capacity with the executive branch of the Gov- ernment. It is imperative that the mem- bers of the Civil Service Commission should thoroughly understand the problems of Government personnel, It is imperative they administer the civil service laws impartially and humanely. I shall ask the commission to study at once the best way to place part-time and contract employes within the merit system, To Ask Commission te Provide Open Hearings for Employes, And I shall ask that the Civil Service Commission provide open hearings—a court of appeals—for employes against whom charges have been made that may lead to the loss of their jobs. When such charges are made the accuser sould face the accused. In my opin- fon anything short of such pro- tection to our Government worker is unjust and un-American. A trained and efficient civil service personnel is a sound eco- nomic investment. It should ap- peal to every taxpayer. Political turnover in Government offices en- courages waste, inefficiency, and neglect of duty. It destroys morale. It lowers respect for Government ‘OCTOBER. 28, 1936. service. We need in Government more civil servants like the rank and file of post office employes— faithful men and women who have been appointed on merit and have advanced on merit. It is my intention to broaden the system of promotion in each de- partment so that employes may look forward to continuous ad- vancement, More than 10 ago Mr. Roosevelt wrote to the National Civil Service Reform League as follows: “I should lke to see one of the great parties come forward with a challenge to the othe. party offering to enter into a compact to uphold and maintain the civil service; to recognize that while a few positions at the top—policy- making positions, must of necessity be filled by party men, the over- whelming majority of Government employes should be something more than party workers.” Since writing those words Mr. Roosevelt has become President. As the head of one of the great parties and as President he not only has been shadow-boxing with his own challenge; he has aban- doned his own principles. ‘The time has come to get rid of this tax-eating bureaucracy. We must return to & liberal Demo=- cratic system. ‘The task of those who follow this administration will be no bed of roses. It will not be & job for feniuses who despise arithmetic, It will be a grinding undramatic responsibility — without fireworks and without showmanship. It will call for the simple virtues without which no family, no business, and no Government can long endure. But the task can be performed. It can be performed by an ad- ministration detéermined to give our. people & Government that is efficient, economical and honest. It can be performed because the American people wiil support an administration which ' is looking after their affairs instead of try- ing to perpetuate itself in power. As Chief Executive I shall devote myself to this task will all the energy and determination that I posséss. As Chief Executive I in- ténd to have good Government. —_— Father of 5 Is Sought. RALEIGH, N. C., October 28 (#).— Gov. Ehringhaus asked Virginia au- thorities yesterday to allow the return to. this State of Grover Cleveland Robertson, father of five children who is wanted in Surry County on aban- donment and nongsupport charges. He is said to be living in Carroll County, Va. \ Dramatist to Lecture Here. Alexander Dean, héad of the drams department at Yale University, will meet the drama classes at the King- Smith Studio School tomorrow, and lecture in the evening before -the Theater Arts students at the Play- house near the Shoreham Hotel. Dean is known through his direction of Broadway productions and &3 & writer. ———————— COLDS What to Do for Them MILBURN'S CAPSULES relleve com- mon solds amazingly quick. They start work immediately . .4 make you feel better right away . . . by antipy- retic action tend to reduce fever. They curb nasty symptoms of a cold quickly and often relieve colds in a few hours, if taken as directed. Mildly laxative, Get a package of MILBURN'S CAP- SULES st any good drug store Only 35c. MILBURN'S CAPSULES THE MOST SOLID SOUND IN 1937 CARS! Bank workers hear it—whenever a steel vault is closed. Housewives hear it—every time they shut their modern steel refrigerators. It’s that unmistakable sound of solid steel meeting solid steel through an air-tight rubber cushion. And if you walk into any General Motors showroom you’ll hear it, too —as salesmen and visitors thud home the doors in the new UNISTEEL TURRET TOP BODY BY FISHER! This solid substantial sound—without a trace of tinniness—is to the safe- ty-wise and value-wise car buyer enough to make him say, “That’s the car I want!” For, simple as it is, it yet expresses the new luxury and security that this advanced kind of steel body assures on the highway and throughout the years of its use. Slam those bigger doors. Hear 1t ? Your ears, as well as your eyes, detect the wel- come difference which now 7 Here is steel armor without one vulnerable spot. Here is luxurious safety without the usual “ifs,” and “‘ands.” And you can’t miss the attention that has been given to make the new Unisteel Body completely comfortable. It is roomier, front and back. Floors are lower for increased leg room. Doors are wider and deeper. There is a new two-way adjustable front seat. Your first glance tells you what an improvement in streamlining style Unisteel construction now makes possible! Be among the first to examine this progressive development in motor ear body construction and design. Every General Motors dealer in your vicinity will have the new 1937 cars with Unisteel Turret Top Body by Fisher—a major feature available only on General Motors cars. Here is more than just an improved steel body. It isthe first steel body of its kind—the only steel body that is all-of-a-piece with top, sides, bottom and floor in one solid steel unit. 100,000 jobs available for patron= age; 100,000 jobs that could be given to loyal party workers. But apparently this was not enough. 8o the personnel of the innumer- able new alphabetical agencies created was exempted from civil service requirements, By June 30, 1934, the patronage list had more than doubled—it was 222,000. A year later it was 264,000. And by June 30, 1936, it was $25,000. In other words, the patronage ‘has tripled under the President and his Postmaster General. This is a direct violation of the Presi- dent’s promises. This is not good government. Now I know there has been patronage under all administra- tions. No party has a monopoly of virtue in this respect. But never before has distribution of patronage been organized into a gigantic business conducted in ‘Government buildings by a cabinet officer. And this is not good government. And in this case the now thread- bare excuse of emergency does not hold water. The President should recall that the Wilson administra- tion, of which he was a member, actually increased the percentage of those under the merit system during one of the greatest emer- gencies we ever faced—the war. Political Patronage Army Twice as Big as U. 8. Army. * ‘The Army available for this ad- ministration’s political machine is twice as big as the regular Army of the United States. It is Here is one-piece steel-on-steel rigidity. . . . from the arched and crowned steel Turret Top . . . down over the drawn steel side panels to the steel underbody structure and solid steel floor. « . « Clips time smooths the ride to New York Forty trains to and frem the heart of Manhatten...smocther oo faster. .. they're all clean and quist because d. Only ivenia Railroad offers so @ service ...a train ready to take you when you're ready to go. The CONGRESSIONAL . . . 226 miles in 215 minutes. Lv. Wash- ington 4:00 P. M. Ar. New York 7:35P. M. To BOSTON...3 through trains daily, The COLONIAL EXPRESS,\ The SENATOR, FEDERAL ‘EXPRESS. : It costs s0 little by troin—2¢c @ mile in coaches — 3¢ ile in Pullmans (plus Pullman fare). Pennsylvania Railroad Behind this stronger steel exterior, even the steel cross-bows under the steel top . . . the steel pillars that support the steel panels and steel doors . . . the “U”-shaped steel cross-members and lengthwise steel rockers that reinforce the steel floor . . . are fused-in integral parts of the entire Unisteel Body, not individual steel units bolted together. : . Fisb,’ 2 and g,, ter;, ftingy™ " Myling_ ([ Ristee| ] “’"'”"tti.. tirg *diuatayy, fromt 4oy "'"""*v ‘The increase in the Federal pay roll as a result of this political army is more than $500,000,000 a year. ‘Yet with all the expansion of pat~ ronage jobs what happened to the faithful civil service employes of N\ v