Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 13, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1909 — M’VEAGH ORDERS A 'SQUARE DEAL' [ARTICLE]

M’VEAGH ORDERS A 'SQUARE DEAL'

Gaugers Get Back Places Taken From Them. CORRECTS AN INJUSTICE Investigates Claim That Government Employe* Were Not Treated on a Civil Service Basis—Seven Men of Terre Haute District Benefit by the Ruling of the Secretary of the Treas-ury-Statement Made That Politics Caused the Reductions and Advancements.

the Treasury MacVeagh has corrected what he believes to have been gross political injustice in the Terre Haute, Ind., internal revenue collection district. On Jan. 18 last, seven Democratic gaugers were reduced to store keeper gaugers, and a number of Republican store keeper gaugers were promoted to be gaugers. The civil service commission "nade an investigation of the accusation that the changes were made for political reasons, and reported its findings sustaining the charges. By the secretary’s order the men are restored to their original positions and status.

It was reported by the civil service commission that the eleven men promoted were Republicans and the seven men who were reduced and subsequently suspended were Democrats. It appears that President Roosevelt, on March 2, 1909, directed a reversal of the instructions of Jan. 18. the purpose of which was to restore the men to the positions held by them prior to the change. This order was carried out only so far as to restore the seven Democrats to the position of gaugers, but the eleven Republican store keeper gaugers who had been promoted were allowed to keep their places, making eighteen men serving as gaugers. In the report of its finding in the case, the civil service commission quotes from the testimony of Collector John R. Bonnell, of the Terre Haute district, to the effect that most of the seven Democrats who were reduced were much more efficient than several of the men advanced and two of the Republicans who had been promoted ranked very poor as to efficiency, having made more errors during the past two years than all seven of the Democrats who had been reduced. Bonnell is quoted as stating that the commissioner of internal revenue in Washington had said in effect that Senator Hemenway and Representative Watson wanted the changes made, and that he made them for Hemenway.