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as occasion seemed to demand. And it must be added that the President uniformly received such information and such suggestions with great courtesy, and with the assurance that they would have his earnest consideration.
But some time ago he gave us to understand that he purposed to issue an order excepting certain important classes of offices from the operation of the civil service law, against which we thought it our duty respectfully to remonstrate, hoping to convince him that such exceptions were unnecessary and would be injurious to the public interest. When the report that such an order would after all be issued continued to appear, the League thought it proper to submit to him a more formal protest, which has been spread before the public, together with elaborate briefs showing in detail how uncalled for, as we thought, as well as how hurtful, such curtailments of the merit system would be.
So far the order in question has not appeared, but we have no assurance of any sort that the President has changed his mind as to his intention to issue it. Under these circumstances I can only repeat the appeal made to him by the General and Executive Committees of the League in these words:
“We believe that changes, whereby positions and classes of positions are now removed permanently from the classified service, will be accepted not only as a step backward, but as proof that the system is not regarded by the present administration as here, and here to stay, and will inevitably awaken doubts as to the sincerity of repeated declarations of the party now dominant in national affairs that the law establishing it shall be thoroughly and honestly enforced and extended wherever practicable. How far this view of the action said to be contemplated would be just or reasonable, we do not think it needful to discuss: we lay before you our conviction that it would be the view taken, in fact, by the intelligent public, that it would impair the confidence of many patriotic Americans in the honor and good faith of their government, and that it would encourage the pernicious activity of men interested in our polities principally as a means of securing selfish advantage. We urge earnestly, that these grave evils may be guarded against.” And I may add that if the President should after all decide to abstain from issuing such an order that decision
