made by a written request personally delivered in the forbidden place. * * - * When the defendant, while in the post office intentionally handed the postmaster a letter, knowing that it contained a request for a political contribution from the person to whom the letter was delivered, he undoubtedly violated the statute." (U. S. v. Smith, Dist. Ct. M. D. Ala., 1908, 163 Fed., 927.) "The Government of the United States has supreme and exclusive control over the places designated in sec rank or com SEC. 120. No officer or employee of the United States Change of mentioned in section one hundred and eighteen shall dis- pensation. charge, or promote, or degrade, or in any manner change the official rank or compensation of any other officer or employee, or promise or threaten so to do, for giving or withholding or neglecting to make any contribution of money or other valuable thing for any political purpose. (Crim. Code, in effect Jan. 1, 1910; reenactment of sec. 13, civil-service act.) by one officer SEC. 121. No officer, clerk, or other person in the serv- Contributions ice of the United States shall, directly or indirectly, give to another. or hand over to any other officer, clerk, or person in the service of the United States, or to any Senator or Member of or Delegate to Congress, or Resident Commissioner, any money or other valuable thing on account of or to be applied to the promotion of any political object whatever. (Crim. Code, in effect Jan. 1, 1910; reenactment of sec. 14, civil-service act.) SEC. 122. Whoever shall violate any provision of the Penalty. four preceding sections shall be fined not more than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned not more than three years, or both. (Crim. Code, in effect Jan. 1, 1910; reenactment of sec. 15, civil-service act.) SEC. 37. If two or more persons conspire either to com- Conspiracy. mit any offense against the United States or to defraud the United States in any manner or for any purpose, and one or more of such parties do any act to effect the object of the conspiracy, each of the parties to such conspiracy shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars or imprisoned not more than two years, or both. (Crim. Code, in effect Jan. 1, 1910. See also sec. 5440, R. S.) "It is claimed by the appellee that to defraud the United States must mean to deprive it of money wrongfully, or of something of money value; and that a falsehood or trick by which its officers are deceived in the matter of selecting those who are to perform work for it could not be a fraud against the United States. We do not agree to this proposition. "The Civil Service Commission is a legal agency of the United States, created by act of Congress, and through it the President undertakes to find and appoint such persons as may best promote the efficiency of the civil service, and to that end regulations are prescribed by means of which the age, health, character, knowledge, and ability for the branch of the service into which he seeks to enter of each candidate may be fully ascertained. "If falsehoods are imposed upon the persons charged with the duty of ascertaining these qualifications, and made to take the place of facts, then the United States is defrauded, is deprived by deceit of the knowledge Felonies and misdemeanors justly due to its officers in the proper discharge of its business, and it is thereby liable to obtain a less efficient employee. "We think that the trial court may properly hold that the appellee's alleged conduct, in cooperation with the candidate in this case, in making a false statement as to her past experience constitutes an offense under this section, 5440, and that such attempt at deception, if successfully carried out, would defraud the United States within the meaning of the law." (Palmer v. Colladay, 1901, 18 App. D. C., 433. See also note to U. S. v. Bunting, 1897, 82 Fed., 884, under sec. 28, "Prohibitory Statutes," supra.) SEC. 335. All offenses which may be punished by death defined. or imprisonment for a term exceeding one year shall be deemed felonies. All other offenses shall be deemed misdemeanors. (Crim. Code, in effect Jan. 1, 1910.) Efficiency rating based on personal records to be es partments. promotion, de retention. The Civil Service Commission shall, subject to the approval of the President, establish a system of efficiency tablished in de- ratings for the classified service in the several executive departments in the District of Columbia based upon records kept in each department and independent establishment with such frequency as to make them as nearly Ratings for as possible records of fact. Such system shall provide a motion, and minimum rating of efficiency which must be attained by an employee before he may be promoted; it shall also provide a rating below which no employee may fall without being demoted; it shall further provide for a rating below which no employee may fall without being dismissed for inefficiency. All promotions, demotions, or dismissals shall be governed by provisions of the civilcommission. service rules. Copies of all records of efficiency shall be furnished by the departments and independent establishments to the Civil Service Commission for record in accordance with the provision of this section: Provided, Retention of That in the event of reductions being made in the force diers and sail in any of the executive departments no honorably discharged soldier or sailor whose record in said department is rated good shall be discharged or dropped or reduced in rank or salary. Records to honorably discharged sol ors. Punishment for violations. Any person knowingly violating the provisions of this section shall be summarily removed from office, and may also, upon conviction thereof, be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000 or by imprisonment for not more than one year. (37 Stat., 413, act of Aug. 23, 1912, sec. 4.) The proviso of this section applies only to reductions in force and "does not prohibit the head of a department from conforming the salary of an honorably discharged soldier or sailor to the grade or character of work he may be called upon to perform." (Opinion Atty. Gen., June 2, 1913, 30 Op., 167.) The commission holds that this proviso does not become operative until the establishment of an efficiency system by the commission and its approval by the President, as provided in the section in question. (Minute of commission, Nov. 20, 1913.) The Civil Service Commission never having exercised the authority conferred by the section of the appropriation act of August 23, 1912, to establish efficiency ratings, the proviso to that section exempting honorably discharged soldiers from discharge or dismissal is without effect; the proviso is a part of the section and is not intended to have an independent operation. Persing v. Daniels (App. D. C.), 43 Wash. L. R. 232; Dean v. Burleson, 43 Wash. L. R. 264. The Civil Service Commission shall investigate and to report upon needs of de report to the President, with its recommendations, as Commission to the administrative needs of the service relating to administrative personnel in the several executive departments and partments. independent establishments in the District of Columbia and report to Congress details of expenditure and of progress of work hereunder at the beginning of each regular session. (37 Stat. L., 750, act of Mar. 4, 1913.) The operation of the Executive order of March twenty- Outlines eighth, nineteen hundred and twelve, for the annual sub- organization. mission to the Civil Service Commission of an outline of organization of the Government of the United States is suspended until otherwise provided by law. (38 Stat. L., 465, act of July 16, 1914.) of Division of DIVISION OF EFFICIENCY: For establishment and main- Efficiency. tenance of system of efficiency ratings, pursuant to section four of the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act for the fiscal year nineteen hundred and thirteen, for investigation of the needs of the several executive departments and independent establishments with respect to personnel; and for investigation of duplication of statistical and other work and methods of business in the various branches of the Government service; including not more than $2,500 for equipment, supplies, stationery, books, and printing; and not more than $50 for street-car fare, $30,000; the Chief of the Division of Chief DiviEfficiency herein provided for shall be appointed by the Congress President and shall repcrt to Congress at the beginning through the of each regular session, through the President, the nature and progress of work undertaken by the division, together with a detailed statement of expenditures showing the persons employed, their duties, and the compensation paid to each: Provided, That no person shall be employed hereunder at a compensation in excess of $4,000 per annum. (38 Stat., 1007, act of Mar. 4, 1915.) sion of Efficiency to report to President. Bureau of Efficiency to in Service Com That hereafter the Division of Efficiency of the Civil Service Commission shall be an independent establishment and shall be known as the Bureau of Efficiency; and the officers and employees of the said division shall be transferred to the Bureau of Efficiency without reappointment, and the records and papers pertaining to the work of the said division, and the furniture, equipment, and supplies that have been purchased for it shall be transferred to the said bureau: And provided further, That the duties relating to efficiency ratings imposed upon the Civil Service Commission by section four of the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act approved August twenty-third, nineteen hundred and twelve, and the duty of investigating the administrative needs of the service relating to personnel in the several executive departments and independent establishments, imposed on the Civil Service Commission by the legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act approved March fourth, nineteen hundred and thirteen, are transferred to the Bureau of Efficiency. (39 Stat., 15, act of Feb. 28, 1916.) The Bureau of Efficiency shall investigate the methods vestigate Civil of transacting the public business in the Civil Service mission. Commission and report to Congress through the President at the next regular session of Congress. The officers and employees of the Civil Service Commission are hereby directed to furnish said bureau with such information as it may require to carry out this provision. (Legislative, executive, and judicial appropriation act, approved Mar. 3, 1917.) CIVIL-SERVICE RULES PROMULGATED BY 1 THE PRESIDENT AND LEGAL DECISIONS, Act. sec. 2, par. 1. In the exercise of power conferred by the Constitution, by section 1753, Revised Statutes, and by the civil-service act of January 16, 1883, the President promulgates the Promulgating following rules in lieu of those promulgated May 6, 1896, and the amendments thereof: "He [the President] shall have power by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties, provided two-thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint ambassadors, other public ministers and consuls, judges of the Supreme Court, and all other officers of the United States whose appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by law; but the Congress may by law vest the appointment of such inferior officers as they think proper in the President alone, in the courts of law, or in the heads of departments." (Constitution of U. S., Art. II, sec. 2, par. 2.) "The general rule deducible from this provision [Art. II, sec. 2, of the Constitution] is that, in the absence of an express enactment to the contrary the appointment of any officer of the United States belongs to the President, by and with the advice of the Senate.' (Opinion Atty. Gen., June 1, 1911, 29 Op., 116.) This opinion also held that officers whose appointment is not specifically provided for are to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate if their designations are such as to indicate that they are to perform all the duties which might be performed by a presidential officer, and that certain order. technical employees, the manner of whose appointment is not specifically provided for, are properly to be regarded as clerks rather than officers and as coming under section 169 of the Revised Statutes, which authorizes the head of a department to employ such number of clerks, etc., of the several classes recognized by law as may be appropriated for by Congress from year to year. Congress has power to distribute, at its pleasure, the appointment of inferior officers between the President, courts of law, and heads of departments, or to vest such appointments exclusively in one or two of those depositaries; but it has no power to vest appointments elsewhere, directly or indirectly. (Opinion Atty. Gen., Aug. 31, 1871, 13 Op., 516.) "The head of a department has no constitutional prerogative of appointment to offices independently of the legislation of Congress, and by such legislation he must be governed, not only in making appointments, but in all that is incident thereto." (U. S. v. Perkins, Jan. 25, 1886, 116 U. S., 483.) "The official acts of a previous administration are to be considered by its successor as final so far as the Executive is concerned. This rule may be regarded as settled." (Opinion Atty. Gen., Mar. 20, 1877, 15 Op., 208.) * * ** 1 Promulgated Apr. 15, 1903, and revised to Oct. 1, 1918. A compilation of the civilservice rules, special orders, and classifications from May 7, 1883 (the date of the first rules under the civil-service act of 1883), to Aug. 16, 1902, will be found at page 161 of the Eighteenth Report of the Commission. A further compilation from Aug. 16, 1902, to Feb. 1, 1904, will be found at page 194 of the Twentieth Report, and each subsequent report contains a similar compilation for the year covered by it. |