ment, branch or bureau of the executive, judicial, or military or naval service of the United States, shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or receive, or be in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving, any assessment, subscription, or contribution for any political purpose whatever, from any officer, clerk, or employee of the United States, or any department, branch or bureau thereof, or from any person receiving any salary or compensation from moneys derived from the Treasury of the United States. (Crim. Code, in effect Jan. 1, 1910. See also sec. 11, civil-service act.)

tation in public

SEC. 119. No person shall, in any room or building Political solicioccupied in the discharge of official duties by any officer or offices. employee of the United States mentioned in the preceding section, or in any navy yard, fort, or arsenal, solicit in any manner whatever, or receive any contribution of money or other thing of value for any political purpose whatever. (Crim. Code, in effect Jan. 1, 1910. See also sec. 12, civil-service act.)

or compensation.

SEC. 120. No officer or employee of the United States Change of rank mentioned in section one hundred and eighteen shall discharge, 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. See also sec. 13, civil-service act.)

by one officer to

SEC. 121. No officer, clerk, or other person in the serv- Contributions ice of the United States shall, directly or indirectly, give 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. See also 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. See also sec. 15, civil-service act.)

Conspiracy.

Felonies and misdemeanors

defined.

SEC. 37. If two or more persons conspire either to commit 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.)

SEC. 335. All offenses which may be punished by death, 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.)

CIVIL-SERVICE RULES PROMULGATED BY THE PRESIDENT1 AND LEGAL DECISIONS, WITH NOTES BY THE COMMISSION.

Promulgating

In the exercise of power conferred by the Constitution,Act, by section 1753, Revised Statutes, and by the civil-service act of January 16, 1883, the President promulgates the order. 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 twothirds 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 technical em

ployees, 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.)

RULE I.-POLITICS AND RELIGION.

with elections.

par. 6.

1. No person in the executive civil service shall use his No interference official authority or influence for the purpose of interfer-Act, sec. 2, cl. 2, ing with an election or affecting the results thereof. Per- Amendment of sons who by the provisions of these rules are in the com

June 3, 1907.

1 Promulgated Apr. 15, 1903, and revised to December, 1911. A compilation of the civil-service 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.

petitive classified service, while retaining the right to vote as they please and to express privately their opinions on all political subjects, shall take no active part in political management or in political campaigns.

On May 14, 1908, the Navy Department issued the following circular letter to commandants of navy yards and naval stations:

"Laborers and mechanics at the yard or station under your command will be subject to discharge for political activity in the same manner as competitive classified employees."

Similar instructions have been issued by other departments placing the same limitations in regard to political activity on laborers in the unclassified service as are applied to competitive employees. "Whenever in the opinion of the Secretary of the Navy a strict enforcement of the provisions of section 1, Rule I, of the

of or discrimination

count of political

ions.

civil-service rules would influence the result of a local election the issue of which materially affects the local welfare of the Government employees in the vicinity of any navy yard or station, the Civil Service Commission may, on recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy, and after such investigation as it may deem necessary, permit the active participation of the employees of the yard or station in such local election. In the exercise of the privilege which may be conferred hereunder, persons affected must not neglect their official duties nor cause public scandal by their activity." (Executive order, May 14, 1909.)

No disclosures 2. No question in any form of application or in any ac examination shall be so framed as to elicit information or religious opin- concerning the political or religious opinions or affiliations of any applicant, nor shall any inquiry be made concerning such opinions or affiliations, and all disclosures Act, sec. 2, cl. 2, thereof shall be discountenanced. No discrimination shall pars. 5 and 6. be exercised, threatened, or promised by any person in the executive civil service against or in favor of an applicant, eligible, or employee in the classified service because of his political or religious opinions or affiliations.

"An appointing officer who appoints or refuses to appoint an applicant because the applicant does or does not entertain certain political opinions, or who removes or reduces an employee because that employee refuses to render political service, to be coerced in political action, or to contribute money for political purposes violates the law.

dations that can

ered.

"The removal of a large number of employees of the same political faith from an office will be presumed to have been made for political reasons, and the burden is upon the officer making the removals to show that just cause existed for making each such removal." (Commission's circular No. 1236, July, 1910.)

Recommen- 3. No recommendation of an applicant, eligible, or emnot be consid-ployee in the competitive service involving a disclosure of his political or religious opinions or affiliations shall be considered or filed by the commission or by any officer concerned in making appointments or promotions.

"It is the duty of officers concerned in making appointments or promotions to refuse to receive or consider letters disclosing the politics or religion of an applicant, eligible, or employee, and to explain

to the writers that communications based upon such grounds will not receive attention or be filed." (Commission's circular No. 1236, July, 1910.)

RULE II.-CLASSIFICATION OF THE SERVICE.

sification.

1. The classified service shall include all officers and Extent of clasemployees in the executive civil service of the United States, heretofore or hereafter appointed or employed, in positions now existing or hereafter to be created, of whatever function or designation, whether compensated by a Act, secs. 6 and 7. fixed salary or otherwise, except persons employed merely as laborers, and persons whose appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate; but no right of classification shall accrue to persons whose appointment or assignment to classified duties is in violation of the civil-service rules.

* *

*

"All places in the executive civil service except those mentioned in Schedule A, and except persons employed merely as laborers, and persons whose appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate, must be appointed as a result of open competitive examination held under the provisions of the law. Congress may, of course, at any time it deems proper, exempt any position or class of positions from the operation of the act, but to do this it must use language indicating clearly and affirmatively its intention that the civil-service rules should not be applied." (Opinion Atty. Gen., Feb. 12,

1908, 26 Op., 507.)

"Persons whose names are reported to the commission in response to this opinion, and who are occupying places whose duties are similar to those of competitive positions, may be classified upon approval by the commission; but may be transferred only when in the opinion of the Civil Service Commission such transfer is required in the interest of the service, and then only after an appropriate examination by said commission. Vacancies shall be filled in accordance with the civil service act and rules. If said commission finds that any of these places can not be satisfactorily subjected to competitive tests, they may be treated as excepted from examination, and their occupants shall not acquire a competitive status." (Executive order, Oct. 9, 1908.)

An Army officer detailed for duty in a clerical position can not be considered as a member of the "classified service," and after separation therefrom can not be reinstated therein under Rule IX, by reason of his service during the war. (Opinion Atty. Gen., Dec. 20, 1897, 22 Op., 6.)

* * * "The officers and employees of the District of Columbia are not officers and employees of the General Government of the United States, but of the municipal corporation known as the District 23175°-12-5

"Congress undoubtedly intended that the provisions of the civilservice law, so far as these provided for the organization of a classified service, should be extended to all persons engaged in the legitimate civil work of the executive branch of the Government, whether such persons were or were not technically in the employ of the United States."

*

* * "A newly appointed collector of internal revenue has a legal right, upon taking office, to drop from the service any deputy collector in commission and to appoint deputies of his own selection in accordance with the rules of the Civil Service Commission." (Opinion Atty. Gen., Sept. 3, 1907, 26 Op., 363.)

A ruling similar to the above was made with reference to United States deputy marshals on November 30, 1910, by the Comptroller of the Treasury, who held that the term of a deputy marshal expires with that of the marshal who appointed him. If not reappointed, his successor must be chosen under civil-service rules.