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Frances PerkinsFrances Perkins
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beside then who wants a job is fine. If you're nice to them and give them a good explanation as to why you can't, that's all right. Then the fellow who wants the job catches on to the fact that his leader is in touch with you and that you'd be glad to do it if you could.”

He went on to say, “So, you've got this great civil service list. Some of those people on the list must be Democrats.”

I said, “Yes, I'm sure they are, only we don't have any way of knowing it.”

“Well,” he said, “we could let you know.”

I said, “That isn't so bad. If there's an opportunity to appoint a person who's a Democrat if legally we get to the name on the list, there's no reason that he should not be appointed because he's a Democrat.”

He said, “That's what keeps the party together. That's what keeps the prestige up. I don't expect you to call me up and ask me who I want appointed factory inspector. I know you can't do that. You've got to take somebody off the list. But between Jim Jones and Sam Smith who are on the list and have the same rating, I don't know why you shouldn't appoint the one that's a Democrat.”

That of course is a kind of philosophy I had never heard of. It doesn't exactly spell the competitive system





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