The President's News Conference

PATRONAGE INVESTIGATIONS

THE PRESIDENT. I have four or five questions about the Senate Committee's [on Post offices and Post Roads] report on Southern patronage. I have asked the Department of Justice to consider the reports of the committee, and as a matter of fact that report refers to incidents and men and conditions that have already been cleaned up with the action which I took on the 26th of March last. Under instructions at that time by the various departments of the Government, a system was established by which these reprehensible practices were absolutely stopped and the system of purchase and sale of appointments was cleaned up and it has been ended.

All the Federal officials who were known to have been engaged in those practices have either resigned or been removed. The committee makes charges against two present Federal officials but not on patronage questions, and those matters have been under investigation for some time.

Lately there was a charge brought against one member of one of the new advisory committees that he had been engaged in such practice. These charges were made by the old organization and they are vigorously denied by the new organization, and that, too, is under investigation by the Department of Justice and the Post Office.

By and large the practice complained of is over in the United States. That is the only thing that I have in front of me on this occasion.