America at war! (1941–) – Part 3

Letter from President Roosevelt on Preference for Veterans in Federal Employment
February 26, 1944

Rooseveltsicily

Dear Mr. Mitchell:

I desire to have the Civil Service Commission, in connection with its recruiting activities, give special emphasis to placing veterans who are available in vacancies in the various departments and agencies.

I have learned with real interest of the plans which already have been formulated by the Civil Service Commission along these lines. I have been particularly gratified over the efforts that the Commission has made to study just what skills and abilities are needed in the performance of the specific jobs so that disabled veterans can be placed in positions where they can render effective service.

I am today addressing a communication to the heads of all departments and agencies urging that, whenever veterans are referred to them by the Civil Service Commission, they shall be given preference in the filling of positions. I am also urging the heads of the departments and agencies to take immediate steps to delegate, wherever there is a shortage of qualified personnel, full authority to the Civil Service Commission to recruit for them for specific vacancies in the departments and agencies. This will eliminate the delays incident to the Commission’s referring a number of names to the departments and agencies and then having the departments and agencies decide who, among the persons referred to them, is to be selected for a particular position. In this manner veterans who are eligible for Federal positions will not be subjected to unnecessary delays in their search for employment with the Federal Government.

Under the provisions of the Selective Training and Service Act persons who have left other than temporary positions in the Federal service are entitled to their old positions or to positions of like seniority, status, and pay. I have learned that some confusion exists in the minds of various departments and agencies as to just what is the extent of their obligations under this Act.

I am therefore designating the Civil Service Commission as the agency which is responsible for issuing, from time to time, as my representative, instructions as to just what the departments and agencies shall do under specific sets of circumstances in granting reemployment rights to veterans. In discharging this responsibility, it is my desire that the Civil Service Commission give full weight to the spirit and intent back of Section 8(A) of the Selective Training and Service Act. The Federal Government, as an employer, must act in connection with these matters in such a manner as to leave no doubt in the minds of the citizens of this country of its intention to fully comply with the promises made to the members of our armed services through the Selective Training and Service Act.

If the Commission notes any reluctance upon the part of any department or agency of Government to conform to the instructions relative to the reemployment of returning veterans which may be issued from time to time, I desire to have this reluctance called to my attention at once through the Liaison Officer for Personnel Management.


Letter from President Roosevelt on Preference for Veterans in Federal Employment
February 26, 1944

Rooseveltsicily

To the heads of executive departments and agencies:

I have today addressed a letter to the Civil Service Commission in which I have directed it, in connection with its recruiting activities, to give special emphasis to placing veterans who are available in vacancies in the Federal service.

It is my desire that, whenever the Civil Service Commission refers veterans to the various departments and agencies, these veterans be given preference in the filling of vacancies.

In addition, it is my desire that, wherever there is a shortage of qualified personnel, the heads of the various departments and agencies delegate to the Civil Service Commission full authority to recruit for them for vacancies which may exist in such types of positions as may be requested by the departments and agencies. This will eliminate the delays incident to the Commission’s referring a number of names to the departments and agencies, and then having the departments and agencies decide who, among the persons referred to them, is to be selected for a particular position. Except in the case of filling unusual types of positions, there is no reason whatsoever why, taking into consideration the present manpower situation, the departments and agencies should not delegate this authority to the Commission. Not to do so means that the veteran is being subjected to unnecessary delays in his efforts to secure employment. This can not and should not be tolerated.

My attention has been called to the fact that there is some confusion in the minds of appointing officers in the departments and agencies as to the Federal Government’s obligation to provide reemployment for persons who left the Federal service and entered the armed forces. I am today designating the Civil Service Commission as my representative for the purpose of issuing, from time to time, instructions which will indicate just what the rights of the returning veterans are under certain sets of circumstances. The instructions issued by the Commission should be rigidly adhered to by the heads of the departments and agencies and by their representatives.

I have instructed the Commission to notify me, through the Liaison Officer for Personnel Management, of any reluctance upon the part of particular departments or agencies to adhere to these instructions relative to the reemployment of returning veterans. The Federal Government’s record in this regard must be one which will constitute an example for all employers.

Dear Mr. Ramspeck:

I have learned with real interest that your Committee is planning to consider, in the near future, certain legislative proposals relating to the extension of preference to veterans who desire to compete for positions in the Federal Civil Service.

I believe that the Federal Government, functioning in its capacity as an employer, should take the lead in assuring those who are in the armed services that when they return special consideration will be given to them in their efforts to obtain employment. It is absolutely impossible to take millions of our young men out of their normal pursuits for the purpose of fighting to preserve the Nation, and then expect them to resume their normal activities without having any special consideration shown them.

The problems of readjustment will be difficult for all of us. They will be particularly difficult for those who have spent months and even years at the battlefronts all over the world. Surely a grateful Nation will want to express its gratitude in deeds as well as in words.

I believe that legislation relating to preference for veterans in positions in the Federal Civil Service should include, among others, the following points:

  1. Authority should be granted, during the war and for a period of five years following the war, to restrict to veterans examinations for such positions as may, from time to time, be designated by the President. Those who are fighting for the life of the Nation today will, upon their return to civilian life, be in a position to make a unique contribution to the administration of Government. We should be in a position to take full advantage of this fact.

  2. Where competition is not restricted solely to veterans, provision should be made for adding points to the earned ratings of veterans who compete for positions in the Federal Civil Service.

  3. The Civil Service Commission should be given the authority to determine whether or not the reasons advanced by appointing officers for passing over veterans on lists of eligibles are valid. Furthermore, appointing officers should be required to consider the Commission’s findings before filling vacancies. This will center in one agency the responsibility for determining whether or not a veteran is entitled to consideration for a particular job.

  4. Veterans should be accorded special consideration in connection with any reductions in total personnel which it may be necessary for Federal agencies to work out from time to time.

It is my understanding that H.R. 4115, as introduced by the Honorable Joe Starnes of Alabama, is in substantial conformity with the principles above outlined. I sincerely hope, therefore, that this bill may receive the early and sympathetic consideration of the Congress.

The Pittsburgh Press (February 26, 1944)

JAP FLEET EVADES U.S. THRUST
Enemy loses 135 airplanes in Marianas

But U.S. force bags only two ships in Pacific blow
By William F. Tyree, United Press staff writer

Yanks down 641 planes over Germany in 6 days

RAF joins in all-out push to kill Luftwaffe, hits Augsburg twice
By Phil Ault, United Press staff writer

Enemy probes defenses –
Yanks shatter German thrust

Nazis mass 10 divisions for beachhead drive
By Robert Vermillion, United Press staff writer

Hit hard by Stalingrad –
Hitler is fat, tired, stopped

Heinzen: Non-Nazi Germans less devoted
By Ralph E. Heinzen, United Press staff writer

Death takes U.S. Senator Charles McNary

Republican leader, Willkie running mate, ill since fall
By Lyle C. Wilson, United Press staff writer

Wendell_Wilkie_and_Charles_McNary_LCCN2016877838
Senator McNary

Washington –
When the Senate again meets next Tuesday, it will adjourn immediately in respect to one of its most distinguished members, Senator Charles L. McNary or Oregon, Wendell Willkie’s vice-presidential running mate in 1940 and long a Republican leader, who died yesterday in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Senator McNary, who would have been 70 years old June 12, had been recuperating from a brain operation performed here last November, and appeared to be recovering rapidly until he suffered a relapse two weeks ago. He had been in a coma a few days preceding his death.

Mrs. McNary, the former Cornelia Morton of Washington, and their eight-year-old adopted daughter Charlotte, who were with the Senator when he died, planned to accompany the body tonight to Salem, Oregon, their home and the Senator’s birthplace in 1874. A Senate delegation and Mrs. McNary’s sister, Miss Mary Louise Morton, will complete the party.

Mrs. McNary indicated the funeral will probably be held Friday.

Senator McNary, a first-class politician of statesmanlike proportions, participated positively in shaping the legislation of the past 24 years. He knew Senate rules and made full use of them to snare the opposition. He rarely made what is known as a speech, it being recalled that he delivered only one from 1932 through 1936.

He was a shade or more too liberal for some of his Republican colleagues, but they generally acknowledged him as the shrewdest of their company – even when he was voting with the New Deal, which he did nine of 16 times from 1933 to 1935.

The Senate’s first opportunity to honor Senator McNary will be when it reconvenes Tuesday, after a recess ordered to permit all hands to rest and ponder the circumstances surround the overriding of President Roosevelt’s tax bill veto.

The immediate adjournment will not be mere formal procedure, nor will there be light Congressional hearts aboard the McNary funeral train. Of the men who have served in the Senate since World War I, Mr. McNary probably was the best liked. Certainly, no one was more respected by his colleagues.

Reared in Oregon and one-time associate justice of his state’s Supreme Court, Mr. McNary came to the Senate in 1918 by appointment to fill an unexpired term. He never lost an election since.

Close to Presidents

Although the law and politics absorbed most of his time, he was a farmer by preference and spent his free time on his Salem acres. His interests led him to the chairmanship of the Senate Agriculture Committee and in that capacity, he was co-sponsor of the McNary-Haugen agricultural act.

Throughout most of his Senate career, Mr. McNary was in increasingly close touch with the White House, especially through the Coolidge and Hoover administrations.

President Roosevelt knew Senator McNary’s influence and conferred with him frequently in the early formative period of the New Deal. Senator McNary, in turn, not infrequently supported administration legislation, including the National Labor Relations Act, Tennessee Valley Authority and Social Security proposals. Senator McNary worked closely with the President to obtain vast waterpower developments in the Northwest, notably the Grand Coulee and Bonneville dams.

Senate post his preference

He was nominated for Vice President in 1940 to run with Mr. Willkie, an assignment he accepted reluctantly. To those enthusiasts who occasionally would tell him he should be nominated for President instead, Senator McNary replied that the idea was ridiculous. He had the only job he really wanted right in the U.S. Senate.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans were not expected to elect a new leader to replace Mr. McNary for at least several weeks. His minority leadership responsibilities in the Senate had been cared for by his assistant, Senator Wallace H. White Jr. (R-ME), for several months.

Senators White, Arthur H. Vandenberg (R-MI) and Robert A. Taft (R-OH) have been most prominently mentioned as possible successors of Senator McNary.

Willkie eulogizes ex-running mate

New York (UP) –
Wendell L. Willkie today described the death of Senator Charles L. McNary, as a tragedy which had “taken a man whose ability was never more needed than at present.”

Mr. Willkie said:

Senator McNary had a long and distinguished career. His contributions during the last 25 years in the Senate were many and varied. He had an unusual ability to reconcile conflicting forces, and never was such ability so much needed as in the present crisis. Out of our close association in the campaign of 1940 had developed a deep personal affection.

Roosevelt orders boards to review draft deferments

Government has been overly lenient, particularly with younger man, President declares

americavotes1944

Senators put next move up to Roosevelt

Democrats seeking truce rather than jeopardize election chances

Washington (UP) –
Senate Democrats, having demonstrated their independence, are ready to make political peace with President Roosevelt if he will meet them halfway.

They would rather compromise their differences with the President than have the White House-Congress fight jeopardize the party’s chances for victory in November.

The general feeling is that if the President will work more closely with Congress, submit various phases of the war and post-war programs for Congressional approval and desist from further caustic criticism, he can win almost solid Congressional support – even for a fourth term.

Up to Roosevelt

If the President won’t compromise, however, he can expect the campaign year to be marked with further rebellion such as the one this week which saw Senate Democrats win Democratic Leader Alben W. Barkley (D-KY) from his control and overwhelmingly reject his veto of the $2,315,000,000 tax bill.

A majority of those who participated in this week’s rebellion hope, for the good of the party as well as their own political futures, that the episode has ended. They realize that Republicans could make political capital of a lengthy fight between the President and his own party members in Congress.

Virtually all of them expect Mr. Roosevelt to be a candidate for a fourth term.

Even the most vigorous administration opponents despair of keeping the nomination from Mr. Roosevelt if he wants it, and they’d rather have a fourth term than get a Republican President and see their party swept completely out of national control.

Wants his aid

Some of those who opposed the third term in 1940, but now are up for reelection themselves, have been soft-pedaling their opposition to Mr. Roosevelt of late.

They don’t want to change Presidents while the war is on. They also figure they might reap some advantage from having his name at the top of the ticket.

Of the 39 Democrats who voted in the Senate yesterday to override the tax bill veto, the President probably could count on better than two-thirds of them to make speeches for a fourth term.

Mrs. Hoover estate willed to ‘boys and their daddy’

‘Lucky to have had such a father and I’m lucky’ because of ‘three such men,’ letter says

San Jose, California (UP) –
The estate of Mrs. Herbert Hoover will be divided between her “two boys and their daddy,” a letter written by the wife of the former President disclosed today.

Mrs. Hoover wrote the informal letter to her sons, Herbert Jr. and Alan, two months before she died of a heart attack in New York Jan. 7, to replace a mislaid will. A hearing on admission of the letter to probate will be heard in Superior Court here March 8.

Mrs. Hoover told her two sons:

You have been lucky boys to have had such a father, and I a lucky woman to have had my life’s trail alongside the paths of three such men and boys.

Naming her sons executors, Mrs. Hoover disposed of an estate valued in excess of $10,000 in what she called “a series of friendly requests.”

She said:

To your daddy, I bequeath all my interest and rights in the community property acquired by us during our married life.

The former President will also receive her invested funds while the Hoover home at Stanford University and all real estate, except unspecified property in Washington, will go to her sons.

Furnishings and pictures in the Hoover home should be divided among members of the family, “of course including daddy first,” Mrs. Hoover wrote. Any cash remaining in her bank account after her personal affairs were settled, she suggested, should go to her grandchildren as “pocket money.”

Mrs. Hoover told her sons:

You both have been good boys and an immeasurable source of happiness and satisfaction to me. I know I can trust your disinterestedness and judgment in seeing this tiresome task through.

What manpower shortage?
Restaurant has 3 cashiers to keep the unions happy

Timid proprietor has to call in mediation board before he can punch own register

I DARE SAY —
Barkley had a good secretary

By Florence Fisher Parry

‘My Day’ in Pittsburgh –
First Lady ‘hitchhikes’ here after train wreck

Mrs. Roosevelt: Durable peace depends on individuals, not on ‘blueprints’
By Maxine Garrison

No-strike deal offered U.S. by independents

Confederation’s bid for place on WLB carries veiled threat
By Fred W. Perkins, Pittsburgh Press staff writer

Rabaul rocked 21st day in row

33 tons of bombs rained on South Pacific base
By Don Caswell, United Press staff writer

Col. James Roosevelt receives Silver Star

With a half Nelson –
Mother-in-law wins first fall in Heinz melee

Hair-pulling match staged by socialites over custody of child


Judge to rule in Chaplin case

Attorney asks dismissal of white slave charges

Editorial: Baruch on public works

Editorial: The opium war

Editorial: Troubadour of the AGF

Edson: Range of naval forces stepped up in this war

By Peter Edson