804 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



No dairy farm shall be permitted to eupply milk of a higher class than the class for 

 which its permit has been issued, and eachaairy farm supplying milk of aspecified class 

 shall be separate and distinctfromany dairy farm of a different elate; the same owner 

 however, may supply different classes of milk, providing the dairy farms are separate 

 and distinct, as ahove indicated. 



General Ohder No. 142. 



Department of Agriculture, 



October 1, 1910. 

 To the officers and employees of the Department of Agriculture: 



Your attention is respectfully invited to the following rules and regulations of the 

 Civil Service Commission pertaining to political assessments and partisan political 

 activity of officeholders, and all employees of this department are enjoined to strictly 

 adhere thereto: 



1. POLITICAL ACTIVITY. 



Rfile I, section 1, of the Civil Service Rules reads as follows: 



"No person in the executive civil service shall use his official authority or influence 

 for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the result thereof. Persons 

 who by the provisions of these rules are in the competitive 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." 



The first sentence of the rule applies to every person in the executive civil service, 

 irrespective of the method of his appointment. The second sentence of the rule ap- 

 plies to all persons holding positions in the competitive classified service, whether the 

 appointment be permanent or temporary in character, and by departmental action 

 has also generally been made applicable to unclassified laborers. 



The following forms of activity have been held to be forbidden by this provision: 



Service on political committees; service as delegates to State, county, or district 

 conventions of a political party, although it was understood that the employees were 

 not "to take or use any political activity in going to these conventions or otherwise 

 violate the civil-service rules;" service as officer of a political club, as chairman of a 

 political meeting, eras secretary of an antisaloon league; continued political activity 

 and leadership; activity at the polls on election day; the publication or editing of a 

 newspaper in the interests of a political party; the publication of political articles bear- 

 ing on qualifications of different candidates; the distribution of political literature; 

 holding ofiice in a club which takes an active part in political campaigns or manage- 

 ment; making speeches before political meetings or clubs; activity in local-option cam- 

 paigns; circulation of petitions having a political object, of petitions proposing amend- 

 ments to municipal charter, of petitions favoring candidates for municipal offices, and of 

 local-option petitions; candidacj^ for or holding of elective office; accepting nomination 

 for pohtical office with the intention of resigning from the competitive service if elected ; 

 recommendation by clerks and carriers of a person to be postmaster; service as a com- 

 missioner of election in a community where it was notorious that a commissioner of elec- 

 tion must be an active politician; service as inspector of election, ballot clerk, ballot 

 inspector, judge of election, or member of election board; or generally any form of 

 activity in political management or political campaigns, though not specifically 

 mentioned above. 



Inasmuch as the issuance of a certificate for reinstatement is discretionary with the 

 Civil Service Commission, no certificate will be issued in any case where the party 

 applying for reinstatement has previously resigned with a view of running for office, 

 or with a view of indulging in a degree of political activity which would be prohibited 

 if he had remained in the service, and who afterwards, having failed in his candidacy 

 or having indulged in the contemplated activity, seeks reinstatement. 



2. POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS OR CONTRIBUTIONS. 



The civil-service act provides that "no person in the public service is for that 

 reason under any obligations to contribute to any political fund or to render any 

 political service, and * * * he will not be removed or otherwise prejudiced for 

 refusing to do so." Section 118 of the Criminal Code provides that no Federal officer 

 or employee shall, directly or indirectly, solicit or receive, or be in any manner con- 

 cerned in soliciting or receiving any political assessment, subscription, or contribu- 

 tion from any other Federal officer or employee. Section 120 of the Criminal Code 

 prohibits the discharge, promotion, or degrading of any officer or employee for giving 



