Manhattan Reborn 1978

Southeast Texas, Houston.

night~

West of downtown, Piney Point Village in the Memorial District, 89 Pinewood Avenue.

After having a pleasant dinner with his family, David took Zina and Polly back to the holiday villa belonging to his mentor, Professor Bartlett.

Here, he finally met the "brain trust man" who came from New York, Devinius von Spencer.

From David's personal perspective, Mr. Devinhuis's appointment was obviously carefully prepared.

Not only did he use his elegant manners and gorgeous words to show Zina and Polly what a true British gentleman is!

After they came to the living room to drink tea and start a relaxing chat, Zina and Polly's first impression of Mr. Devinhuis was almost perfect.

But~

Mr. Devinhuis obviously noticed that the two women were very satisfied with their appearance and was afraid that David would be dissatisfied with this matter.

So in the subsequent conversation, he took the initiative to lead the topic to aspects that David might be interested in, and asked with a smile in a very authentic London aristocratic accent.

"I heard that you support former California Governor Astaire K. Wood in his bid for the next US President."

"Yes, I am very optimistic about him." David nodded readily without hiding his thoughts.

"Then how much do you know about the current American political arena?"

"It's not much, but I know you'll help me with this, right?"

"Hehe~" Devinhuis smiled implicitly, picked up the teacup, took a sip, and spoke slowly.

"In 1881, Republican James Garfield was elected the 20th President of the United States."

"But from the first day he officially took office, there was a long queue outside his office."

"These people in line are all people who have donated money or contributed to Garfield's campaign."

"According to the tradition at the time, the president should give them a minor official position after being elected. This was called the hunting official system at the time."

"And in this long line of job seekers, there was a middle-aged man named Charles Kitto, who wrote a support article in support of Garfield during his campaign and had it printed to help Garfield with his campaign."

"So Mr. Charles Kitto, believing that his actions were crucial to the election of the new president, spent several months asking the new president for the position he deserved."

"But President Garfield, who is more like a mountain king, seems to have turned a blind eye to the job application of Mr. Kitto, who once helped him, as if this incident had never happened."

"Four months after President Garfield took office, he was shot and killed by Mr. Charles Kitto while he was preparing to leave at the Washington, D.C. train station."

"This presidential assassination case, which shocked the world at the time, not only aroused the attention of the whole country to the reform of the civil service system, but also indirectly promoted the US Congress to pass the Pendleton Act in 1883."

"The Pendleton Act was the first in U.S. history to confirm the federal government's personnel management principles, namely competitive examinations, permanent positions, and political neutrality, and to legalize and institutionalize these principles, making them the management system of the U.S. civil service system."

"In the first decade of the law's implementation, it covered only about 10 percent of all federal employees."

"However, it establishes that federal government employees must take competitive exams and follow the principles of strict review and selection before they can be employed."

"And it also provides that elected officials cannot fire public servants, freeing public servants from the influence of political patronage and partisan behavior."

"This bill can be said to have laid the foundation for the modern U.S. civil service system."

"Although we know that this system has now led to many problems~"

"But overall, it is still much better than the original system of sharing spoils and hunting officials."

"By 1909, nearly two-thirds of federal employees were eligible for promotion based on performance, and the civil service system protected the benefits they earned."

"In 1939, during President Roosevelt's term, Senator Carl Hatch, a Democrat from New Mexico, introduced a bill ~"

"The full name of the bill is An Act to Prevent Pernicious Political Activities, or the Hatch Act."

"Congressman Hatch said that according to U.S. law, except for the president, vice president and a few senior political appointees, civil servants in the federal government's executive branch are prohibited from participating in party activities during work hours and at work locations."

"Its main contents include~"

"Federal government employees may not use government buildings or offices for party activities; may not participate in party activities during work hours; and may not use government vehicles for party activities."

"In addition, they may not use the authority and influence of the federal executive branch to interfere in elections; they may not solicit or accept political donations; they may not run for public office on behalf of a political party; they may not wear government uniforms to participate in political activities; they may not wear party symbols while on duty, etc."

"It was passed by Congress in 39 and formally implemented by President Roosevelt. It mainly targets employees of federal administrative agencies and the District of Columbia."

"It also includes some state and local government employees who receive federal funding, but does not include federal departments such as Congress, the courts, and the military."

"For example, civilian personnel in the Department of Defense are subject to the Hatch Act, but military personnel are not subject to the Hatch Act."

"After the Hatch Act was enacted, the military also formulated some similar laws to regulate the military's participation in political activities, and its basic principle is also to maintain administrative neutrality."

"Because before the passage of the Hatch Act, political parties often used the executive power held by their members to serve their own interests, and such activities became more popular and serious during the Great Depression of the 30s."

"President Roosevelt implemented his New Deal, which established a new federal agency called the Works Progress Administration."

"The main purpose of this agency was to solve the serious unemployment problem at the time, such as building highways and various public works, providing employment opportunities for millions of people, etc."

"This also made the agency extremely influential, allowing Roosevelt and his party to often use the agency to seek benefits, giving it a bad reputation."

“That is why President Roosevelt agreed to push for the passage of the Hatch Act, which contained certain remedial and compensatory measures, in Congress in 39, after the U.S. economy gradually emerged from the shadow of the Great Depression.”

When Mr. Devinhuis said this, he deliberately glanced at Zina and Polly, then his eyes stopped on David's face and he said seriously.

"From the outbreak of the Great Depression in 1929 to the end of World War II in 1945, there were many people who had an impact on the development of the modern United States, but only Roosevelt, who was re-elected as president for three terms, had an influence that is still difficult to accurately estimate."

"In today's federal government, the highest-level officials of major executive departments, including cabinet members such as the Secretary of State and the Secretary of the Treasury, as well as directors of various important functional departments, still follow the principle of the hunting officer system and are awarded by the newly elected president to those who have made contributions in the election."

"This group, generally referred to as political officials, accounts for about 10% of the total number of federal government employees."

"Under the Pendleton Act of 1883 and the Hatch Act of 1939, civil servants who join the federal government are prohibited from engaging in political activities while performing their duties."

"That is to say, this group should be non-partisan in principle and must remain politically neutral. Even if the president changes, they will not be affected by elections and party changes."

"This group, now commonly referred to as administrative officers, accounts for about 80% of federal employees."

"As for the remaining 10% or so, there are some special circumstances where the outgoing president will try to provide some protection to some of the civil servants he appointed to prevent them from being fired by the new government."

"In the United States, this is called digging a hole."

"So generally speaking, there are very clear career advancement paths between political officers and administrative officers, and the channels and methods of promotion are also very different."

"Civil servants in the general sense now have a set of management systems for self-management, performance appraisal, and payment of salaries and benefits."

"This situation started in 1939 and lasted until the Watergate scandal broke out a few years ago."

"In 1978, that is, last year, the former Federal Government Civil Service Commission was split into three relatively independent agencies by the Senate and the House of Representatives, which caused the first split in the history of the civil service group."

“The three agencies are the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), and the Federal Labor Relations Agency (FLRA).”

"But~"

"Another principle that deserves special mention is the Hatch Act's restrictions on federal executive branch employees' participation in partisan political activities, which are limited to the duration of their duties."

"When they get off work or are not on duty, they are still free to participate in various party activities, including voting, attending various salons, parties, rallies, etc."

"This is one of the most sacred constitutional rights of Americans and it cannot be altered."

Mr. Devinhuis had a playful smile on his face. He carefully observed the expressions and reactions of David and the other two, and spoke leisurely.

"According to its original design, this system is a neutral tool to assist the highest level of the federal government in governing, and should not have any political inclinations or interests."

"After more than 100 years of development, the U.S. military service has developed a mature self-management system."

"The core of this system is that the rules formulated internally determine the membership, advancement, rewards and punishments of organization members. A relatively independent personnel group can ensure the stability of an organization."

"But any organization, once it becomes a relatively independent system, will actively maintain its own living conditions and environment, and continuously expand the margins of the organization, thereby generating self-awareness."

"The American Federation of State, County and City Employees is the largest public employee union in the United States today, the fifth largest union in the United States, and the largest union in the AFL-CIO."

"It was established in 1932 by government employees in Wisconsin, and later merged with public unions in other states. In 36, it was granted a license by the AFL-CIO to engage in international activities."

“The federation is responsible for coordinating the activities of local unions, which are the basic units of activity and provide services to their members.”

"The United States Federal Executive Academy is a civil servant training institution under the U.S. federal government. Every year, it provides administrative work training services for administrative officials above a certain level in the federal government, state and local governments, and military agencies."

“So over the years since it was established, officials have viewed it as an important symbol that can change their careers.”

"That is to say, most of the administrative officials who have received training at the Federal Chief Executive Academy have been branded as members of the administrative officer group."