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Letter to the President of the Civil Service Commission on Political Activity of Federal Employees.

September 02, 1932

My dear President Campbell:

I notice in the press this morning a statement that "Government employees and their families are prohibited from expressing publicly their views on the soldiers' bonus, under a new regulation promulgated by the Civil Service Commission."

I cannot believe that this is true, and would be glad to have a statement from you upon it.

Yours faithfully,

HERBERT HOOVER

[Hon. Thomas E. Campbell, President, Civil Service Commission, Washington, D.C.]

Note: The White House also issued texts of President Campbell's response to the President's letter and President Theodore Roosevelt's original interpretation of the Civil Service prohibition of political activity.
See also Item 276.

The text of President Campbell's letter, also dated September 2, follows:
My dear Mr. President:

I, too, noticed in the paper this morning the statement quoted by you in note of even date that "Government employees and their families are prohibited from expressing publicly their views on the soldiers' bonus, under a new regulation promulgated by the Civil Service Commission".

On behalf of my colleagues I wish to state that the Commission has not promulgated a new regulation in this matter, and that in fact there has been no submission to the Commission of any case which would require decision as to whether activity by Government employees at American Legion meetings in favor of bonus legislation would fall within the regulations originally promulgated by President Roosevelt against certain classes of political activity by classified civil service employees of the Federal Government.
I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully,
THOMAS E. CAMPBELL
President

Herbert Hoover, Letter to the President of the Civil Service Commission on Political Activity of Federal Employees. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/207429

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