The daily gazette., 1881-07-16
OWL sEavICE.aEroal1.

Questions to Test the. General and
Special 1mtealfgence OF s5 Candi.
dates for ClsFkships in the New
York Custom House-Wrtting Es-
says ~ = wind Up.
In top-story room of the New
York Custom House, yesterday, thir-
ty.five candidates for clerkships en-
dured an examination at the hands Of
General N. g. Williams, representing
the Collector /; John NJ. Comstock,
from the Naval Office and John L.
Livingston, from the Surveyors Office.
The men were mostly young, and
looked in the main like respectable
mercantile clerks and book-keepers.
They took their seats on high stools at
Q Q. M, each having ample desk room
to himself, not 90 much for elbow room
as to prevent unperceived communica-
tion with his neighbor. He was des-
ignated only by number, which had
been given to him BY b clerk In the
entry, where his name was supposed to
be dropped entirely out of consideration
into q sealed envelope.
The first test Of liability was in pen~
manship and orthography. eeveral
sentences were read aloud, distinctly
and slowly, the candidates writing it
down verbatim, If they could. A PEN
man Of fair speed, unless embarrassed
BY the position, ought to have had no
difficulty, except as to the spelling !;
but there was some who seemed to
omit parts Of the passage. This was
intended to try the candidates. expert
ness in writing from dictation. They
were next tried at notation, by writing
out various sums in numerals at
common and decimal fractions, by
solving four simple problems in each !;
and at applied arithmetic, by answer
ing six questions within the scope of
the fundamental rules. The next
branch of the examination comprised,
very briefly, geography, history and
government. The historian require
ments were the naming Of four iinpor-
tant battles of the Rebellion, and an
answer to the question, "When and
where was slavery first introduced In
the United States ?" The govern.
mental questions we're :-fsIn what does
treason consist ?" and "What is meant
by martial law f'' f
Naval Officer Burt, who is . jealous
champion Of the competitive system of
civil-service reform, conceded that these
particular questions were meant to try
the answerer's general intelligence, and
had no direct bearing on any special
qualification for custom house work.
che ensuing examination in grammar
required the correction of six examples
Of false syntax, and was not more than
an ordinary good commercial writer
ought to bear. The final and most
practical trial wss to write letter de-
scribing the benefits and danger arising
from the multiplication of railroads in
this country. The candidates compre-
hended that this would show whether
they compose frst-rate letter, as well
as niueArato their penmanship, and como
of them scratched their heads over the
task, while others dashed off q few
thoughtless lines. Celebrity was an OBJ
]ect, for the time when each man handed
In his completed sheets was taken down,
to show his readiness. Some were
through at noon, and some Jagged until
4 p. M, when the competition closed.
The committee will rate the answers
and illustrations at 100 for perfect ones
down to cipher for those utterly bad,
and candidates who achieve an average
Of 76 or better will he hired on trlal for
six months. At the end of that proba-
tionary time, If no personal faults are
developed, such as drunkenness, lazl-
meas, and dishonesty, they will be regu-
iarly employed In the clerkships under
81 200 q year.