Morning journal and courier., 1883-03-31
SouruaI allS Courier
SINGLE CoPIEs. THREE cENTs.
Saturday, March 81, 1888.
comPErIrIvE ExAn11NATIoN.

COMPETITIVE EXAMINATION.
 Civil Service Reform itself badly needs
 reformation. Competitive examination, SC
 far as we know, is thus far it's only remedy
 for the existing state of things This, too,
 is the method of the new Civil Service com
 missioners According to Judge Thoman,
 they propose to adopt fixed standard and
 then to report as eligible for appointment
 only the first twenty-five persons whose ex-
 animation papers reach or exceed this stand
 ard.
 Competitive examination is but very inn perfect test of fitness for most offices for
 many of them it will be absolutely no test at all, and for only very few of them thor
 oughly satisfactory one There are some positions, like that of an examiner of pat
 ents, or that of Signal Service officer,
 which require special knowledge of some
 particular subject. Competitive examination l will perhaps be as good test of such knowl. l edge as can be devised. But what sort of 8
 test is it of fitness for offices that require ad- ministrative ability? The examination will
 simply show that particular applicant has learned more than his competitors, but this is not the first step towards proving that he can do business. Business capacity, as everybody knows, is not obtained from books, and learning is no test of it at all. The great majority of the subordinate officers of l the government require no special knowl- edge. Good common sense, good business habits, and above all integrity, are what is wanted and these qualifications cannot be measured by competitive examination of any sort. We have no dispute with those who say no one should be appointed who has not acquired what are called "the rudiments. Every candidate ought to have fair knowl- edge of these, but it does not follow that the candidate who has the best knowledge of them is the best fitted for office, any more than it follows because every business man should know arithmetic that the one who knows it best will be the most successful.
 But it is said that the applicant can be ex- amined upon the duties and obligations of the office applied for. As, for instance. ap- plicants for positions in the mail service can be examined upon the postal laws and the rules of the department. But even if it is true that every candidate ought to have 8 knowledge of them, it does not follow tuaG tue caHOIuhG6 WuO ChA WoAOHAA0 OCSb will make the most efficient mail agent. Besides, it does seem a little hard, not to say absurd, to ask 8 lot of applicants to acquire a large amount of information that only one of them is likely to use, especially if it is of kind that can be got in less than month after the appointment ia made. This would be thought queer rule to apply to those seeking clerkships in ordinary business One of the reasons why.Civil Service reform has thus far awakened no enthusiasm among the masses is because it is believed to be impractical.
 It is apparent enough to most people that ] men ought not to be admitted to office as boys are to cellige by fixed standard of examination. Of course it does not follow because competitive examination is not the best mode of selection that office should be the reward of party service. But what reason is there why appointments can not be made for fitness without competitive examination? It is favorite argument with Civil Service reforners that government is business and should be run on business prin- eiples. When 8 merchant wants Q clerk he does not ask the applicant for the place what parallel of latitude Woonsocket is in, or when Ticonderoga was captured. He in quires about his antecedents. finds out what he has done, tests him by results. Why we have Civil Service commission ness method.