The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-06-01
THE CIyIL-sERvICE LAW.
The Working of the Commission, and the
Benefits and Disadvantages to the Act.

The Working of the Commission, and the
Benefits and Disadvantages to the Act.
o. o. s., in Louisville Courier-Journal.
In conversation to-day with Judge Thoman
the Democratic member of the Civservice
Commission, your correspondent cleaned many
important and interesting facts connected with
the working of the commission and the actual
results produced by the civil-service law. From
the conversation with Judge Thoman, and from
information obtained through other sources, as
well as by my own observation, am enabled to
give the reader fair idea of the benefits as we'll
as the disadvantages of the law.
Since the law went into effect, over two years
ago, the commission have examined in all about
IL 900 applicants for places in the civilservice of
the government. OF those examined little
over onehalf have been successful in obtain
ing the requisite certificates OF having passed a
successful examination. OF the number passed
one-half have secured places in the governments
paying from 1920 to 81, 800 per annum only
very few, howevx., having the good fortune to
reach the last fissres OF the number of those
who have obtained cerkships. say 1900, only
one In twenty were females. There n num-
Der of reasons given for this disproportion of the
sexes, some of which are worthy OF note.
Before doing so. however, it is best 10 relate
for the service. The law requires that when
head of bureau needs clerk it shall be his
duty to make application to the commission, and
to designate in the application the sex required,
writing male or female upon the application.
The commissioners then send him the names of
four persons male or female as the case may be,
the four names sent representing persons hav-
ing passed the best examination, conforming,
however, to the rule of State quota. With these
names is also sent the papers ofthe four persons,
which enables the bureau officer to discover not
only the branch of study in which the applicant
is most efficient, but also to learG the parties
recommending.
Thus it will be seen that in the matter of Sc
lecting males or females the choice is absolutely
in the discretion of the bureau official. 1t will
also be seen that by referring to the names of
the applicants indorsers the bureau head will
not have much difficulty in solving the politics
of an applicant, for as rule a natural gift of
humanity applicants will call upon influential
party friends for favors of this kind.
AS far as the examinations have gone they
have demonstrated that females have as rule,
gained the highest averages and passed the best
examinations. Some of these ladies who have
acquitted themselves so handsomely in their ex-
animation are from the South, and ara numbered
among the best and most prominent families of
that section OF the country. They are also
Endorsed highly by the representative men of the
South. There are severaladies from Kentucky,
introduced to the commission by Senator Beck,
who stand at the top of the examination contest
somewhere up in the nineties, sixty-fve being
the average required.
asked the chief of one of the bureaus this
morning why such great and seemingly unjust
discrimination was made against females after
their competency for the places had been so Well
established. He replied about as follows; There
are a number of reasons why prefer men to
women for department work. The first reason
is that women more susceptible to complaints
than men and lose more time by sickness.
The record shows this. When a woman has
the headache, or is feeling badly otherwise, you