The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-12-07
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
THE ANNUAL REPORT OF TIE
COMMISSION.

Thirty-Four Thousand Governrne ent
Employees on the List-1e,o2o Ap-
plicants Examined During the Last
Fiscal Year - 12,757 Passed and
e.272 Failed-A Decrease of 1906
IN the Number of Applicants.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 6.-The civil service
commission, in its annual report 10 the
President, states that the classified civil
service now contains $4,000 government
employees.
From July l, 1890, to June 80, 1891, 6,208
applicants were examined for departmental
service at Washington, of whom .9S7 passed
and 1860 failed to pass For the customs
service 1.570 we're examined, 800 passed and
5S7 failed; for the postal service s,5Ss were
examined. 5,S40 passed and 2,69S failed; for
the railway mail service 3,7O6 were ex-
amined, 2,5SS passed and LIS failed to
pass. The whole number examined for the
four branches OF the classified servioe was
l9,O29. Of whom 12,757 passed and 6,272
failed to pass.
DECREASE OF APPLICANTS.
Compared with the previous year this
shows decrease of S,965 in the whole num-
~ OAOAAitboAt q hoCEcdcd VI l,lOU IN bue
whole number who passed, and decrease
Of 2,775 in the whole number
who failed to pass. The whole
number appointed In the year covered by
this report Is as follows: Departmental
service, ,l52; customs service, 500; postal
service. 2, SOL; railway mail service, 1909
total, 5,395-sn increase of 236 over the pre-
vious year.
EXTENSION OF THE SERVICE.
The report calls attention to the extension
OF the classified service to include portion
OF Indian service and says that this exten-
sion Is especially important as for the hrst
time applying the principle Of non-partisan
appointments to the Indian service What
the commission aims to do, 1t says, is to
furnish an intelligent and honest corps of
men and women from whom a choice
can be made TO fill subordi-
nate positions, the higher positions
to be filed BY promotion, of those who on
actual trial in the service prove best uuali-
lied TO perform the peculiar duties incident
thereto. That the examinations will furnish
better grade Of employees than those
obtained under the old system is not, In the
opinion Of the commission, open to doubt.
CHANGES IN THE RULES.
There have also been two or three note
worthy and highly desirable alterations OF
the rules during the year. One OF the most
important of these is that allowing
the establishment Of competitive ex-
aminations for promotion within
the classified service. Another impor-
abolition Of the provision allowing the pro-
motion of persons In the non-classihed
service to positions in the classified
| service after non-competitive examina-
| tion. One Of the chief aims Of the
commission. says the report, is TO keep
the public thoroughly informed Of the
workings of the law, and to simplify these
workings as much as possible With this end
in view; and, Furthermore, to keep the pub
| lie confident Of the honesty with which the
law is administered. For this reason every
| back door entrance TO the classified service
| should be shut, and most emphatically this
system of promotion from the non classified
| service was such u back door.
THE EXCEPTED FORCE.
Appointments to the classified non.ex
cepted force, save by competitive examina-
| tions, should be confined TO the fewest pos
sible cases. There should be no
| transfers allowed on non-oompet-
tive examination from places that
were filled originally by non-oompetitive
| examination, or without examination at
| all. The commission is we'll satisfied that
| a large number of places now sub
| ject to non~oompetitive examination, or
| excepted from examination, might, with
great advantage to the service be- filled by
| open competition, or better still by promo
tion, as they almost certainly would be II
| placed on the competitive list. At present
most of the highest positions are filed
without examination, or by non-competi-
tive examination.
PROMOTIONS OFTEN DECLINED
A curious result of this Is that men In the
lower grades of the classified service often
decline to accept promotion to these higher
places, because they know that IL they do,
and IL there is a change OF administration,
they run great risk of being turned out for
purely political reasons.
In the departmental service at Washing
ton the commission expresses itself as en-
tirely satisfied with the way In which the
civil service law has been enforced. and re-
ports that it is safe in saying that the ques-
ton OF politics has been entirely eliminated
In making promotions aud making appoint
ments IN the departmental service.
FAIR DISTRIBUTION.
''No state" says the report, NOW has ma
terially less that its quota of appointments
During the last year the southern and
Pacific coasts have been brought TO a prac-
tical level In this respect with the northern
and eastern states. 1t has come to the knowl-
edge Of the commission that In all proba-
men appointed from the south
ern, and especially from the Gulf states,
were in political faith opposed to the pres
ent administration. This was the case 10
such states as Louisiana, Mississippi, Ala-
bama. Georgia and South Carolina, whose
quotas were filed just prior to
the making of the last annual
report of tho commission. 1t is
likewise the case In filing tho quotas of
other states, such as Texas and Arkansas,
which have only now been brought up to
level with the rest. From the southern
states, therefore, we are able to state that
appointments have been made practically
without regard to the party affiliations If
the applicants. This has doubtless been
equally true of the northern states and we
mention the southern states merely because
their peculiar political circumstances render
it possible to rnake the assertion more de-
finitely as regards them than IL can be made
in regard to the north.
THE RACE QUESTION ELIMINATED.
Another excellent feature Of the exarni>
nations In the southern states has been the
elimination not only Of questions OF politics
and religion, but Of the question Of race. A
fair proportion Of men appointed from these
states have been colored, these successful
colored applicants being In many cases
graduates Of colleges or niger institutions of
learning established especially for their
race"
1t is stated to be noticeable fact that a
larger proportion of colored people receive
arano{nfmanfo r1ndar fha n{utI oarusco l.. =.