The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-01-27
UNDER CIVIL SERVICE pRoTEor1oN.
The Employees of tho Postoffice no Longer
Under tho Rulc OF Politicians.

The Employees oil tho I0etOmce no Longer
Under tho Rulc OF Politicians.
On Tuesday Postmaster Asberry re-
ceived circular letter No. Is from tho
United States civil service commission
at Washington dated January 0, 1898,
and signed by Chas. Lyman, president
1t stated that on January 5, by execu
tive order, the President approved and
promulgated an amend Ont to postal
rule No extending tho classification
Of the postal service SO as to include all
free delivery Offices, of which there are
now COL. The iule as amended is as
follows:
The classification of the postal SER
vice made by the Postm as teri General
under section Of the act Of January 16,
1888, is hereby extended to all free
delivery postotfices; and hereafter.
whenever any postotlice becomes free
delivery office the said classification or
any then existing classification made
by the Postmaster General under said
section and act shall apply thereto; and
the civil service commission shall pro-
vide examinations to test the fitness of
persons to fill vacancies in all FREQ
delivery postof1ices, and these rules
shall be in force therein; but this shall
not include any postoft:ce made an ex-
detrimental free delivery office under
The authority contained in the appro.
priation act of March 3, 1891. Every
revision Of the classification of any post
office under section of the act of Janu-
airy 10, 1888, and every inclusion of
postotiice within the classified postal
service shall be reported to the Prcsl-
dent"
Prior to this action tho civil service
rules applied only to those postotlices
which had as many as fifty employees
and fittyth offices were thus CLASH
fed. Now the service extends to all
offices below the pos5maste excepting
special delivery messengers. Five hun
dred and forty-eight Offices are thus
added to the classified service, varying
in number Of employees from over twenty
five and less than fifty to offices con-
tanning less than ten. The letter ex-
plains that the authority and duty of
removal at postoilice are left undis-
turbed by the civil service law and
rules. except that removal cannot
legally be made because a person has
refused to be coerced in political action
or has refused to contribute for political
purposes, or has refused to render poll
tical service.
The postmaster also received circular
letter No. IL, dated Washington, Jan
uary "a, 1898, in which q statement was
asked in reference to the employees
coming under the new classification
list from the assistant postmaster to the
person receiving the smallest salary in
the office, care being taken to show the
full name and the sex of each employe.
The qualifications for Office are intelli-
gence, candor, character, reputation,
sense of justice and fitness, age, charac
ter and extent of education, previous
occupation, present position, time in
Office and party utilization.
The civil service examination for
newly classified postofflces does not ap-
ply to those who are now being en-
ploVed in the United States postal SER
vice. This will place tho postoilice Of
Roanoke under the civil service classifl-
cation, by which the employees in any
capacity in the city's postoilice will be
retained with the exception OF the post
master. whose term OF office does not
expire until about year from the
present date.