Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-23

lions Of the commission who failed to re-
ceive appointments. There will be no lack
of those who wish to take the examination,
though. Most of them will look on the pos
s,bility of appointment as a lottery, and
will leave that to take care of itself. Few
who have had any experience will build
any castles in Spain on the civil service ex-
animation.
This year is perhaps the worst that has
been known since the establishment of the
civil service commission. The Dockery
commission of experts which went through
the departments in this city recon-
mending changes in methods, has cut
down the working force in the depart
ments by about GOO. Many of the clerks
who were dropped obtained reinstatement.
A clerk who has been in the department
service can obtain reinstatement without
the aid of the civil service commission; and
transfers from one department to another
can be made without going through the
civil service examination. In this way most
Of the places that might have been filled
from the list of eligibles in the offices Of the
civil service commission have been given to
old employees. So the percentage of ap-
pointments to the number who pass the
civil service examination will be smaller
this year than ever before. Last year less
than twenty-five per cent of those who
passed examinations for places in the
department, railway mail and Indian SER
vices received appointments
Percentage of Appointments.
In the first eleven years of its existence
the commission examined 10000 applicants
for places in all branches of the public SER
vice. OF these, $500 failed to pass the ex-
amination-nearly thirty-eight per cent.
OF the %. 700 who passed the examination,
exactly 33,757 received appointments-thir-
ty-six per cent But the number appointed
was only twenty-five per cent of those ex-
amined; so hardly more than one-fifth of
those who sought places in the public SER
vice obtained them. Last year 6. 1876 men
and 1.624 women applied for examination
ir the three branches in which examina-
tions are to- be held this spring-the depart
ment service, the railway mail and the In
dian service. OF these, All men and ISL
women passed the examination, and 9S3
men and 225 women received appointments.
So il you have any hope of getting a gov
eminent place through the civil service ex-
animation, remember that out of 8 400 per-
sons who took the examination last year
only 1,20S were successful. The percentage
Is rather dscouraging.
But there are facts still more discourage
Ing to the average applicant; for the aver
age applicant wants to start as clerk
copyist." Mr.. Theodore Roosevelt of the
commission says that the clerk-copyist is
the raw material out of which good govern
ment employees are made. When man
has been clerk-copyist for time, at a
salary of $500 to 5000 a year, his chief can
see WnetneT tnere Is SOOQ Stun III It'll,
and. If there is, can promote him to some
more responsible position. Well there
were 1.24I men and 535 women in the
clerk-copyist contest last year-1,7S2 In all.
OF these 1883 passed the examination and
went on the list of eligibles, and forty-eight
received observation-disclosures men and
six women; that is, about one applicant in
every 81 was appointed to a clerkship.
This does not augur we'll for the people
who are to be examined in March and
April and May.
Duties of the Examiner.
The civil service examiner is a bird of
passage. One Of these examiners will be-
gin woik at Wilmington, Del, March q,
and at intervals Of two or three days will
jump to Philadelphia, TIenton, New York,
New Haven, Springfield, Providence, Bos-
ton, Concord. Portland, Burlington, Albany,
Rcchcs ter, Harrisburg and Frederick, Md.
At the time he Is holding an examination
in Wilmington, Del, another examiner will
be holding similar examination at Rich
mond, Va: another ct Pittsburg; another
at Evansville, Ind, and another at Grand
Island, Neb. The Philadelphia examination
Wilmip gton, N. c.; Cleveland, Ohio; st.
Louis, and Cheyenne. The New York eX-
animation will take place on the same day
as the examinations at Columbia, S. c.;
Chicago, Kansas City and Salt Lake City.
The examinations are held under the
supervision of the examiner from this city
for variety Of reasons; and one Of them
is the fear that there might be local col
fusion II local authorities had entire charge
of questions and answers. Even the travel
ing examiner is not trusted entirely. Diff
ferent sets of questions are prepared for
different days. There will be exactly the
same questions asked at each Of the ex-
aminations held March %, and the same
questions will be used in five different
cities March 20; but the examination
papers of March q and March 20 will be
entirely different
These papers will not be carried by the
exs mirer in his travels. He will have an
extra set of questions to use in case of
emergency but the regular set of questions
which he is to use under regular conditions
will be mailed to him from this city, adj
dressed to the office at which the examina-
ton Is to be held. The examiner, therefore
will not see the questions until the day of
the examinations; and it would be quite i'm
possible for him to give any information to
a person about to take the examination
which would assist him in getting through
A dishonest examiner who had full control
of the examination papers could make a
very pretty income selling copies in ad-
vance to people who wished to take the ex-
animation and who were not sure of their
ability to do so creditably.
To Prevent Fraud.
good showing in the examination is
sometimes assurance of an appointment.
for the men and women with the highest
percentage go to the head of the eligible
list, ard are the first certified for appoint
ment. There are many people who would
not hesitate to play trick on the govern
ment to obtain Office. In fact, the system
of using different papers on succeeding
days was established because it was charg-
ed that a man who took the examination
In one city, and who knew the schedule of
the examiner. sent copies of the quest tons
he had answered to a friend in another
city VINO wanted to take the examination.
This charge was not proved but the sug-
geStion made the commission more cautious.
Fro 250 to 800 different examinations
are held each year. This means that from
go to 800 different sets of examination
questions are prepared each year This
work and the marking of examination
papers keeps a force of thirty men busy.
The examination papers are often COM
pl.cated and require scientific knowledge
and knowledge of languages. So far as
possible, these questions are prepared in
the commissions office, but it is necessary
sometimes to go outside the commission for
a set of questions. This necessity Is not
hard to understand. when one considers
that the scientific work in the departments,
for which clerks are appointed through
examination. includes mechanical engineer
Ing. chart work, photography, anatomy,