The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1897-08-27
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM.
Some rracticability Nav Be Pat
Into the System.
PROMOTION WILL BE ATTENDED TO,
And the Man Of Merit and Not the
spokesman WIN Rise In Cow
crnmcnt Employ.


vidcs for selecting employees are not prac-
,,.., psnsc,s,,v ts This criticism heard In
- Nsa. :, ,ho n,h,lc
fesa'u w HWY p'""S -.
service which are mechanical INV t"v
pressmcn, book binders.
.,o,,ro,v,,~s an tho govern
'N'r - ,,,.,.,
ment printing oniee. ana Tue ""Vn'"'''s'
engineers aud carpenters IN
o,her rarts ~ Tho service II Is often asked
.,. 49,, .v.r,,,a,,on
"ne'nuf A"s ss"e'a'N .'--.,I.
can be devised when Will FURNISH any pes'
of a mans efficiency In such occupations
,,..,a ~. ,,,s,,on ,s mar one which
... ...,.v,
occurs 70 oppo"'u's v. wy '''''. s'sN'
alone. II was President Clcveland's ono
condition which he imposed upon the COM
missioners before agreeing TO put the gov
eminent printing office under the ciassiheu
service, that their examination should pc
practical. and from all SIDES TINS same
demand has come. 1t Is even related by the
man who at one time had charge OF the
press room In the government printing o.
fee that his best press feeders We're me
women who could not read or write, His
theory to account for this was that II was
. peculiarly tryipg oceupat on TO WORK upon
rapidly moving machine, IKE printing
press, aud that the more highly developer
ones nervous system was, the less easily
did one ttll into,a quiet and machine-iikc
way Of doing things
II this mans testimony, that some OF MS
very best feeders" receipted for their
wages by making cross. be accepted, II
would obviously BIZ difficult TO select COM
petent persons always on the basis OF
written examination. Perhaps this is an
extreme case. but tho impression Is gen
eral that In many other strictly mechanical
branches very skilful persons would be
debarred by even the simplest test In pen
manship or spelling,
Al these things the civil service commits
sioners realize as fully as anybody else,
and they are now making great progress In
reaching strictly practical tests for me-
chanical employees Ii has been found that
there "a no handieraft or trade In which
questions may not be devised which test
ina intellieence ana sldli ~ Tho appllcant.
To be sure there is a nlipbt difference be-
txaen knowinv bnw IN Ia n thing and
nc,nal,v hoIng aha 10 Sn II h,t ~ N mnn
Ia 80, - =, III. ayant,n,in, ,.n shovy
th,t n. ,ossossts n,aatorv ~, Tho mo.
ohan,na, nr,nn,rI.. nm u,stoh ne yorl
dnnends nnd IN arnthnr mart ~ bis ~
nm,natIo, ca, chow .,,annc. nf having
ani,'".,uu cnn shom vnvh.e VI nh.,uh
n"u e'nsiue'au,e oNpo' io"ue -, ""'ns ,na.
MN " 70 iaa, ~ pt'S"i'V '""' '"e ''''
~ 'n,a W So - ie,,
i"e succoaSiu 'sn"iaa.e III uii cA",n'nn
won ehsase"' III any evsh,, opiy on
p.onai,oIi, ana so mere Woulo seem 10 DC
ntt'e diHcuity IN securing co'hpe'snt men
oreat care VIII he taken III marklns Tue
papers on tnese praci'cai examinations nor
TO give 100 much emphasis TO facih'y OF
verbal expression, which Is not mechanical
SIKH at all, but the crudest sort OF an an
swer which shows that the man knows
what he In talking about Will be given It's
proper weight,
composition, for instance, may be asked
how to Impose a form, how TO Justify hts
| type how TO lay out a title page, etc. A
pressman may be examined as 10 his
knowledge OF the relation OF the bearer 10
the cylinder; as TO how far he should lower
his climber In case he docs not get an
even impression: what kind OF packing
would bo hest soft or hard. for particular
Kind of work. how TO set his fountain 30
as 10 got an eyep coIor. ole
] In nearly ali Tho trades tbero arc text
hnohs n, ,rIncinles from which II ,s nos
sihle IN CLEAN s,,itnhle tcs, questions ana
| ,hen anv oxnor,orrod man In carnen,rv
n'oaha a., .tnn"s,,, ~ ~ az
| kf