Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-01-18
5.
Excess Of Appointments in the Civil
Service.
HARLOW EXPLAINS
More Equitable Distribution Among
the States.
THE LEGAL WORK DAY

The investigation into the methods of the
civil service was resumed this morning at
10 o'clock by the Senate committee on civil
service and retrenchment, at their rooms
in the Maltby building. Senator Pritchard.
chairman of the committee, was the only
member present. On behalf of the civil
service commission, there were present
Commissioners Proctor and Harlow, Chief
Examiner A. r. Server, Assistant Ex-
amner e. ID. Bailey and Law Clerk Geo.
R.-Wales of the commission. Ex-Represen-
tative Henry NJ. Baker, president of the
| National Republican Anti-Civil Service
League, and E. W. Oyster were also pres
! ent.
Mr.. Harlow was the first witness sworn.
! He submitted a statement covering replies
| to questions regarding the work of the
commission, submitted to him by Senator
| Elkins. member of the committee.
Senator Pritchard asked if Mr.. Harlow
had any suggestion to make regarding
extension of time for names to remain on
the eligible list.
The witness replied he thoughts the time
could be extended beyond one year, as now
| Is the case In case of such places as clerk
copyists, the time could be made two years.
while in places requiring technical skill the
time could be extended materially. 1t
should be necessary, he said, for the appli
cant to. submit papers showing he still is a
examined, and that his physical condition
was the same as when he was first ex-
amined
MI Harlow sta ted it has not been pos
slbie to distribute the appointments with
mathematical exactness among the several
states, upon the basis of population be-
cause 1t sometimes happens, where techni-
cal or special qualifications required.
that the state whose turn may be reached
in certifcation may have no eligible on the
register with the desired qualifica tons, and
1t also happens occasionally that when a
special examination is held to fill !, va
cahcy requiring unusual qualifications no
ellglbles can be secured from the state en-
titled to the appointment.
Excess for the District.
In reply to an inquiry whether Mary
land, Virginia and the District of Columbia
ca not have an excessive share Of ap-
pcintments, Mr.. Harlow said:
The application of the civil service rules
is gradually reducing the number Of ap-
pointments in the departmental service
charged to Maryland, Virginia and the
District of Columbia. lit should be borne
In mind that the large excess secured by
those states and the District occurred I'M
der the old system before the enactment
of the civil service law. For instance, I'M
der the old system Virginia, Maryland and
the District received i3,135 appointments.
when they were entitled to only 3d.. They
received, therefore. an excess of 2Si3
which should have been distributed among
the other states and territories of the
Union. Under the civil service system,
however, Maryland. Virginia and the Dis
trict of Columbia have received 800 ap-
pointments, which is 100 more than they
should have received - This excess is al
that appointments were given to Maryland
Virginia and the District when special
technical qualifica tons were required in the
positions to be filed, and when elgibles
q oh
| tanned in other states or territories.
Had the old system continued and Mary
land, Virginia and the District continued
to receive appointments in the same pro-
portion as they did under that system
they would have received during the last
thirteen years. 6712 instead of 80 appoint
nents AS 1t is, however, the commission
has been able to distribute those appoint
ments among all OF the states and terrific
les of the Union. Each year the large
excess charged to some of the states by the
operation of the old system, when it was a
0lrect advantage to an applicant for Office
to be on the ground pressing his claims is
being reduced. and applicants on the COM
missions eligible lists can remain at their
homes with the knowledge that if they
have passed sufficiently high they may be
selected for appointment, and knowing
well that if they have not passed high,
and there are sufficient eligibles ahead of
them on the registers they need not waste
time in thinking about their chances of ap-
pointment.
More Equitable Distribution.
In order to make the distribution of ap-
pointments among the several states more
equitable. If possible the commission has
adopted plan by which states will be
credited in the apportionment when their
legal residents are separated from the
service in Washington. 1t has been the
practice of the commission heretofore to
take no account of separations after charg-
ing appointments to the apportionment, re-
garding the distribution of positions among
the several states sufficiently exact by
charging the appointments to them when
made, without considering subsequent sep
arations from the service in order to adj
just the apportiOnment. 1t Is possible that
this plan is Sufficiently exact for all prac-
teal purposes, but l believe that by keep
ing a ledger account with the various
states. charging them with appointments
as they are made and crediting them with
separations as they occur more exact dis
tribution of the appointments would be
made.
1T should be said in this connection that
in order to find out the exact state Of
the apportiOnment with respect to the
positions in Washington, it is necessary
to ascertain the present legal residences
Of employees well their legal resi-
dences at the time of appointment
Il make this suggestion because the
extensions Of the classified service from
time to time in Washington have material
sitions among the several states. The
commission did not consider that 1t was
authorized under the law to charge to
the apportionment positions brought into
the classified service by extensions of the
civil service rules, and some states, espe-
cially Maryland, Virginia and also the
District of Columbia, have obtained posi-
lions now in the classified service far in
excess of their quotas In this way; that is,
by securing appointments to unclassified
positions and the subsequent classification
Of those positions without charging them
TO the apportionment. Now that the ex-
tensions of the assified service in Wash
ington are practically, complete, 1 believe
| it would be advisable to take a census
of the classified employees in Washington,
ascertainfng their present legal residences
as we'll as their legal residences at the
| time Of appointment, and charging to each
state the legal residents of that state, SO
that the distribution of appointments here
| after may be based upon the results of
| that inquiry"
Lunch Time Unauthorized.
When asked regarding the hours of la
Dor in the government departments Mr..
Harlow said the law required not less than
| ea1o, ho,rr doil~ hnf n hod I,oo, . -.z.