Evening star., 1898-08-20


petitive examination. Nobody knows, ex-
cept those in authority, to what extent
this back door has been used, but It is
known to have been extensively used. 1
am told that men have been appointed to
the position of post Office inspector by this
process.
In one instance an eyamina tion was
held in accordance with the request of
department. but the man whom the de-
partment wanted went down so badly on
the list of eligiblss that his name could not
be reached. The whole examination was
Cancelled. and the next time 1t was held
allowance was made for experience BY
this process the department got the man
that it wanted. Experience is generally the
unknown quantity in the problem to which
any value may be assigned which is neces-
sary to produce the desired result de-
partment asked for an examination. and
requested that credit be given for famil
iarity with the topography of Alaska. The
work to be done in the office had no more
to do with Alaska than with China but the
man who was wanted had been to Alaska
while the other applicants had not been
there or course the department got its
man.
In another case the department made a
temporary appointment for three months
under the emergency rule and had the time
extended another three months, which is
the limit allowed. When the examination
was held for this place an allowance was
made for experience and as the only
competitor who had any experience was the
tanced all his rivals. No experience was re-
quired to secure the temporary appoint
ment without examination, but it served a
good purpose to require it in the examina-
ton.
"A young woman was refused transfer
from the position of stenographer and type
writer in the government printing office to
the same position in one of the departments
because the work in the government print
ing office was not the same kind of work
as in the departments and hence it was
held the transfer rule forbade the transfer;
but under the same rule man was trans
ferred from the position Of attendant in the
insane asylum to the position of compoSitor
in the government printing office. Compos-
uors should take steps to ascertain from
the civil service commission where the re-
semblance is between their work and the
work of a man who takes care of crazy
people in an insane asylum.
Marking Competitors.
"a man appealed from the marks given
him in his examination by one of the COM
missions local boards of examiners The
commission wrote to the local board for
full statement of the way in which they
marked this competitor. The local board
replied that they marked him partly on the
information obtained from his examination
papers, partly on personal interview
which the board had with him and partly
on information received from outside par
ties. OF course, with that kind of marking
it is not difficult to make up an eligible
register to suit the most fastidious appoint
ing officer. 1t is this kind of marking
which, when applied to promotions and re-
auctions, produces curious results which
the uninitiated cannot understand
IheSe instances are not due to the de-
fects of the merit system, but to the de-
fects of the administration of it. The COM
mission has only to plant itself squarely on
the law which provides for open, fair and
honest competition as the only test for en-
trance to the service, and all these quibbles
and deceptions and evasons would be swept
away. But when the commission sets itself
to the study of methods to crafty the de-
mands of place hunters and becomes party
to schemes for cheating the law, it dis
credits and demoralizes the whole system
1t is the knowledge of these defects of ad-
ministration which keeps alive the opposi-
ton to the law. He is not true friend of
civil service reform who seeks to hide these
evasions instead of exposing and denounc-
ing them.
Qualifications have been made of names
which do not stand at the head of the
eligible lists. Within the past two years
pretexts have been found for skipping
Eames and certifying others lower down on
the list. The practice began in a very in
Eocent sort Of a way, under what seemed
to be plausible conditions: but once begun
instances haYe rot been wanting in which
resort has been had to this privilege when
no just apol )gy could be made for it. When
applicants go into competition on certain
conditions, and by the terms of those con-
ditions they win in fair competition, no.
body has any right to deny them the fruit
or their victory on any pretext WhatSo-
ever