Evening star., 1901-07-29
Appointments Have Been Made
Without Examinations.
FAULTY CONSTRUCTION OF THE LAW
Report to Civil Service Reform
League.
ANUMBER OF NEW POSITIONS

A special committee of the Civil Service
Reform League has made a report In re-
gard to appointments made In the public
service without examinations. The report
is signed by William Dudley Fouike, Rich
ard Henry Dana William A. Aiken, Chas.
Richardson and George McAneny.
The committee states that many po-
siticns have been created by recent legisla-
tion where there was no express exclusion
from the civil service law, which embraces
in the classified service new positions of
the same general description as those al
ready included, and yet they have been
excluded by appointing officers.
Large and important classes have been
so treated" the report states, "the only
reason alleged being that under the terms
of particular acts the department officer
has been authorized to select or to en-
ploy, rather than to appoint, though 1t Is
difficult to believe that in such cases these
words are used In any other than their
synonymous sense.
THE construction under which such ex-
emptions occur, so far as we can learn,
are, in most cases, purely arbitrary The
number of exemptions made under them is
growing, and it would appear that new
means for successfully circumventing the
civil service law has been discovered, the
development of which, unless checked by
the President and heads of departments
who very clearly have the power to check
twill result very unfortunately. num-
Der OF examples are here given.
The Rural Free Delivery Service.
Il All appointments in the rural free
delivery service are made without exami-
nation, for the reason that in the appro-
priaton act that service was spoken of as
Experimental In a debate In Congress
Mr. Loud the chairman of the House COM
4
that the use of this word placed the office
outside the classified service. This claim
could not however, be rightly based mere
ly on the ground that the service, at the
outset, was to be temporary, as Mr.. Loud
meant to imply. Appointments that are
temporary description that in this case
would certainly seem to be synonymous
with 'experimentar-are subject to the same
general provisions OF the civil service as
those that are permanent.
There is certainly nothing in the special
act" the report says. which would pre-
vent the President from now classifying
this service by executive order.
Forest Reserve Bureau.
III. BY an act passed June 4, 1897, Con-
gress created the forest reserve bureau
TO be charged, under the direction Of the
Secretary of the Interior, with the care
and administration of the national forest
reserves and on July 1. 1898, an appropri-
alton of $4,000 was made to cover the
employment of the necessary superinten-
dents, inspectors. surveyors forestry
agents rangers etc. The appropriation
act in this case. provided merely that
these employees should be appointed by
the Secretary of the Interior, and wholly
with reference to their fitness and without
regard for their political affiliations.
There was nothing In this language TO in
terfere with appointments under the civil
service law; rather the reverse. 1t is un-
derstood, however. that Mr.. Bliss, who was
then Secretary, claimed the rules did not
apply for the reason that none Of the gen.
eral provisions defining the CLASSIFIED SER
vice exactly fitted these particular posi-
tions.''
The civil service commission protested
against this Interpretation of the law. Tn
der this service the aggregate of salaries
Of people excluded from the classified SER
vice amounts to $S25,0OO per annum.
MIR. Heath's Appointments.
"UI.-In the report to the commission ol
changes in the Post Office Department, fol
the month of June, 1899, there appeared
the names of twenty -four persons as TEN
porary clerks in the office of the first as
sistant postmaster general These clerks
whose tenure il may be remarked, has be
come virtually permanent were appointed
without the required examinations. Tn,
act providing for them referred merely Il
the employment during the nine months
beginning July /, 1890, of. such additiona
Temporary force necessary to th'
prompt efficient and accurate dispatch o
the business in the Office of the first as
sistant.' There was nothing In 1t denying