The sun., 1901-06-23
OFFICES FOR ONLY | IN 8.
RESULTS or THE MUNICIPAL CIVIL
SERVICE EXAMINATIONS.
Some Applicants who Are Hops'essiy 'sno'
rant The Civil service Schools women
Generally Handicapped BY Their Nervous
mass Peculiarities OF the ApphcauS.


When ore takes into consideration the
small number Of vacancies that occur IN cNh
service municipal Offices each year the mum
ber Of optimistic souls who try 10 ob'n''
those ofyccs Is surprising and trihe pnthe''c.
The applicants don't take the siimness Oh
their chances into consideration. nat
Is the explanation of their OPTIMISM ,ne
reason why, day after day. the examination
rooms Of the Municipal Civil Service COM
mission are crowded With men and women
II isfa motley crowd that cores before
the examiners In the course ~ year an"
though, for certain examinations, the up
licopts presenting themselves show h'Rh
grade OF intelligence. the amount OF dehse
and impenetrable ignorance brought 10 'n'
surface in n large proportion OF the eN"fn'''-
tions i thing to marvelnt
Aside from the examinations demano-
ing technical knowledge. as, Tor exanpie'
those given to engineers and draugn,shep'
the design Il TO test the general intelhgenoe
rather than the acquired knowledge oi the
applicant, and little education Is necessary.
beyond an ability to read and write ana
10 do simple arithmetical examples Even
in these rudimentory principles the average
applicant il sadly deficient. In sp'te OF the
fact that he has usually had more or less
training in the public schools. The examiners
say that the graduates OF the New forK
common schools who come before them
are a.tonishingly weak In writing and arrh-
metic and cannot compare. as TO pronciehcy
in those branches. with tho Irish applicants
who have attended the Irish national schools
very large percentage of the applicants
for appointment as policemen. fremen.
orderlies &c. are Irish. Almost all OF the
onnlicants for medical offices are Russian
or Polish Hebrews. For the other examina-
lions NIL sorts and conditions OF men come
forward. few OF them have had course OF
,rs,oration In some civil service training
school. which may or may not improve the'r
chances. according as the school has been
good or bad and the pupil has been INTEL
ligent or stupid.
OF most Of these civil service schools
the examiners hold very unhattering
opinion They admit that few OF the schools
are legitimate and we'll conducted and ac-
complish certain degree OF good, but they
condemn the others unreservedly as money
making schemes thriving on the gullibihty OF
the ignorant The owners OF the schools, SO
the examiners say, mislead the applicants
make them absurd promises, in some cases
even going 80 far as to guarantee success ana
take their money. II the applicant fails tho
teacher makes ont an appeal Tor him, ad-
yises him. keeps up his hopes and charges
him good sum for all this useless assistance
Only recently ,the commission has been
Obliged to take vigorous measures to re-
strain some Of the more unscrupuious
schools from interference with the eXamina-
tons and papers
In the reputable schools a man may gain some
idea of the sort of knowledge that will be eS-
pected of him and may remedy some dencien-
cies that would be certain 9th rNi'e 10 spoil his
chances legibic hand and knowledge of
plain arithmetic will be certain 10 help him,
and the school will give him that More
over. guided by the general tenor oil old eN-
animation questions the teachers may form
n fair idea Of the kind OF knowledge required
for the desired once and may train the pupil
in the practical principles and requirements
of the work he wants u obtain.
Would-be police men and fremen make
Use of the schools oftener than any other
class Of applicants and they receive drilling
in the rules and regulations Of the depart
mentS, the location of city streets and build
ines md various other details Cnluckily,
| they cannot obtain general intelligence for
| the asking and many of them might echo
the remark Of the disappointed applicant
| for appointment a. n police matron, who
| when told she would be examined Tor general
| intelligence looked appalled, and inquired
And plaze, sur. whore wud I be afther
| goin' to got that same;
II is al very well for would-be police
| man 10 have memori7cd the rules and regu-
| lntions but that achievement VIII prove
| a broken reed when the examiner asks him
why in his opinion certain one one oi the regn,
! lntionS was made. or tells him to explain
| exactly what a certain rule means Nothing
| but hard common sense and mother VII
will help him through, and the woe OF thf
| snng,line Irishman who finds the law and
| gospel over which he has agonized Tor week
OF no avail j. a sad thing to see.
lnG pnyseai SAaniaon ,nn ST9Ghhes thn nsr,a ,nI
| examination In the last examination for
patroimen only 10 per cent Of the, applicants
succeeded in getting upon the eligible lSt
| and yet so per cent passed the mental cA'
| animation successfully -
A vast majority of tho persons who present
| themselves for examination not only have
| not attended n civil service but nav" not th'
| slightest idea OF what will be required Wh' Z
| the questions are distributed some OF tn,
| aspirants throw up the sponge at once anc
Withdraw like the ola ir'sH ny ,Hay TmG ybni VOC b
| "wudn't taakc part in any such prosaydlns
But most Of the crowd tackles the questions
and large proportion Of The papers turned
| Rs weep salt tears The greatest defect "
the avera ge applicant Is his lack oi power
| to EXPRESS even what little he does know
| and IL is amazing TO scc how impossible II 4
| for about nine out Of ten 10 put even the mos
| ordinary statement into clear and intenisihl'
| ENGLISH. -
The women are far superior to the men ir
| this respect and will make better showini
| on loss knowledge than the men. As one o
| the examiners puts II:
| The women may have fewer ideas 10 eS-
press, but do a good deal more expressing
| On the other hand. the women arc seriously
| handicapped by nervousness. The examiner
| say that az least seven out of ten o' me womef
| 20 all TO pieces nervQusly and do not do them
| selves Justice Many of them break dowr
| and cry Others give up aud so home. ana
| others work 40 slowly that they cannot pos
| siblv finish within the allotted time. IL Y
| a common thing for a girl 10 be sent 70 dasl
| cold wnter on her face and look out oi the win
| dow for five or ten minutes, and often aitol
this treatment she can go on and do her wor'
| successfully.
| Nervousness II II exists in the men. does no
show itself In the same, way, ne herNou'
| man takes II ont In smoking flriously. or II
| extreme cases simply loses power OF coheren
| eypressou and starcs stolidly at the pnpcl
! without being able to write "orl
smoking i mcrcfully allowed in the ex
animation rooms and II pulls many mar
| through "A bad quarter Of an hour. but M
| quality Of some. Of tho cigars IA trial To tn
| fastidiouS. and the commission would con
| for n favor upou suffering examiners auC
examined by regulating the grade Of eN
animation tobacco DraughtSmen and en-
ginecr4 have the reputation oi being M
hardest smokers among the apphcant>
aud on n day when they are being examined
the rooms are places TO be avoided
Tho great mas OF nppliCat ions made ar
for clerkships Any man who cannot d