The Washington times., 1901-07-29
TO AVOID EXAMINATIONS.
Special Appointments Spreading
in the Civil Service.
Attention Called by the Reform
League Committee to the Growth
OF the Abuse-Its increase in
various GO~crnment Branches.

various Government Branches
NEW YORK. July ga report has
been submitted by the special committee
of the Civil Service Reform League. ap-
pointed to enquire into the existence of
certain appointments made without the
customary examination. The report in
part is as follows:
The civil service rules defining the
classified service are so framed as to ap-
ply to new positions. when these are
created. of the same general description
as those already included. Such positions.
whether established under Executive au-
thority or createdT by Congress, fall
naturally under the appropriate classified
division, except where Congress, by ex-
press legislation.1 provides otherwise.
THE employees of the Census Bureau
and the two thousand or more clerks
employed under the war emergency acts,
were thus excluded, and are not within
the scope of this report
"A large number of posi- ions have, how
ever, been created by recent legislation,
where there was no express exclusion,
but where some ambiguity, or difference
from the usual form in the language of
appropriation bills. providing for salaries
or other compensation, has been construed
by appointing officers to amount to an
exclusion.
Large and important classes have been
so treated, the only reason alleged being
that under the terms of particular acts
the department officer has been authoriz-
ed TO select, or to employ rather than
to appoint. though it is difficult to be-
lieve that in such cases these words are
used in any other than their synonymous
sense.
The constructions under which such
exemptions occur. so far as we can learn,
are. in most cases, purely arbitrary The
number OF exemptions made under them
is growing, and .teiwouid appear that a
new means for successfully circumvent-
ing the Civil Service law has been dis
covered, the development of which, un-
less checked by the President and heads
of departments-who very clearly have
the power to, cheek twill result very
unfortunately Annumber of examples
are here given: yTssc
RURAE TRBE DELIVERY.
Il. All appointments in the Rural Free
Delivery Service are made without exam
ination for the reason that in the appro-
priation act that service was spoken of
as experimental a debate in Con-
House Committee on Postoffices and Post
Roads. stated that the use of this word
placed the office outside the classified
service. This claim could not. however,
be rightly based merely on the ground
that the service, at the outset, was to be
temporary, as Mr.. Loud meant to imply
Appointments that are temporary-a de-
scription that in this case would certain
Iv seem n he x-;ft
rimental'-are subject to the same gener-
al provisions of the civil service rules as
those that are permanent. But, however
that may be, ii is evident that the time
is now past when this branch of the SER
vice can be considered experimental. In
the words of the First Assistant Post
master General POSTMASTER Generals re-
port, November 3, 1900, p. 1lS):
The service popularly known as Rural
Free Delivery must hereafter be consid-
cred by the department and provided for
by Congress as a permanent and expand
ing feature of the postal administration
There is certainly nothing in the spe-
cial act which.-would prevent the Presi-
dent from. now classifying this service
by executive order. II is possible that
the rural carriers could not be conven-
iently included, since their work is not
always continuous and Is frequently done
in connection with some private employ
ment-a carrier. for instance. furnish
ing the facilities for the conveyance of
the mails in connection with some busi-
ness of his own. But the Postoffice De-
partment has appointed a large number
of special agents in this service who per-
form continuous administrative and cler-
ical work. and who could easily be classi-
EnI In, all tIa Iar ,ftf
numbers of these special agents, about
forty being employed in Washington
alone. 1t is submitted that these places
should be made subject TO future COM
petitive examinations, and that this would
be of great advantage to the service.
THE FOREST RESERVE.
80 By an act passed June 4, 1897,
Congress created the Forest Reserve Bu-
reau,' 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 l, 1898. an ap-
preparation of 900 was made to cover
the employment of the necessary superin-
tendents, 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
interfere with appointments under the
Civil Service law; rather the reverse. 1t
is understood. however, that Mr.. Bliss,
who was then Secretary, claimed the rules
did not apply for the reason that none
of the general provisions defining the
classified service exactly fitted these par
ticular positions.
THE Civil Service Commission held the
other view, and so stated in letter ad-
dressed to the Secretary on July % 1895.
asking his authority for the appointments
without examination that had already
been made. and for the names of the an
pointees. This letter the Secretary did
not answer. The commission still holds
its view but the Forest Reserve Bureau
has been treated as entirely unclassifed
The number OF employees. meanwhile has
grown, the annual appropriations for their
salaries, which We're again s1I5. 30 in 1898
having been Increased to 1895. 900 in 1900
and SS25, 600 in 1901. How far the depart
ment has been able TO make its selections
in the absence of protective rules, with
reference to fitness wholly. and without
regard for political affiliations your com
mittee is unable TO say. If however
there be doubt as to whether these posi-
tions are embraced by the present rules /,
within the classified service, there can
be no question whatever, that they ought |
speedily to be Incorporated within this |
service.
To subject such places permanently |
to the usual methods of arbitrary ap- |
pointment. permitting their use as party |
spoil. would result in the degradation of |
the service to SudbEan extent to nulli- |
fy the forest reserve policy of the Gov !
The bureau can easily be clas-
sified by an order of the President with |
the approval of the Secretary of the In I
terror.