Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-05-25

THE POSTMASTER REPLlSE,
Holds IL TO be His Paramount Du'l 1"
Get Nash out IN Emergencies ana
Use Entire Force

The following appeared IN the New
York Man ana Express. which came to
hand today
The investigating committee of the
CIyn Service Reform league has made
third report On the practice Of ape
pointing as laborars, persons without
examination. and later assigning them
to clerical or other classified work. The
report is the result Of specific nyestl-
cations into the present operation of
the civll service law made in Washing
ton and other cities.
In the beginning the committee calls
attention 10 ciyil service rule III, which
provides that
30 person who Is appointed
as laborer or workman without exam
nation under The civil service rules
shall Doe assigned TO work OF the same
grade as that performed by classified
employees.
Notwithstanding this rule the COM
mttee found that IN the patent office
A lNlINIItA ANIh lhliIN'A w lNbNt NAF CO.
doing the work OF classified clerks. 9th
er violations of the rule were found In
the post0iiice department ana In the
postotliccs ia Philadelphia and at salt
Lake city. The report concludes with
this recommendation
There seems 10 De just one way In
which this evil may be corrected and
that is to remove the motive for MAX
ing appointments from personal sclec-
ton by the establishment OF a regis
tration system by which lahorers may
be appointed according 20 priority Of
application (modifed by special facts
showing adaptablity for the work 10
be perfOrmed), as has already been done
by the navy department A similar sys-
TEN exists for the appointment OF n
borers In the city OF Boston and other
cities. II ~ understood that the war
department favOrs a similar registra-
ton system, and there Is no good rea-
son why It may not be adopted through
out the entire government service II
~ believed that such a measure would
be OF lncalcuabe advantage 10 the
civil service Of the country Although
the civil service law does not require
that laborers shall be included In the
classified service II does not pruhOt
their Inclusion, and the President un-
doubtedly has the right to establish
such u system under section ll53 OF the
revised statutes, which authorizes him
TO prescribe such regulations for the
admission OF persons into the civil SER
vice as may best promote the efficiency
thereof
The report Is signed by William Dud-
ley Foulke, Richard Henry Dana, VIII
liam A. Aiken, Charles Richardson and
George McAneny,
When seen IN relation to the above so
far as pertains 10 Salt Lake. Postmas-
ter Thomas laughed and said, "Qh,
those awful postal laws"
Mr. Thomas then proceeded to OK
plain that the only breach, II il could
be called a breach. Of the postal laws,
that his Office had ever been guilty Of
was something that occurred in the win
ter Of .9S: As many will doubtless re-
member there was a lockout ON all the
eastern mails during that winter and
when the trains were freed, three days
mail was piled down in the salt Lake
office. The business men In the city
had been on the point OF nervous eX-
haustlon waiting for their mails, and
when 1t al last came. Mr. Thomas used
every man In the office TO get il out as
quickly as possible and one Of the men
was a laborer about the office.
There was a clvi service examiner
in the Office az the time" continued MIR
Thomas and he had 10 make a shining
example OF himself and reported the
matter as violation Of the postal
rules. But | also forwarded a report 20
Washington" Here Mr.. Thomas turned
over some files and old letters and read
the following from the report; with
me the rapid dispatch Of the work OF
the office has been the paramount du-
~. | conceive this tO be imperative
under the law. II has never occurred TO
me that 10 utilize all the force I'm emer-
gences was a violation OF the true In
tent purpose and spirit Of the civil
service rules and the postal laws The
report went on 10 state the difficulty
the office was In and the e0gerness Of
the business men 20 get their mail. and
concluded by saying that he would do
the same thing again.
~ have never heard from the report
since, said Mr. Thomas "and | suppose
| never viii. | have an able bodied
man here In the office whom could use
70 advantage at times, yet I am not
permitted TO because he Is only labor
er here. II / were 10 use him | would
by breaking the law, and dealt with as
culprlt, like I was trying TO steal
something"