The Sunday globe., 1901-06-02
PATENT VIOLATIONS
In the Government Printing Office
of Civil Service Law.
Washington MAY Ri

First. The employees of the Govern.
ment Printing Office shall be grouped
as follows
First group-All skilled laborers.
Second group.-All persons employ.
ed IN mechanical trades including
prootreaders and copyholders.
Third group-All persons employed
in clerical capacity.
Second. Where vacancies are not
nlled by transfer reinstatement. or
original appointment, promotion from
class to class (Which means, according
to definition, under rule of civil serv-
ice rules, from one position to another
position of higher salary in the same
group in the same grades within any
group, may be made on any test of fit.
ness prescribed by the Public Printer
and not disapproved by the Civil Serv.
ice Commission.
Third. Any person employed in one
group who has previously been regu.
Iarly employed in any other group, and
has been qualified may ne transferred
to his former group and grade without
examination. No other person shall
be transferred or promoted from one
group to another group until he has
passed the examination prescribed i'm
section Z or section 8 Of these regula.
lions"
Then follows at length a detailed
statement under sections 4 and 8 of
the mode and manner of examinations,
etc.
Section 6 guards against promotion
of employees during probationary per-
iod
Section Z provides for the grouping
of employees by the Public Printer.
Section s provides that all changes,
transfers, promotions, and demotions.
and the reasons therefor shall be re-
ported to the civil service commits
sions by the Public Printer
Section 9 reads: In order to carry
out the foregoing regulations, the Pub
lie Printer shall nominate to the Com
mission not less than three persons to
act as a board of promotion. for
all these carefully
prepared rules and regulations by the
civil Service Commission, the fact re-
mains that although Mr. Palmer has
been supposed to be Public Printer for
over four years, and that almost the
entire personnel Of the office (all in
fact except the clerks in the front Of
flee and a few Brian pets in other
places has been changed by demotions
and promotions, there has not been
even semblance Of examination or
test of fitness in any case, with one eX-
ception. Further than this, the exc
cutive order of June 10. 1896. which is
still in force and has the binding ef-
feet of law makes it unlawful for any
executive officer to assign any unclas-
slhed laborer to any classified duty;
and yet the printing Office has laborers
doing the work of clerks Of electrl-
clans, of messengers. Of assistants to
the storekeeper. Of in fact, almost ev-
cry occupation in the office except COM
positOrs and bOokbinders And pro
motions have been made continually
from class to class, from group to
group, and from the unclassified. to
the classified service without regard to
either the civil service rules or law; in
yerihcatiOn of which ! will cite a very
few cases Of the many. When Mr..
Palmer became Public Printer there
was a man by the name Of Eaton, who
was yard master: Mr.. Palmer abol-
ished the position Of yard master, but
put a man by the name of McClelland,
who had never been employed in the
office before, TO performing the same
duty as labOrer which he is still do
ing. but not at a laborers' compensa-
tion, as reference to the Public Print
er's report for 1900. page 291 discloses
the fact that he received $947.36 for
3,O25 hours work, nor is he denomi-
mated as a laborer but as the assis-
tant 10 the superintendent Of the build.
ing And here ! will again cite the IN.
stance Of Eddie Brian" and z. G.
Brian, whom it viii De remembered,
both entered the service Of Mr. Palmer
Public Printer as laborers. Eddie"
being at once assigned to the work Of
am electrician. and +. G. to that of a
clerk. The latter. I understand has
recently taken and passed the clerks
examination, as has also another youBg
man who entered the service in the
same manner and was assigned a desk
I'm the same room with young Brian,
and have been thereby safely landed
within the sheltering folds Of the clas.
sified service at a compensation of
S3 per day But just how they
both managed after passing examina-
tiOns. TO be Immediately certified and
appointed to the identical positions
they had each occupied as laborers for
years is fit subject OF inquiry.
There is also a young man by the
name of Collins, who entered the Of
fee a few months ago as a laborer, who
is at the present time doing the work
.of and receiving the emoluments, some
.Sl1OO per annum Of stenographer and
typewriter to the Public Printer.
Another young man, by the name Of
Mathews lwho, by the way, is a good
fellow. who was originally a messen.
ger on one Of the wagons, is now doing
the work Of an electrician, and there
by keeping some one who served three
or more years, out of a job. Maj. J. NJ
Brown. promoted from watchman to
stable boss at compensation Of $4 per
day Sundays and holidays included
A. l.. Moore, promoted from assistant
/ foreman I'm bindery to foreman Of fold
! ing room at salary Of S2,l0O per an
mum And so. one might run on ad in
| nnitum through the entire Office out
side Of a favored few, who stand in
with the coterie / mentioned in my
former letter. And with bare one ex
ception, that Of dmekeeper in pres
room, there has never been an exami
lnation for promotion in the office, no
would there have been in that case, hat
IT not been to shut out an individua
who was obnoxious TO these people an
had too much pull to be turned dow
without a showing. A similar position
on the bindery floor having been file
only a short time previously by trans
ferring Mr. Unkerfer, a watchman a
Mr. Ricketts, door, at a compensation
of $3.50 per day to the place at sal
airy Of 1920 per day, notwithstandinl