The Sunday globe., 1901-06-09
THE CIVIL SERVICE.

ing members Of Congress plead their
inability to favor constituents with
Government plums, both large and
smalD are laboring under the errone.
GUS impression that all or nearly all.
/ Government position are filled strictly
and solely according to Civil Service
Certifcation; the said certiication
being made from the registers of ELI
/ gibles on file, and according to their
standing. In order to enlighten those
who are in need Of it, we viii give a
few illustrations as follows:
Let us take ten persons who are
going to try for the Stenography and
I Typewriter register, and follow them
through. We will say ten of these pass
the examinations Clerical and the
two auXiliaries) with general aver.
ages ranging from 70 Cscratch point)
to 80, and these are filed away for
certihcauon when the so-called vacan.
cies exist So far so good. When
certain Of the departments at large
are desperately in need of typewriters
or stenographers they will apply for
eligibles, and the three standing high.
est are certified by the Civil Service
Commission. One or more Of those
certified will be accepted, depending
upon the urgency Of the case. Now.
person would naturally suppose that
the rest of these eligibles who have
passed the clerks examination and
have the two auXilaries, stenographv
and typewriting, and are therefore
specially qualified, would be certain Of
appointment. But hold on, Member
such a one has a close friend who
may be able to possibly scratch
/ through the examination Of plain
clerk Nevertheless he must be gotten
in somehow Through the Civil Ser
vice If possible). and influence is set
TO work. Maybe the party with the
pull inhuence) has happened to
have travelled i'm Alaska to some ey-
tent during the past. All right.
Member such a one has some chief.
big or little, in one Of the depart-
ments who claims that he needs
man who has Travelled in Alaska.
Accordingly special examination
is gotten up with the Civil Service
Commission, and the traveller C?) is
given an advantage weight of fifty
l5O) points on his Alaskan knowledge.
Now almost anybody can easily
make scratch point (7O) on the en-.
tire examination when given such
odds at the outset. e., an allowance
Of half the possible rating, and this
half upon the so-called special and
required qualification CD
Again, some other party Of influence
wants to work in several friends in
somewhat similar way, lessening. each
time it is done, the chances of those
who have previously honestly passed
with ono or more auviliarioe. sim
again, some party with a pull wants
TO work in a lady friend or two. He
gets them appointed as skilled labor.
ers, and obtains entrance through low.
grade examinations. After six months
or more service these ladies can be
transferred to a higher branch Of the
classified CD service, and this trans.
fer is often done without the fayorite
being required to make 20, let alone 20
through the honest mill of competitive
examination. It is often said that the
requirements CD of the service neces.
state the transfer Of the favored one
to a higher position, and consequently.
all competitive or non.compeitive ex.
aminations may 90 to the devil Anoth.
er way: 1t is claimed that owing to the
urgency Of increased work the service
demands an increase Of the force.
Then all the Big Chiefs, and Little
Chiefs, and sub.Chiefs, and their
friends get in certain dear relatives
and fayorites, etc. This wholesale ap.
pOintment is made for ninety days, and
after the time expires another ninety
days and then another etc, and final.
ly owing TO their experience, so it is
said, the requirements Of the service
demand their valuable C?) presence,
and the Swivel Service blanket is put
over them and they are all right and
in for life, and TO the everlasting detri-
ment Of those who have honestly com
peted yes, competed through entrance,
or original civil service examinations.
There are many ways Of beating he
band but the illustrations which we
give are ample and sufficient 1t is
claimed that some time back, when
. Theodore Roosevelt was in the Civil
Service Commission, there was less
chance TO make the said commission
an official fence, especially as regards
entrance 20 the classified service. Be
that as it may, we know that the pres.
eut civil service has kicked and kick
ed rather loud through the columns
OF the press some time back. And
while the civil service acknowledged
the infringements and violations Cboth
direct and indirecD, yet it stated its
inability 10 put a stop to them. There
is one large and growing evil how
ever. and that is nepotism, and where
ever it exists it is almost universally
direct infringement and violation Of
the simplest principles Of the civil
service. II has gotten TO be a well