Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-28
Temporary Appointments.

temporary Appointments.
There appeared to be an unnecessary
number of temporary appointments of per
sons outside Of the eligible lists owing to
the requirement that three eligfbles must
be furnished before the appointing officer
could be required to make a selection. In
many small communities this was found i'm
possible, and when there were one or two
unexceptionable eligibles upon the register
and the appointing officer disregarded them
and gave the position to an outsider for
personal reasons, the competitive system
was brought into diSrepute and the public
discouraged from entering the examina-
tions. The commission therefore recon-
mended an amendment, which was adopted
December IL, 1901, providing that when
there were one or two eligibles the appoint
ing officer might make a permanent ap-
pointment therefrom, but If he elected not
to do SO he must select the, one eligible or
one of the two for temporary appointment
unless special reasons were given and APP
proved by the commission why such seIec-
ton should not be so made.
But while In these cases, temporary ap-
polntments OF persons who had not been
examined were unnecessarily made, in other
cases where they were necessary or desira-
BILE they We're not permitted by the rules.
This was true in the case Of job employ
ments, temporary in character, where after
the completion of the job the services of the
employee were no longer required. If, for
instance, temporary job of painting or
carpenter work was to be done, 1t was often
undesirable and sometimes impossible to Sc
lect men for this purpose from the eligible
lists, bringing them perhaps from distant
places, and sometimes causing them to lose
the opportunity for permanent employ
ment. The commission had, indeed, some
times permitted such temporary employ
ment from the absolute necessity of the
case, and it was believed to be wiser to au-
thorize such appointments by q general
provision. On January "a, 1902 rule was
adopted authorizing temporary appoint
ments in such cases, if approved by the
commission, for period of three months
which, If the work is not completed, may
be extended three months longer, but must
then cease. The commission recognizes that
this provision is liable to abuse If not care
fully watched, and it is not generally per
mitted to apply to empioyments of a cleri-
cal nature, even though they are temporary
If eiigibles can be secured.
Transfers After Classification,
: Under the rules as they existed prior to
December IL. 1901, an employee might be
transferred no matter how short time he
had been in the service Men were APP
pointed without examination to places in
the smaller post offices just before the
classification Of these offices, and then i'm
mediately after classification transferred to
other parts of the classified service thus
evading the requirement OF competitive ex-
animation. On that day an amendment
was adopted that no person should be trans
ferred who had not actually served for six
months in the Office in which he became
classified, and in some position therein
which at the time of the request for his
transfer was within the competitive serv-
Ice. II is believed that the evasion OF the