Evening star., 1902-03-05
Residents of the Community
in the Government Employ.
DO TECHNICAL WORK
STATEMENT MADE BY THE CIVIL
SERVICE COMMISSION.
No Applications From States and Ter
ritories-45O Appointments in
Four Years.

The cfvil service commission, through
Mr. Proctor, gave out this afternoon the
following statement relating to the oyer
allowance Of positions in the government
employ by the residents Of the District of
Columbia: -----
''The civil service act requires that ap-
pointments to the public Service in the de-
partments at Washington shall be appor-
toned as nearly as the conditions of good
administration will warrant among the
several states and territories and the Dis
trict of Columbia upon the basis of popula-
ton as ascertained at the, last preceding
census
Before the passage of the civil service
law In 1888 the number of appointments in
the departmental service at Washington of
legal residents Of the District of Columbia
was largely in excess of it's share of ap-
polntments upon the basis of population.
w hiie the civil service act contained no
specific provision for the correction of In
equal.,leS existing in the matter Of the ap-
poruonment of appointments, it did vest
an authority in the commission to main
tam, as nearly as the conditions of good
administration would warrant. the appor-
tlonment Of all appointments to the classi-
ned service in the District of Columbia
From July 49, 1sS3 to January 1, 1902,
there have been 1872 appointments made
ments at Washington. OF this number
6,O14 have been through examination. $50
through reinstatement and 78S through
transfer.
Appointments From the District.
1T has been impossible for the commits
sion to maintain the apportionment among
the states and territories and the District
or Columbia with mathematical precision
without embarrassing, to a very consid-
cradle extent, the public business; es-
pecially is this true of appointments made
Of residents of the District of Columbia
Ihe number of appointments made from
July 1t, 1888 to January 1, 1902, classified
according to the character of the rxamina-
ton, are as follows:
One hundred and eighty-one appointments
nave been made to positions requiring tech
n1cal. scientific or professional ability, for
which, on account of lack of eligibles from
the states or territories, certification had
to be made and appointments given to legal
residents Of the District of Columbia; five
appointments have been made from the
clerical register Of those entitled to prefer
ence under section 1904 of the Revised
Statutes; three appointments have been
made from the clerical register Qimited
copytSD, which were charged at the begin
ming Of the apportionment Of appointments;
twenty appointments have been made of
preference claimants, under section 1854 of
the Revised Statutes. who were residents
tions below the clerical grade; twenty ap
pointments to fill positions below the cleri-
cal grade have been made Of persons pos
sessing qualifications of such special or
technical character as to require their GER
tification in order properly to fill the requi
SitiOnS of the different departments because
of the lack of eligibles with such GEaiificd-
tiOnS who were legal residents of states
or territories; twenty appointments have
been made through non-competitive exami-
nation under the old rules changed in 1894.
so that no such appointments can now be
made; ten appointments have been made
through promotion examination under the
rules, from non-appOrtiOned positions;
ninety-siX appointments have been made by
reinstatement under the rules: twenty-three
appointments have been made by transfers
under the rule; 1873 appointments have been
made by transfers under section of rule
10, as amended May %. 1890. which pro-
vided thatthe provisions in relation to ap-
portionment shall be waived upon the Ger
tificate Of the appointing officer that the
transfer is required In the interests of good
administration making a gross total OF
511 appointments received by the District
Of Columbia.
Changes in the Roll.
''Since July 1, 1897, all separations of per-
sons previously charged to the apportfon-
ment have been credited, and sixty-one
separations of residents of the District OF
Columbia have occurred since that date.
making the net appointments charged to
the District of Columbia 45O.
Section 1854 of the Revised Statutes pro
vides that persons honOrably discharged
from the military or naval service by rea-
son Of disability resulting from wounds or
sickness incurred in the line of duty shall
be preferred for appointments to the civil
offices, provided they are found to possess
the business capacity necessary for the
proper discharge of the duties Of such Of
fees. Under this section of the Revised
Statutes person whose case comes within
these provisions is released from all rules
relating to the apportionment Of appoint
nlents. and must be certified without regard
to legal residence. The effect of this law
has been that since July 16, 1883 (up to
January 1, 1909, twenty-five persons whose
der the section quoted, have been certified
and appointed; and as they were legal resi-
dents of the District Of Columbia they were
charged to it's apportionment.
"Of the $50 net appointments charged to
the District of Columbia 80 are males and
131 females. OF the males it Is found that
157 were born in the District of Columbia,
120 were born in other parts Of the United
countries OF the females sixty-six were
born in the District of Columbia, sixty-one
in other parts Of the United States and four
in foreign countries. Less than 80 per cent
were born in the District Of Columbia.
No Applicants From Other Places.
1.-The present apportionment of appoint
ments is based on the census OF 1906, an l..
allows one appointment for each 10000 OF
inhabitants. The District of Columbia, un-
der this apportionment, Is entitled to twen-
ty-efght appointments, but any appointment
in the apportioned service is contingent
upon vacancy existing; thus, when requi-
sition is made upon the commission for GER
tificatiOn of eligibles having ordinary quail
fcations. such as clerks, bookkeepers, mes
sengers, ETC., certifcation Is made Of the
highest three eligibles of the sex called for
from the state or territory which at the
time Of requisiton has received the least
per cent of appointments under the appor
tionment. If the state having the least
per cent Of appointments under the appor-
tionment has, at the time of the requisition,
no eligibles with the qualifications desired
by the department then eligibles from the
next state in order must be certified.
1T has become necessary on numerous
occasions to certify eligibles having legal
residence in the Districtof Columbia, owing
~ x1a foof hat thn ICfo