Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-06
IGNORE HIGH AVERAGES
STATEMENT BY CIVIL SERVICE
COMMISSION.
Capable Female Eligibles Now Avail
able-Will Appeal to Congress to
Adjust Salaries.

| publication in The Star of the departmental
| need for good stenographers that the civil
| service commission has given out for pub
| lication some correspondence on the sub
| ject which had previously not been given
| to the newspapers. These papers set forth
| the contentious of the stenographers, the
reply of the commission and the effort made
by the commission to prevail upon depart
| ment chiefs to accept woman stenographers
when men cannot be obtained.
Inadequate Pay.
The case of the stenographers is stated in
city by a correspondent of the commits
sion:
I'm fixing the compensation of stenogra-
pliers in the federal service it seems to me
that the government has departed from its
general policy of paying good, and even
liberal, wages to it's employees. In its treat
ment of this class of employees the govern
ment is acting entirely contrary to the law
of supply and demand, and thus finds itself
unable to secure a sufficient number OF
competent and capable stenographers to
meet the requirements Of its various de-
partments.
The initial salary of stenographer is
from $500 to 5000 per annum, If l mistake
not. Now, it is well-known fact that
good competent stenographers (Which is
the only KIM the government VIII VI
should EMPLOY have no difficulty whatso-
ever in securing positions in mercantile and
other houses at much better salaries than
these, and the government is placed in the
position of actually bidding less than pri-
waite employers for this kind of service.
Day laborers receive $3.50 per diem in
the federal service; clerks from $40 per
annum up. Now Is it not a fact that a
stenographer must in point Of education
and general intelligence be the equal, if not
the superior, of a clerk; besides which he
has to devote much time to the study of
his profession and in making himself pro-
ficient therein. He bears the same relation
to the clerk that the mechanic does to the
laborer and should be paid accordingly
Adjustment Of Ratings Needed.
In reply the writer was informed that
Congress in making appropriations does
not, except in a few instances, provide spe-
officially for stenographers as such. The
appropriation is merely for SO many clerks
of each of the various classes. Entrance
to the service is usually at the lowest cler
ical grades, irrespective of the special quail
ifications required The departments are,
therefore, unable to pay stenographers, law
clerks bookkeepers, craftsmen. transa
tors, etc, more than is offered to persons
having merely ordinary clerical abilities.
There is some compensation, however, in
the fact that stenOgraphers and others with
special qualifications are usually able to Sc
cure prom otions more rapidly than the
mere clerks There is urgent need that Con-
gress provide for the Redistribution of the
entire departmental service, and in it's
forthcoming annual report the commission
Will submit a suggestion to that end.
There are many glaring inequalities in the
relation of salaries to the character of the
work done
Women With High Averages Ignored
The attitude of the commission is further
lo o1n
lar to heads of departments and independ-
ent bureaus issued last April:
THE commission has the honor to invite
your attention to the fact that there are
upon its registers of eligibles the names of
women who have attained high averages in
civil service examinations. and the services
| of these women are lost to the government
| by reason of the practice, which has be-
| come quite general among appointing Off
GERS, of specifying in their requests for GER
t1f1cation of eligibles to fill vacancies that
males are desired.
Nearly all vacancies in clerical grades
not filled by transfer or reinstatement are
being filled In response to calls for male ELI
glbles from registers Of persons having spe-
cial or technical qualifications
During the past three or four years from
some of these registers many male eligibles
who made comparatively low averages have
received appointment, while at the same
time the stenOgraphy and typewriting and
some other special registers have been
abundantly supplied with female elgibles
! having high averages; but, owing to the
| distinction as to sex made in the requisi-
| lions for certificatiOn, the names of these
! women remain upon the registers without
| opportunity for certificatiOn until the period
| of eligibility has expired.
| AT the present time the male stenog-
raphy and typewriting register is almost ex-
| hausted, while on the corresponding female
| register there are more than eighty eligi-
| 91.53
| THE commission recognizes the authority
| of appointing officers, under section 1G5 r
| 5. and the rules. to specify in the requisi-
| ton the sex desired, and is not inclined to
urge any action that would not promote the
| efhclency of any branch of the service The
| occasion seems favorable, however, in the
present depleted condition of the register of
| male eligibles, to invite attention to the
| registers of females. and the suggestion is
| made that in all cases in which there seems
to be no vital reason for choice as to sex
| except the mere matter of personal prefer
| ence, acquisitions be made for the certifca-
ton of those standing highest on the list
| without other limitations"
| % X