The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-06-14

w Proctor of the civil service COM
mission today submitted to Post
master General Payne the report made
by the commission at the request of
the postmaster general with reference
10 the charge of violation of the civil
service regulations in the Washington
postofHce- The inquiry included the
following points:
l. Whether all Of the employees out
side the force Of carries were r5gu-
larry in the service and entitled to
their positions; e., whether the civil
service rules had been observed in the
employment and assignment of labor
ers; and 90, whether there had been a
general observance Of the civil service
law and rules IN the administration
OF the Washington postOfice during
the incumbency of the present post
master. In addition to the report
proper and transcript Of the testi-
mony taken, Mr.. Proctor presented q
summary Of the findings. This sum-
4 mary concludes as follows:
Gross Favoritism.
"A departure from the observance of
The civil service rules appears in the
promotions Of certain employees in the
washington pOstofhce which have been
directed by the department, although
reports of efficiency are neither re-
quested or received by the depart
menL a case in point is that of a lady
who was nOminally appointed in
MOOrestOWn. \. J., pOstOfice. but never
left the Washington pOstOff1ce: who
owed her appointment TO the Classifi-
cation transfer method. was promoted
from Sept. /. 1900, TO July /. 1901, from
$500 to $1,000 per annum by direction
q OF the de fe 1nfno ha
work formerly done by an emplOye who
received compensation Of only $1,000
per annum.
q Public Interest Suffers.
The information disclosed by the in
VestgatiOn seems to warrant the state
ment that appointments TO classified
positions in the Washington pOstOf1Ce
without examination, by the devious
method of appointment in small un-
classified offices. or in offices about to
be consolidated, and subsequent trans
Ter. and the appointments of those Ia
DOrers who were appointed and sep
arated during the administration Of
the present postmaster. show a wide
an ergence IN policy from strict re-
gard for the public interest and af-
1ord indications that the department
used the Washington pOsuOffice for pO-
htcal and personal purposes to an ex-
tent which left the authority of the
iNr'--lAtlStFL III Aldl-HAtlc anu dDDOlLlL-
ments OF this sort but little more than
nominal and placed the Office, in many
respects. in the relation of a bureau 10
the department.
Department to Blame
The Investigation seems to show
clearly that most of the Irregularities
herein set forth were directed by the
department, or requested or suggested
by high departmental officials and in
eaTr h.
with all the force OF q direction With
the exception Of the appointment of
eight laborers, afterwards separated.
three clerks appointed to offices about
to be classified, and one emplOye ap-
pointed in the Good Hope District
of COlumbia) postoffice just before its
consolidation, il appears that Post
master Merritt did not initiate any
of these improper appointments or as
signments and his responsibility for
them appears to be secondary and de-
pendent upon the extent to which
subordinate is justified in protesting
against the orders or suggestions of
his official superiors.
Many Were Incompetent.
The investigation indicates that the
employees who entered the service by
transfer and without examinat ton. are
In general, inferior to those appointed
through competition. The investiga-
ton By the commission shows that
many of the persons who entered the
service by transfer had failed upon
competitive examination, were from
states which were III excess of the
or had not passed with
Sufficiently high grades to be reached
Tor appointment Dy the regular meth
DDS.
It is the observation of the commits
sion that where a service or an Office
remains unclassifed there Is always a
tendency to increase the number Of
employees beyond the number actually
required for the transaction of bust
ness
Among the employees in the depart
ment or in the pOstofice service who
were brought into the classified serv-
ice within the last few years by CLASH
fiCatiOn. having been appointed with
out examination under the rules. were
thirty war emergency employees cIassi-
fed by the act of April IS 1902. twelve
made permanent under paragraph Il Of
rule VIII, and 33S classified in the
rural free delivery service on Nov p,
1901 The total number of employees
in these three classes who entered the
service upon considerations other than
fitness as ascertained by competitive
examination. was $50.
For Political Purposes.
Nearly all of the clerks and messen-
who were converted into the classified
service were in positions in Washing
ton. =. &. one hundred and thirty
three Of them We're appointed prior to
July l, 1901; twenty-siX were appoint
ed in the four months preceding the
classification. and fifty-six were ap-
pointed in the twanty-siN days proceed
ing classification. How many of these
We're appointed for reasons other Lnan
d the needs Of the service. il is. OF course,
Impossible for the commission to de-
termine. but that the service was
packed with employees in the interest
of individuals is indicated By the fact
that the number of appointments IN
the month of classification was more
than twice as great as for the pre-
cedfng four months This assumption
is strongly supported by the fact that
during the entire eighteen months that
this service has been classified there
have been seventeen persons selected
for appointments 20 positions within
the District of Columbia. as against
fftv-six clerks md messengers ap-
pointed during The twenty-six days
preceding the classification.
There was no necessity of antici-
pating the needs OF the service by an
excessive number Of appointments just