Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-01
LITTLE DEAD WOOD"
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
NOT MUCH HAMPERED.
Testimony Of Foreman Ricketts, Before
House Committee on Civil
Service.

The House committee on reform In the
| civil service today heard the story of the
| operation of the civil service law in the
! government printing Office through a state
ment made by Mr.. Oscar J. Ricketts,, fore
| man of printing. at that establishment The
committee is continuing its semi-weekiy
meetings for the purpose of inquiring ntc
| the operation of the law in the various
departments with a view to devising some
| scheme for retiring or pensioning the SUI
perannuated employees. Hearings are held
each Tuesday and Friday morning Trere
| are several bills before the House deal.
ing with the subject
Over 900 Employees.
Mr.. Ricketts, stated this morning that the
| government printing Office was placed I'M
der the classified service eight years ago
| There are now in the office 1886 regular
| employees. of which number 1.642 have come
| in under civil service examination. The
| others were put under the civil service la w
| by blanket order having been in the Of
| nee at the time 1T was included within the
scope OF the law. He declared that the
| civil service examinations as applied to the
printing office are open to improvement.
| 1t is not quite practicable, he said, to de-
| termine the fitness and qualifications of a
compositor or bookbinder by a simple men
| tai examination.
| The value of such an employee is learned
only after he has done practical work in
the office, and thus mental examination
is not always quite fair to the applicant.
Mr.. Ricketts, stated that 90 per cent of the
| cOmpositors who have taken the mental
examination have passed.
Never So Much Work Done.
The committee was much interested in
the statement made by the foreman to the
effect that never at any time in the history
of the government printing Office has the
establishment turned out much work
as during the present session of Congress.
More bills, reports and hearings have been
ordered printed at this session than ever
before. The department work has also in
creased very much during the last three
months.
To meet these demands it has been neces-
sary to employ some 80 to 100 extra COM
positorS and bookbinders not in the classi-
fled service and known emergency en-
ployes. Under this plan the office has taken
In large number of printers from Balti-
more who were thrown out of work by the
disastrous fire in that city few weeks ago.
These men, Mr. Ricketts, said. were not
taken on as a matter of special relief or
charity, but their services were needed by
the office and the public printer was glad
to get them.
MIR. Ricketts, also stated that there have
been times recently when the comp ostitOrs
and bOokbinders have been compelled to
work four hours overtime each day. For
this extra service they of course get 20
per cent advance in the rate per hour.
Mr.. Ricketts, said that the government
printing office is not very much hampered
by "deadwood" or superannuated employees.
There is a scheme in the Office of utilizing
the old men in a watch service. where they
do good work and do not affect the eff
cheney of the regular force.
Introduction of Machines.
Coming to the subject of the much-dis-
cussed question of placing type-setting ma
Mr.. Ricketts, declared that between 80 ana
60 per cent of the compositors now en-
ployed at the office are competent to op-
crate the machines. If the machines were
introduced. he said. he believed the force
could be reduced by 30 per cent Mr.. Rick
etts was quick to assert, however, that he
took no position on the subject of intro
ducing these machines, and was neither for
nor against their innovation. He said that
the wages of cOmpositors now employed at
the office average 80 cents an hour
- The Introduction of machines would not
increase the rate of pay unless Congress
should so direct. Mr. Ricketts, said he did
not know whether or not the machines
would do all kinds of government work now
done by hand. 1t would he impossible to
determine this question without a pra ctical
test.
In closing Mr.. Risketts said ne thought the
service in all the government departments
would be manifestly improved by the adop-
ton of some system of retiring the superan-
ruated clerks and employees.