The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-11-10
forty-two of the 105 places which that territory has as It's apportionment.
 South Has Not Her Share,

forty-two of the 105 places which that territory has as its apportionment
 South Has Not Her Share.
 Of course the south's lack of propor- donate representation in the consular service Is due obviously to political con sideration, but 1t is not so clear why the south has not claimed a larger pro- portion of the department places in Wash ington. Commissioner Greene who me1e a trip to the south to look into the mat ter a short time ago, thinks 1t Is due largely to the notion that political con- alterations govern in the giving of these places. The commission maintains stout ly that this notion Is unfounded, and It has lately gone to some trouble to dis | abuse the minds of southern people of that misconception.
 | Discrimination of this kind Is possible perhaps, but not easy, and if it were | practiced to any appreciable degree the commission would soon discover 1t. There Is no way by which one may discover the | political predilections of those who stand | the examinations from an inspection of the papers sent in. These are passed on | and graded by men, who If they cared to, would have no means of discovering | whether the applicant is a democrat or | republican. Those who make the required percentage have their names placed on | the register of eligibles, and when | department or bureau has need of clerk it notifies the commission. and the com mission certfes the names of the three | highest on the list. giving preference to those from states which have the lowest quota in the classified service. The de- partment or bureau chief may chose one l of these three, but he may reject all of them. in which event the commission cer- tifes the names of three others, as it does, also, of course. when those whose | names were first certified decline the place that is offerd Manifesty it Is pos sble for department or bureau chief to | reject for political reasons, though pre- 1 tending some other reason: but to do this he would, ordinarily. have to make l a considerable inquiry to discover the | political complexions of those whose names had been certified. Besides. when | one whose name had been certified is rejected the commission looks narrowly into the reasons alleged and a suspicion that partisanship has prompted the re- l jection brings forth an investigation.
 Democrats Are Suspicious.
 The fact that d majority of the south ern people who take examinations are republicans suggest that democrats sus- pect they will be dlscriminated against, and this may be one of the reasons why
 more people of the south and west do not try to get these places. But 1t seems lkelY d more potent one IS that III the south and west, where the rates of wages are higher, as rule than they are in the north and east, the salaries attached to | these jobs are not so attractive. To start
 with, for example, the highest wages the
 government pays for stenographers and
 typewriters is 800 year. There is some
 chance of promotion to places of re- sponsiblity with corresponding increase of
 pay, but this chance Is not great enough
 to be alluring. and 1t is probably not one
 of the motives which prompt men and
 women to apply for stenographic jobs.
 The need of male stenographers and ltypewrters is always felt; indeed. the sup
 ply of them is seldom equal to the de-
 mand and in consequence there are more
 women employed In the department in
 this capacity than there would be if a
 sufficient number of men could be found.
 The commissioners state, also that they
 rarely have enough examiners for the
 patent office. This is due, though to
 the fact that eligibles must he consider
 ably advanced in the sciences and have
 knoweldge of the French and German
 the government Is always in search of
 men for these places is that soon as
 they become proficient they can do much
 better in pecuniary way. in the of
 fees of patent attorneys
 Indeed. there are opportunities con | stantlv Tn the government service TOT
 men of technical education. such as en-
 gineers and draftsmen electrical en-
 gineers. men versed in scientific farming,
 forestry and fish culture. The agricul-
 tural department. which employees more
 scientists, perhaps. than any other has
 a constant need of them. and the examin-
 ations which an applicant has to pass
 ought not to be troublesome to any one
 who has been graduated by an agricul- tural and mechanical college. In some in stances the rate of pay Is good. but what to many is a greater incentive is the ex- perience which one gets in this service.