New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-10-01
POLITICS IN CIVIL SERVICE
CITY BOARD CENSURED.
State Commission Reports to co.,
erTOr-Mr. Kraft DiSseTttS.


mission has sent to Governor Higgins as 10 us IN
vestigation OF the Municipal Civil Service Commas
sion. made last summer, It censures seVereiy the re-
rating Of Harry L. La Fetras prother Oh
'Murphy's Assemblyman,' in violation OF the lnu-
nicipai commissions regulations. This case. says
the report, Is a bad example OF bad cohol'lohS
which had been prevalent
La Fetra took the examination for assistant en-
gineer on August u. 1904. He received general
average OF 6lOS and failed to pass. Later ne re-
quested rerating on his mathematics ana record
papers saying that he had not had proper time
for the examination and had been nothereo OJ inc
monitors. The appeal referred TO ENa"ii'ieF
Hudreth, who recommended that his ratlns Oh
record be increased from 10 to co. on experience
from 50 to 10 and on arithmetic, from ~ 10 o.
The commission increased the rating on record 10
co. on arithmetic to so and on experience 10 ~ al
though the examiner recommended that tn9 main
be raised only to 70 and La Betra had not ap-
pealed from his marking experience. Ihis gave
a general average of 7450 and placed his name on
the eligible list The papers were afterWard rated
by State Chief Examiner Fowler, who founo tldI
the original markings record. arithmetc ana
experience were as high as warranted
About these reratings the report says;
When examiners arbitrarily advance the rating
of nanars 90 thew did in the case above mentioned
and OF Others not for any manlIesi eIaoA - tde-
ment as to the general standing Of the aPpeallng
candidate, and as result ne Is When conscien-
tiously done glazing injustice by changes h Tst
n ne
and as fairly entitled to advancement. and It may
give the candidate who has been n1oVeu " : "a
an pIa hut who Would have been equally entitled
TO rerating had they done SO Of favoritlsm
through this lax method Of reratng papers oy n
merit and fitness asoertaned in c9mpetiTie gx
animation but to the the c fag0T Of inc
Second only to the Importance Of maintaining the
sgdng The reratng of papers from possible inter,
ference by designing POLITICIANS or 9['er
a method so lax as to permit such interference IS
for the municipal commission 70 open te Sjons
character.
On March II, 1905 the municipal commission
adopted a rule that no examination paper should
be subject to review, to correct manifest
errors in marking, for which the StaIe CoHiilis0iOH
commended it.
TWO REPORTS SUBMITTED.
Two reports-a majority one, signed by President
Charles F. Nfilliken and Commissioner Roscoe c.
E Brown, and a minority one, signed by John T.
Kraft, the Democratic member of the commission
were turned in. Mr.. Kraft did not agree with the
censurs by his Colleagues Of the municipal COM
mission after investigating the charges made by the
Civt; Service Reform Association. He declares III
his report that the municipal commission was 10
serving OF commentator rather than blame.
The majority report declares that the munlclpal
oonoroisston should have investigated thoroughly
the charges brought against Secretary Henry Der
linger by the Civil Service Reform Association
The irregularities charged were serious aho' winnie
Mr. Berlnger in SONS cases was carrying OUT a
sI1perior's orders, that excuse was insuTnclenI>
sNro p,bI,o officer can excuse himself for fiat
6isobedience of an advantageous rule by pleadlng
instructions from other person who was aIso
bound to obey that rule says the report l.
finds that Mr. Berlinger ordered speclaI eHaIllii
tions and determinations in the cases OF lnolVo-
nails giving as his authority minutes Of the COM
mission which contained no such authority Iho
report continues;
Such transactions show looseness IN business f;o
nGipo pfs failure to live up to the spirit of the
rules in keeping efficiency rec0rds sa9 e eseWheTe
IN his report they may properly suggest to the
ever anxious the commissioners id e 70
voritis secretary who is not anIated py cI9i
spirit may use the law TO serve personal OF poii'T
cal ends.
or his connection with a political club, Of which
he is an officer and his distribution of apphcauon
papers at the clubhouse, the report says:
T. e r,anifestIv improper, whether permitted by
the letter OF the rules not, for the secretary OF
Civil Service conisSi3n whose s%Of d fues the
sole qualifications for public office and speclncaliy
aaffiatons in appointment or selection to or re-
moval from such office. to act as an orhGea o Ola
piest OF official duties at its headquarters WhlIe
ms Fn' tho he man Who STANDS in the most conden-
tial relations TO the depaPet OF f9e f5y ty f
securing square deal for every aspir2nt for a
position in the public service IS noqpo 20 GLJ If
extending political favors or showing political pref
erences.
The State commission finds that thee municipal
commission reduced like Collingwood and
Bennett who held regular positions expert ex-
aminers and whose qualifications were undoubted.
from a salary to per diem basis and gave them
employment only at intervals, while it appointed
George f. Weller, John B. Moore Austin T Byrne
and F w. Hyslop expert examiners without ex
animation as to their qualifications. and gave them
practically continuous employment on many sub
jects some not properly of IAN expert or technical
character" It finds that many of the papers on
which these experts have been employed might
have been rated by members Of the regular force
and that the papers the most technical subjects
could have been properly handled by appointees
from eligible lists already in existence or that it
was feasible to establish. It says:
Upon the efficiency and integrity of the exannin
voritism political considerations controlled ap-
pointments to this force or assignments of 1t, as
might easily pc the case under the system OF en-
poying examiners now followed. the eligible list
would inevitably be subject suspicion with
expert examiners CHOSEN Tor the purpose IT would
be quite possible, through arbitrary ratings or re-
ratings of examination papers, 10 MIKE the eligible
list the avenue through which political services
could be rewarded by those higher up and
while preserving the form Of the merit system to
subvert degrading ends the machinery through
which it is administered.
A PECULIAR STATE OF, AFFAIRS.
In investigating the case of Emanuel E Keyser,
a monitor at examinations which was made part
of the reform associations charges the State
commission discovered peculiar state of affairs
An eligible list of monitors, containing one hun
dred and fifty names had been established. on
March 81, 1904 the secretary of the mcntcipal COM
mission acting apparently without authority, saws
the report. selected from that list thrtyseven pre-
mo an he chi Of