New-York tribune., 1909-02-10
RARD Up.

Some of the Democratic newspapers OF the
state chief among them ''The Albany Argus,
in their eagerness to abuse the hepupilcah
state administration. are industriously circu-
Iating the statement that the new Highway
Commission was recently authorized by the
state Civil Service Commission 10 dismiss the
"entfre force of 41O men employed in the high
way bureau Of the State Engineers office, and
s'to reinstate any of them it desires without an
examination" variant of the charge is
found in the statement that ''the State Civil
Service Commission has just decided, under
pressure Of the Republican bosses, that the
Estate Highway Commission may employ any
'Tbody It sees fit in the good roads work. and
that the men who secured positions from the
competitive list under the Democratic State En-
gineer were being made to walk the plank
bv the ruling Of the Civu Service Commission.
As q matter of fact the Civil Service Commis-
sion has done nothing Of the kind. Such rul-
inCs as It has made with reference to the new
highway department have been exactly of the
opposite tendency, so as TO maintain, so far as
the law allowed, the right Of persons employed
by the State Engineer TO reappointment under
the Highway Commission.
The new highway law transfers to the High
wsv Commission the duties with respect to
roads formerly imposed on the State Engineer,
and empowers the Highway Commission 70
take over such employees 1t desires from the
old highway bureau but does not compel it to
take over anybody. This permissive provision
IS the usual one when new department Is Gre
ated and an old one, or some part Of It, is abo-
ished In the same way the Public Service
commissions were authorized, IN their discre-
ton. to retain the employees Of the Railroad
Commission, the Gas Commission and the
Rapid Transit Commission. But for this per-
mission the employees would be automatically
IegisIated out of Office, either because their de-
partnent ceased to exist or because 1t had no
work of their particular kind to be done. The
Civil Service Commission had no power to pre-
scribe how many or who of the old employees
should be taken over. The statute leaves that
entirely to the discretion of the new depart
r,ent The Civil Service Commission had moth
ing 10 do with fixing the status Of these per
sons. The new legislation, however, did bring
before it the status Of persons heretofore en-
rloyed In the highway bureau Of the State En-
gineer's office who were laid off with the ter
rnination of the seasons outdoor work, and who
were eligible to reinstatement by the State En-
gineer for road work, but who, as they will not
be In Office at the time OF the transfer OF the
work TO the new department are not covered by
the statute for permissive reappointment
In the exercise Of It's power to regulate trans
fers the Civil Service Commission ruled that
these persons should be considered eligible 10
employment In the new department on the
same terms the persons actually employed
at the moment OF transfer, that is in the dis
cretion OF the Highway Commission. It had
no power 10 make their employment mandatory
under the statute. In other words, the Civil
Service Commission exercised it's discretion to
give the largest privilege for re employment to