Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-29

Il States. Add to these those who
do work for the government by
contract. such as star route mail carriers
and those who are connected with the
| legislative and judicial branches of the
government. and it will appear that there
are approximately half a million people
| working for Uncle Sam.
About half of these are under what is
known as the classified service-that Is,
| they are men and women who have been
appointed after competitive examination.
| or who occupied positions when they be-
came subject to examination The United
States annually expends several hundred
million dollars for salaries and wages
| These salaries range from the $1,000
| paid TO the President of the United States
| down to the So a year received by a
| backwoods postmaster determined by the
cancellation of the postage stamps on
| mail originating at his Office.
Government employees get their posi-
| tons in different ways. The President
directly appoints nearly 10000 of them.
These are the higher officials of the gov
eminent. such cabinet officers and
their chief assistants, judges of the
| courts. postmasters above the fourth
class, United States marshalS, district at
torneys. heads of important bureaus and
members Of various commissions and
other organizations. About a quarter OF
a million employees secure their positions
| through competitive examinations taken
| under the auspices OF the civil service
commission. body which has in charge
the enforcement of the provisions of the
| federal civil service law. Nearly 100000
receive their appointments without COM
petitive examinations and are said to be
| in the unclassified service. Many of these
are in positions where mental qualifica-
| tions not essential as physical
strength, most OF them being manual "a
| borers.
The maintenance of a competent force
| for the operation of the Machinery of
| the federal government always has in
volved many serious problems. During
| the greater part of the first century
| of national existence positions in the
| federal service were distributed under
what was known as the "spOils system.
When a new political party came into
power it considered that one of its
| first duties was to turn out the entire
| force, which had administered affairs
under the former administration, and
to put it's own adherents into their
places. The evils of the 'spoils system
continued to grow more marked until
| 1883, when the civil service act was
passed and the present merit system
| had it's beginning.
That this system of appointing gov
eminent employees and keeping them In
office has been a vast Improvement over
the old patronage system Is agreed by
| all But even with this plan of main
| tanning an efficient force certain objec-
| tions have arisen. One of these is that
employees continue in the service long
| after the period of their efficiency is
passed, and when they are no longer
able to render satisfactory return for
| their salaries 1t is agreed that the
government should not turn them out
| of the service. and yet 1T is realized
| that they have passed their term or
usefulness To keep them in their posi-
| tions after they have become unable
| to do their work is to adopt. without
any law therefor, sort of old age pen
| sion system.
F.! There are clerks In the government
| service who have to be wheeled to their
desks in roller chairs, and others have
been known to continue on the federal
pay roll long after they have passed
| the age of eighty years. Although the
| law strictly requires efficiency IN the
public service to be maintained. the
average departmental chief feels that
| it would be inhuman to turn the old
clerks out, and SO they continue in the
service 1t Is estimated that one out
of every fourteen government employees
in the city of Washington is over sixty
FIVE years old.
AS long as there is no law requiring
| compulsory retirement after a certain
age limit there Is no hope of eliminating
| these people from the service. Or course
Congress will not set an age limit LOT
compulsory retirement without making
some sort of provision for the clerks
after they are retired. straight-out
civil pension is held by many to be out
Of the question, since 1t would involve
the payment by the government OF per-