Montpelier examiner. [volume] (Montpelier, Idaho) 1895-1937, 1912-01-19

Offices as may be found useless and
can be abolished will be SO treated by
executive order.
In my recent message to the con-
gress l urged consideration Of the
necessity of placing In the classified
service all of the local officers under
the departments of the treasury, the in
terror, postoffice, and commerce and
labor
Classification OF Local Officers
The Importance of the existence OF
a competent and reasonably perma-
nent civil service was not appreciated
until the last quarter of the last GEN.
fury. At that time examinations were
instituted as a means of ascertaining
whether candidates for appointment
possessed the requisite qualifications
for government positions. Since then
1t has come to be universally admitted
that entrance to almost every subor-
dinate position in the public service
should be dependent upon the proof
in some appropriate way Of the ability
OF the appointee.
| kab yCL, hOWCNCh, ittAO ~ 6hy httChAPs
has been made by law to secure, either
for the higher administrative posi-
lions in the service at Washington or
for local Offices, the qualifications
which the incumbents of these posi-
tions must have IL the business of the
government Is to be conducted In the
most efficient and economical man.
ner. Furthermore. in the case of many
Of the local officers the law positively
provides that the term of Office shall
be of four years duration.
The next step which must be taken
is to require of heads of bureaus in the
departments at Washington, and of
most of the local officers under the
departments, qualifications of ca
pacity similar to those now required
of certain heads of bureaus and of To-
! cal officers. The extension Of the
, merit system to these officers and a
needed readjustment of salaries will
| have important effects in securing
greater economy and efficiency.
: In the first place, the possession by
! the incumbents of these positions OF
J requisite qualifications must in itself
promote efficiency.
: In the second place, the removal
Of local officers from the realm of po
litical patronage in many cases would
: reduce the pay roll OF the field serv.
ices. At the present time the incum
bents of many of these positions
leave the actual performance of many
of their duties to deputies and assist
ants. The government often pays
two persons for doing work that could
easily be done by one. What is the
loss to the government cannot be
stated, but that 1t is very large can
not be denied, when 1t is remembered
: how numerous are the local officers
in the postal, customs. internal reve
: nue., public lands, and other field serv
ices of the government.
In the third place, SO long as loca
officers are within the sphere of pc
; litical patronage 1t Is difficult to con
slider the question Of the establish
ment OF discontinuance of local Offices
apart from the effect upon local po
litical situations.
Finally, the view that these vari
Gus Offices are to be filled as result
!, of political considerations has for iti
consequence the necessity that the
president and members of congress
devote to matters of patronage time
which they should devote to questions
I. of policy and administration.
!, The greatest economy and eff
|. cheney, and the benefits which ma.
accrue from the presidents devotint
his time to the work which Is mos
worth while, may be assured only b,
treating all the distinctly administra
: tive officers in the departments a
Washington and in the field In tn,
!, same way as inferior officers hav,
been treated. The time has CONF
when all these officers should b,
placed in the classified service. Tht
: time has also come when those pro
!. visions of law which give to thes,
/. officers fixed term of years SHOULD
be repealed. So long as fixed tern
is provided by the law the question
of reappointment of an officer. NJ
matter how efficiently he may hav,
: performed his duties. will inevitabl!
| DC tdlbtu PCAiOuiC0liJs GoO hOAB do 0p
: pointments to these Offices must b,
q confirmed by the senate, and SO loni
as appointments to them be made ev
: cry four years. just SO long will 1t b,
!. impossible to provide a force of EN-
!, ployes with a reasonably permanent
! tenure who are qualified by reason o
= education and training to do the bes
;. work.
a approximation.
: Attention has been directed In re
q cent years to the need of a suitabl,
:. plan of retiring the superannuatet
o employees in the executive civil serv
!. ice. In the belief that 1t Is desira
. BILE that any steps toward the estab
. lishment of such a plan shall be TAX
en- with caution. l instructed the com
n mission to make an inquiry first in
!. to the conditions at Washington. Thi
\ inquiry has been directed to the as
= certainment of the extent to whicl
IF approximation now exists and to tn
/. consideration Of the availability o
, the various plans which either hav,
/ been proposed for adoption In thi
:. | countrv or haya actually hepn adOnt