Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-01-23

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 i 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, postof1ce, and commerce acd
labor.
Classification of Local officers.
The Importance of the existence Of
competent and reasonably perma-
nent civil service was not appreciated
until the last quarter of the last GEN.
fury. 81 that time examinations were
| instituted al a means of ascertaining
whether Candidates for appointment
possessed the requisite qualifications
for government positions. Since then
it has come to be universally admitted
that entrance to almost every subor-
dtnate position in the public service
should be dependent upon the proof
/ in some appropriate way of the ability
of the appointee
As yet, however, little if any attempt
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 if 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
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-
hnr, tu Of ~
leave the actual performance of many
of their duties to deputies anO 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 it is very large can
not be denied, when it is remembered
| how numerous are the local officers
in the postal, customs, internal reve-
nue.. public lands, and other field sery-
| ices of the government.
| In the III I'd place, so long as local
litical patronage it is difficult to con-
| slider the question of the establish
ment or 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 its
consequence the necessity that the
! president and members of congress
devote to matters of patron time
which they should devote to questions
of policy and administration.
The greatest economy and eff
cheney, and the benefits which may
f! accrue from the presidents devoting
| his time to the work which is most
worth while, may be assured only by
treating all the distinctly administra-
| tive officers in the departments at
Washington and in the field in the
same way as inferior officers have
been treated. The time mas come
when all these officers should be
placed in the classified service The
time has also come when those pro-
visions of law which give to these
officers a fixed term of years should
| be repealed. So long as a fixed term
| is provided by the law the question
of reappcintment of an officer, no
matter how efficiently he may have
! performed his duties, will inevitably
| be raised periodically. So long as ap
| pointments to these offices must be
confirmed by the senate, and so long
as appointments to them be made ev-
cry four years, just so long will it be
| impossible to provide a force of en-
| ployes with a reasonably permanent
| tenure who are qualified by reason o.
| education ana training to do the best
work.
SuperannuatIon.
| Attention has been directed in re-
| cent years to the need of a suitable
| plan of retiring the superannuated
| employees in the executive civil serv-
Ice IN the belief that it is desira-
BILE that any steps toward the estab-
| lishment of such a plan shall be TAX
en- with caution, l instructed the CON-
mission to make an inquiry first in
| to the conditions at Washington. This
! inquiry has been directed to the as
| certainment Of the extent to which
| approximation now exists and TO tie
! consideration of the availability OF
the various plans which either have
been proposed for adoption in this
country or have actually been adopt
| ed in other countries. / shall submit,
| in the near future, for the considera-
ton Of the congress a plan for the re-
| tirement Of aged employees in the CIV
| il service which will safeguard the
/ interests of the government and at
the same time make reasonable pro-
! vision for the needs of those who
/ have given the best part of their lives
! TO the service of the state
Efficiency of Personnel.
| have caused inquiry to be made
/ into the character Of the appointees