Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1913-08-21

ARE UNDER WAY
FORPM. EXAMS.
North Carolina Aspirants for POstmas.
ter Jobs Will be Given Competitive
Examination.

Examination.
A special dispatch to the Asheville
Citizen from Washington says:
Although practically not a wheel has
been turned during the past month
towards making preparation for exam
lining all the applicants for fourth class
postofices it is quite probable that the
plan for holding these examinations
in North Carolina some time in Sep
TENDER will be carried out.
The cause for the present delay is
the fact that the civil service COM
mission has no available fund to de-
fay the expenses of taking the thou
sands of examinations. President Will
son months ago modified former Presi-
dent Taft's order placing all the fourth
class postmasters under the protect
ing wing of the civil service system,
by ordering that competitive examina-
tons should be held to select post
masters.
No Funds.
But when Postmaster General Bur-
Lesson called on the civil service COM
mission to carry out the order and
submitted the list of states made up
into groups of four in order in which
he wished the examinations to be held,
he discovered that there vas no funds
available to carry out the enormous
task.
Then it was that Postmaster Gener-
al Burleson and Commissioner Black
called on the house appropriation COM
nittee, explained the situation and
asked that money be provided as soon
as possible. 1t was following this
conference, as told in these dispatches
before, that the Tar Heel delegates
discovered that North Carolina had
been placed in the ninth group of four
states to be examined, and not in ninth
position or the third group as had
been supposed. But this matter has
sll been arranged and through
the insistent urging of the delegation
North Carolina has been placed in the
first group of eight.
At this conference also it was ar
ranged that the appropriation com
mittee would ask for enough money at
one time to defray the expenses of all
the examinations and that the exami-
nations should be held in eight states
at a time, all to be examined with a
year from the start. The commission
estimated that $4,000 would be neces-
sary and accordingly an item for that
amount was inserted in the urgent eff
fciency bill which has been prepared
by the appropriations committee and
is now ready for passage.
1t is useless, however, for the house
to pass the bill until an agreement
can be made with the senate leaders
to make way for the bill when 1t
reaches that body. Under the rules
obtaining in the senate no business
can now be taken UP until the tariff
tiIl is out of the way, unless a special
rule-is passed and arrangements made
with Senator Simmons and the mem
bers of the finance committee having
the tariff bill in charge.
With a view to asking such an ar
rAngement Congressman Page today
conferred with Senator Overman, who
Is chairman of the rules committee.
Senator Overman will take the matter
Up with Senator Simmons and the
other senate leaders to decide wheth-
er the bill a be put right through
the senate if it is passed by the house.
There is no doubt about the ability of
the house leaders to pass it through
the house but to do so would be USE
less without the eXistance of a work.
ing agreement on the part of the SEN
ate to take it up Immediately.
Congressman Page, a member of the
house appropriation committee, said to
Gay that he believed it was still posi-
bile to pass the urgent deficiency bill
through both houses and have the
civil service commission get down to
business in time to have the examina-
tons held in North Carolina in Sep
TENDER, as previously arranged.