The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-04
Understands Only 30 Per
Cent Have Passed Neces-
sary Examinations
SOME SENSATIONS
FULLY EXPECTED
If Government Employees Got Places
by Fay0ritism or Other Unfair
Means He Proposes to Turn
On the Light
BY C. Il. STEWART

| Washington, May 3.--(Special. )--Sen-
ator Pomerene of Ohio, who was gem
| orally supposed to be elected to an
honorable retirement when designated
by his colleagues as chairman of the
! Senate committee on civil service and
| retrenchment, may develop into one
| of the legislative live wires of this
Congress.
The senator has initiated an investi-
cation into the workings of the civil
service in Washington that may develop
a few sensations and disclose conditions
which will endear the senator to The
hearts of hungry democrats, who are
seeking office, throughout the country,
and which will entitle him to be pre-
claimed by them as the Moses who will
lead them into the promised land, with
accent on the promised"
Senator Pomerene has undertaken a
gigantic task. He has determined to
clean out the governmental departments
cr the persons who have obtained places
through nepotsm or gross favoritisrn
ana who claim the right to hold on un :
der the protection of the civil service
law The Ohio senator says that he has
no disposition to disturb employees who
have won their places by taking exain-
nations in good faith and who have
been certified through the civil service
commission in the regular way. But
he does object to extending the pro-
tecting arm of the civil service to men
and women who were appointed
through irregular methods by execu-
tive order waving the civil service eN-
animation and requirements. by innu-
cntial relatives, who ignored civil SER
| vice barriers, or by blanket orders is
| sued by the executive at convenient
seasons by which groups of persons on
temporary rolls came into the service
without taking any examination what
| soever.
| The senator believes that the list or
employees should show those who passed
examinations to get their jobs and those
| who "crawled under the tent" to use
| a Yernacular familiar to circus goers.
It will be easy to get at the facts 1t
is proposed to require every clerk un-
der oath to state when and how he or
she came into the service. Other i'm
portant disclosures will be required
such, for example, as the state from
which the appointee halls, and how LONG
they lived there before appointment
whether they have relatives in the SER
vice and how many
1t Is admitted that many persons
claiming residence in certain states for
cHlce holding purposes never could
establish bonafide residence in such
states. In many instances they went
to the states for a brief stay to gain
q residence and to take advantage of
q locality which had a small quota in
| me civil service, thereby making their
cnance of appointment more certain
Il am in favor of an honest civil
service" said Senator Pomerene, bur
| | have been reliably informed that
lever than 80 per cent of the persons
new holding government jobs took civil
/ service examinations. The others came
through fayoritism. Such people have
no right to set themselves up as hav-
ing vested interests that cannot h7
taken away from them, and refer to
others seeking government employment
as office seekers"
There is no doubt but what the sem
ator's efforts, will be denounced as an
attack upon the sacred civil service ="
end there will be general howl all
over the country. This will however
have little effect upon Senator Pome-
rene, and he rs already assured of sun
port in the Senate. He will not be de-
TERED by protests. The civil service
unless something slips, is destined for
a thorough probe.