The Glenwood post., 1916-04-15
ence shall be made on account of race

ence shall be made on account of race
or color.
The head of one of the penal institu-
tions has always successfully defied tho
former civil service commission to send
to that institution certain guards who
had previously been employed at an
other institution, and while these men
stood at the head of the eligible list,
by the action of the commission itself,
the commission was willing to be die
tated to by the head of that institution
and did not insist that he take men
from the eligible list, but allowed him
to employ men of his own chosing.
The civil service commission as it
now stands has an apparent desire To
bring the merit system into actual op-
GRAFTON in this state-something that the
state has never enjoyed before. The
commission existing under the old law
did little if anything toward putting
the merit system into operation until
shortly before the election of 1914 when
they held wholesale examinations whicn
were taken by the Democratic employees
in the state house and some few others
who believed that bonafide examina-
tions were to be given. The outcome
of these examinations was unique-irra
spective of the averages by which ap-
plicants passed and irrespective of their
relative standing there was no change
made in any of the positions which
were being occupied by the Democratic
incumbents and as matter of fact
parties taking the clerical examinations
who passed that examination with the
highest grades were never given and
were unable to secure position. This
condition Of affairs, which had filled
the state house and the institutions
with Democratic employees, irrespective
of their ability, was the the direct cause
of the Twentieth general assembly pass
ing the 1915 civil service act which
abolished the eligible lists. The oppov-
tunity is now before the present COM
mission to make good by giving such
examinations as are within its financial
limitations which examinations should
be open to all irrespective of politics,
religion, color or place of abode.
There are few people today claim
ing to be the advocates of civil service
who have been responsible for any
failure in that branch of the service
that has occurred to date. They were
not called on to draft the law as it now
exists and that law changed the law Of
their creation, and for this reason they
attempted to belittle the present act
and to prevent it's enforcement.
The present act is fair-it places re-
sponsibility where responsibility be-
longs by taking from the civil service
the heads of departments and institu-
tiops and allows the governor to appoint
to those places parties for whose acts
he will always be held responsible ire
spective of whether or not they are Of
his choosing and under his control.
1t provides for the certification of
the three persons at the head of ths
eligible list, which is only fair to the
person making an appointment, for, as
under the old law where only the heads
of the lists were certified, the appoint
ing power had to take that person ir-
respective of the fact that he might be
one ready to work to the disruption of
the entire department. ' 'n'
With a good law and commission
which has but short time to make it's
record we feel that there should be nov
given to the people Of this state q taste
of real efficiency in its public Offices.