New Mexico state record., 1920-11-19
ONE BIG REFORM
WELL UNDER WAY
THE REcLASsiFIcATioN coMMis.
SIoN'S BILL COMES UP IN
THE NEXT SESSION.
RE0RGANIZES CIVIL SERVICE
With Some Possible Changes, 1t viii
Enable the Government to Employ
Experts and to Pay Them Adequate
Salaries.
BY JAMES p. HoRNApAY.


BY JAMES p. HoRNADAY.
Neutrality-suspicious. than Il year ago
congress created reclassiiicatiOn
commission which had for its purpose
the reorganization of the civil service
upon scientific lines; a suitable classi-
fication of all government employees
according 10 the duties they perform
increased compensation necessitated
by the rise In the cost of living and
such administrative reforms AS might
be found advisable TO ensure the high
est efficiency. The commission has
made its report To congress and al
ready its chairman, Senator Jones of
New Mexico, has introduced "A bill to
carry out its recommendations This
report and bill have been made the
subject of extensive study by the
ablest minds in the government sery-
Ice. and these are now seeking 10 co
operate with congress through the
presentation Of such recommendations
AT the forthcoming session as will per
feet the tentative bill that has been
introduced. II is possible that MS a
result Of constructive criticism impor-
tant amendments will be proposed or
even new bill be prepared.
The reorganization scheme is per
the scientific bureaus which employ
men Of the highest technical training,
and. of late, have been losing them so
rapidly that In many eases their work
has come practically TO a standstill.
Secretary Meredith tells of special
LIST in cotton CHASING receiving $1,000
from the department who has re-
signed TO accept $4,000 An engineer
in the bureau Of public roads 10 whom
the government paid only $3.50 is
now receiving 5000 from single
county in Texas. The list could be ex-
panded indefinitely. The commission
does not advocate a scale Of salaries
equal 10 that obtaining I'm private en-
ployment nor would IL regard such a
scale as necessary.
Some Legal Difficulties.
At present, several legal difficulties
stand in the way OF proper admins
tratiOn, the most serious OF which
may be enumerated as follows:
]. The system Of statutory positions
with inhexiblc and generally made
quate salaries, which otter makes ap-
pointments and promotions difficult or
impossible.
.. Unequal salaries in different serv-
Ices for given kind of work and de-
gree of responsibility.
3. The legal prohibition OF transfer
from a position I'm one department 10
a lump-fund position In another at n
higher salary, no matter how much
such promotion is merIted or how
strongly II is recommended by the ad-
ministrative officers concerned.
4. The legal restriction requiring
three years service before transfer
from one department 10 another in
Washington.
.. The apportionment system. which
often makes II impossible TO appoint
the most competent eligibles and some
times rules out all the applicants
from several states.
O. The entire lack. until recently, Of
n retirement system for aged or dis
abled employees, which made il nee
essary TO retain thousands who under
other conditions would have been re-
tired 10 the advantage of the service.
Salary System Unsatisfactory.
The salaries of government en-
ployees either are fixed by statute or
paid from lump sum appropriation on
scale determined by the bead of the
department. The former system, the
commission holds, is wholly unsatis-
factory. because of the impOs Ossibility
of increasing the compensation except
by act Of congress. 4 proposed in
crease, for example. might come into
the house with the unanimous ap-
proval of department and the COM
mittee on appropriations and still he
defeated on the floor by the objection
Of one member. Moreover, the law
now not only fixes the salary but de-
termines how many persons in each
bureau shall be employed at that sal
ary: II more persons are imperative
ly needed for the work, they cannot
be employed, and on the other hand
If vacancies occur the money so saved
cannot be applied TO the salaries Of
others but must go back into the
treasury.
In the Department Of Agriculture
most Of the scientific workers of the
various bureaus are employed under
the lump sum system. which prevails
also in the geological survey and the
bureau Of mines. In the bureau of
whose work Is equally tech
nical, the salaries are in part fixed
by law; and capable men there as
elsewhere are devotedly holding 70
their position in the hope that con-
gress will relieve them. The reclassi-
fication bin is compromise between
the two systems; the Law fixes the
general scale. on n more uniform and
equitable basis than at present. but
does not specify how many persons
may be employed.
Ethnoiogy Bureaus Work.
The bureau American eth
oolo0r box had a huSv and Sa..