Evening star., 1920-02-27
SERVICE REFORMS
SPEAKERS TOPIC
Robert CatherWood Dis
cusses Conditions in De-
partments Before League.

Conditions in the federal civic serv-
ice here due to low salar and lack
OF provision for retirement of super
animated employees was stressed by
Robert Catherwood in an address be-
fore the annual meeting of the Ma
tional Civil Service Reform League
meeting at Springfield. Ma S., today
Mr. Cathcrwood is Il member Of the
advisory committee on employment
policy to the joint congressional com
mission on rcclassification Of salaries
in the District.
Lack Of interest on the part Of the
department heads was cited by Mr..
Catherwood as presenting a situation
demanding attention by Congress. Mr.
Catherwood said, in part:
AS the law now stands the heads
of departments have complete free
dom to deal with all phases of fed
eral employment except that Congress
fixes the salaries and the civil service
law requires them to choose one OF
three persons found competent upon
examination and to give as a reason
for any dismissal that it is for the
good of the service and not for any
political or religious reason.
What have the APARTMENT heads
done with this power? They make no
removals and only two or three of
them have toyed a little with what
they called under poetic license. EFF
fciency ratinEs-that is. they ask
superior officer or a hand picked COM
mittee here and there to give their
Judgment in terms of percentage that
Bill Jones is Sc per cent efficient and
Tom Smith S6.2. These interesting
records are signed and forwarded
where ultimately l believe the Office
hoy uses the backs of them for scratch
paper. Nothing happens. except that
Tom and Bill are cross and receive
considerable chaff from their friends
The net result is that the most dam
aging epithet which you can apply to
an adversary is. You efficiency expert,
you"
Many Useless Places.
Again. there are the useless places
estimated in various reports at some
where between fifteen and twenty
thousands Men needed for six months
are employed for the year. Rotation of
staff from points where they are no
longer needed to points where they are
most urgently needed is practically un-
known Central service supply stations
from which stenographic. clerical. mes
senger or other service may be obtained
on call are non-existent. To move a
force from one department to another
is unthinkab!e: to use appropriations for
salaries earmarked to the War Depart
ment by lending men in an emergency
to the Navy Department is unheard Of
In fact. the devices which save many
millions of dollars elsewhere are i'm
practicable without central employ
ment authority to establish them and
supervise their operation
1T would save a great deal Of money
II 1000 old people could be retired and
pensioned- They cannot work and their
feeble attempts to do so are not benefi-
cial to the service. Please state what
you are doing said a recent question
naire. Nothing. for am totally blind
answered one. I open and shut a vault
door night and morning. said another.
Very little now. said third. for I am
nir"fy-seven years old and was appoint
ed by President Tyler An old lady of
e:shty-seven and her colleague of seven
ty-nine gave formidable list of duties,
which. alas! existed only in their
dreams.
Seven old gentlemen come to bust.
ness. when they do come. in bath chairs
'Tha heads of departments with the
Presidents approval have almost au-
ization and regrouping of Offices. but
they have done practically nothing at
all with this power
Tn my humble judgment. however,
the greatest evil of all. the most cost
ly and the most unnecessary, is a
spiritual evil. AS you enter certain
Offices and bureaus. especially those
wherein the best and highest places
are held by deserving democrats
YOU sense it most. Again you sense
the most grossly underpaid offices. 1t
is the spirit of despair. somewhat
nonchalant perhaps. but none the less
despair. I fancy it put into words
like these:
"If no one cares how we do our
" ork: if those who do well fare pre-
eisely the same as those who do i'll,
what is the use of exerting our
selves?'
Lack Of System Costly.
There is overwhelming evidence
that the lack of a well considered
system of incentives honestly and
universally applied costs the govern
nArt millions of dollars.
The real figure of cabinet ohcer
is that of a man at glittering desk
in an apartment Of dignified proper
tions autographing papers and re-
ceiving callers. who arc innocent ad-
herents of the fiEure-head theory. In
a spirit Of wise detachment. he may
at first read his own decisions upon
a question or SO among the stream
Of questions answered by the brains
and hands of the department.; the
unknown subordinates who do the
thinking. look up the precedents. ap-
ply the experience and leave space
for the secretarial autograph The
wise cabinet officer never asks ques
tions. never strikes out for himself.
never tells fairy stories to his callers
as to what his decision will be until
he has himself read it and is content
to compete only with the White
House telephone. That is RESPONSE
bility.
TN rare moments the cabinet officer
communes with the President His
function is to listen appreciatively.
One may not lift the veil. but may
merely say that in delicacy, in Va
riety. in blunt candor even beyonu
the verge Of tears. the praise sur
passes the best models handed down
10 us from the court of Queen Eliza
beth.
"These are the limitations OF the
heads Of departments marked out
with the whitening bones OF their