The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1921-11-28
Moral Characters of CiUiI
Service AppOintees
By BILL PRICE.

By BILL PRICE.
That startling speech made in Detroit recently
by JOHN H. BARTLETT president of the Civil Serv
ice Commission as to the inability of the Commission
owing to limited appropriations, to investigate the
moral characters criminal records habits regulations
etc., of applicants placed upon the eligible lists and
who may be certified for positions.
While it may be true as Mr.. Bartlett said that the
"rating" which determines the relative positions on
eligible registers does not take into account even
fraction of per cent the fact of good character ndf
ferent character, bad character but is wholly and
purely scholastic, it is gratifying that the Of
appointees people who will rank we'll with the best
of mankind Bad eggs get into the choicest collections
no matter how much is exercised
1t is doubtful whether the plain speech of Mr. Bartlett
will get from Congress additional appropriations to
examine fully into the histories of people whose
scholastic accomplishments must be more than SO per
cent of what the commission knows about them Mr..
Bartlett may lay too much emphasis this weakness
of present civil service examinations in adjudging
applicants for civil service positions.
The president of the commission is new man in the
work, having come in several months ago. He has
barely gotten glimpse of the operations of civil serv
laws and regulations bear too heavily upon the
scholastic abilities and too little upon fitness industry
application, dependability
The commission does make an effort through aft
davits attached to all applications to ascertain facts
to the moral characters and qualifications of appli-
cants but signatures to these not difficult obtain
revamping of the ratings might benefit the gov
eminent if higher ratings given for genuine in
dustry, devotion to duty, and pure common sense
Where and how the great aux lays her eggs is not as
important persons character willingness to work.
and general fitness
Mr.. Bartlett referred to shocking disclosures of
crimnalty'' in the arrest of policemen of Wash
ngton charged with stealing automobiles and other
offenses. The law directs the Civil Service Commission
to test the educational qualifications of applicants for
positions the local police force They are first ex
amned by the police department to physical fitness
and must then go through the customary educational
tests Before they appointed, the police department
investigates their past histories as fully as possible
requiring five letters from responsible citizens of the
communities the applicants come from.
The tore the old police force to pieces through
service and designations In the last few years
hundreds of new policemen have been appointed The
bulk of these were of men who came here from the
States. The "black Sheep who crept in have been
revealed The personnel Of the force is growing better
each day, and the new men are making good records
There hundreds of able, brave men in Washing
ton whose moral records of the best who have no
chance to get on the force because their "book
learning does not enable them to answer series
of questions that would stump the President of the
United States any other man who has become some
thing because he possessed splendid qualities of mind
and heart which not be measured by technical
questions of the Civil Service Commission
We Should NeUer Again Depart From Our .Histori
Policy of N0n-Interference