Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-09-11
CHARLES L. HAFNER
On Civil Service Development

THE practical application of the princi-
l. pies of civil service to the employment
roster of the city has raised the standard
of the men thus employed very materially.
according to Charles Il. TInfner, chief clerk
of the Civil Service Commission.
THE fact that the examinations of the
civil service are held along strictly prac-
teal lines" said Mr.. Hafner, ''shows that
the persons who win the appointments must
thoroughly be qualified for the places which
they get The civil service as we know 1t
today is development which has taken
place since the passage of the frSt oNii
Service Act by the Legislature, approved
March 8, 1905.
prior to that time there was kind of
civil service but it was conducted by few
public spirited citizens who did the work tor
the pure benefit that it was to the pubic
service, and all of whom served without pay.
These persons were appointed by the Mayor.
The First Civil Service
I'm the old Bullitt bill, which was passed
by the Legislature and approved June !;
1SS5. there was some provision for Il civil
service, but the act had no teeth in it and
was therefore, not capable of being enforced
for the best needs Of the city in the matter
of giving employment 10 large number or
persons But when the act of 1oO6 went
into effect it became incumbent upon the
Civil Service Commission to ma ke rules to
carry into effect the provisions of the act.
..The ONLY feature of the old Bullitt bill
which was carried over into the act Of 1906
was that concerning the appointment ana
the dismissal OF the members OF the bureaus
Of Police and Fire. The Bullitt bill pro-
yided that no policeman or fireman could be
dismissed except after n trial. and this was
retained in tn" supcrseding act. This was
the first move to take the police and tiremen
ont OF politics and TO protect them in their
positions so that they could not be removed
solely fc political reasons.
'.The Civil Service Act Of 1906 put the
city on the same basis as employing private
firms or corporations in allowing the prin
cIple of the survival of the tttest to be used
in selecting persons for city positions.
Incumbents Were Protected
This action did not interfere in any way
with the positions held at the time the act
was passed. because there was in it a pro
vision 10 the effect that all incumbents at
tnc time of the passage of the act were to
hc considered as having taken the eXamina
tOns provided for in the act and to have
passed them. Therefore there was no whole
sale turning out Of the then ofticeholdcrs.
zone Of the first effects Of the act was
greatly TO increase the number Of applicants
for city positions. Before the passage of the
act there had been few applications for these
places, and very little was known of the
nossibiltics and extent of city employment.
But when it became n matter of eXamina-
tons and it was made clear that the best
qualified among the applicants would get the
positions and that they could not be dis
| missed at the behest of any man who hap
pencd to be powerful with the Admnistra-
tion at the time, persons OF ability began
focking toward the civil service eXamina-
| t!ons in considerable numbers.
This attitude on the part of the public
has continued ever since, except during the
| period of the war. when the high wages paid
| by private employers made it difficult for
| the city to get the persons demanded to con
| duct the city business.
The Exempt Classlflcations
"Not every position under the control of
| the city requires the taking Of civil service
examinations for appointment, as there is an
| exempt classification, which includes some
| Of the lowest paid places and some of the
| highest paid ones, besides few of moderate
| compensation. While none of the depart
| ment heads are under civil service, the
employees under these officials are, with cer-
| tain exceptions.
Included in the lower paid classes of
! city employees are certain employees in the
hospitals or other city institutions, where,
| either on account of the very low salaries
paid, or the undesirable nature Of the work,
| persons for the positions, it was deemed
| better to put them in the exempt classical
| ton. And when | say low salaries, | near
| to say as low as two dollars a month, which
| is paid to certain inmates Of various city
| institutions for the performance OF work
| around the institution.
But, of course, all the salaries are by
| no means this low. As matter of fact,
| the salaries paid to some of the exempt posi-
tions run as high as $1lOO I, year, these
| being paid to the nurses and physicians,
who are always hard to get and many Of
whom will not take competitive examina-
| tions for the positions. The low -salaried
class 10 made mp Of those who do odd Jobs