Warren sheaf., 1922-05-17
INCOMPETENTS ARE KEPT


XIV.
INCOMPETENTS ARE KEPT.
The annual turnover in the govern
ment service Is something almost in-
credible. No business corporations;
however strongly established, could
long endure the heavy annual drain en-
it's resources. Hundreds of men leave
the government service daily; and
new, unframed people have to be taken
on and taught to do the work. This
costs money, as every employer
knows. ~. n
!, The designations from the govern
ment service are chiefly from the SUI
pervisory and most highly paid posi-
tions and from the very lowest grades.
The men at the top, if they have any
initiative or ability or ambition to-
make name for themselves, are, of
fered private employment at double
or treble or more what the govern
ment can pay them. The people In
the lowest grades leave for private
employment when opportunity affords
because in too many instances they
actually cannot keep body and soul
together on their government pay.
1t is the people in the middle class
who stay on the longest. The whole
+ constant process makes for steady
deterioration in the quality of the
government service and tends to re-.
tain the mediocre in public employ
ment. :
| The civil service commission, through.
which the great bulk Of government
employees are brought into the serv .
ice, is acutely aware Of this condition
It's reports give emphasis to the diff
Guilty constantly experienced in secur-
ing and retaining competent employ
ees. The rotation In Office has become
increasingly, frequent and vitality i'm
pairs the efficiency of the service.
During the war there was lower
rate of turnover in the mechanical
forces than in outside establishments.
The proposition of separations, how,
ever, is excessive in clerical, profes,
sional and technical positions, in
which the rate of turnover sometimes
amounts to third of the force in a
year.
During the nine months preceding
the armistice more than 10000 ap-
pointments were made in the civil
service and about $4,000 separations.
occurred-that u.s. for every two ap-
pointments made one person left the
service. For period of similar length.
following the armistice only 60 per
cent as many appointments were made,
but there were nearly 33 per cent more
separations. In this period almost as
many positions were vacated as were.
filed.
The exigencies of the war required
a great expansion of the clerical
forces at Washington and elsewhere
and this was accomplished by labor
turnover several times above normal.
The percentage of declinations of ap-
pointments among eligibles on the CIV
IL service register increased in many
instances from 80 to more than so per
cent-that is,c more than half the men
and women who successfully passed
civil service examinations and were
offered jobs under the government re-
fused to take them. 1t is estimated
that more than, $4,000 Of those who
met the test were appointed during
that time. F.,
The civil service commission says
fatty: -...S.s..-. .-..~
''Those familiar with the federal
service at Washington know that the
service Is now hampered by the re-
tention of incompetents whose re-
moval is rendered difficult by influences
which are incompatible with the efti-
cheney of the service. Preferences
and exemptions increasingly clog the
departments with persons who, no
matter how inefficient, are difficult to
remove, and whose retention tends to
destroy the discipline Of the service"
Among these ineffcients, Of course,
are the superannuated and the phys
ically incapacitated. The bureau Of
efficiency estimated, before the pass
age of the superannuation retirement
law, the number of employees in the
civil service of the United States sew
enty years Of age and over as follows: !:
.ss Number
Railway postal clerks. !. !. !. 8. Isl
Rural letter carriers. iers..................... 454
I City letter carriers 20
Post Office clerks. \. :. 387
Mechanics ........... 328
General employees. Dist Columbia 1,4s4
General employees elsewhere. .sa3
Total 4. .6s8
The commissioner OF pensions sup
plies the following compact statement
Of the age Of the employees in the PEN
sion bureau
Number in the classified civil serv-
ice, 874 !; age Of the Oldest empl6 l6yee,
eighty eight !; number over eighty years
Of age, 26 !; number between sixty-fye
and eighty, 266 based on age of sixty
five, number eligible for retirement,
4 T.