The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1922-06-15

The obvious solution of the govern
ment's employment problem is the
Standardization and readjustment of
salaries. To be scientific, such re-
adjustment must rest upon a careful
Redistribution of the service. Con-
0itions are very different now, both
in regard to the functions of offices
and the cost of living. from what they
were when positions in the govern
salaries assigned to those positions.
1t struck me that an interested party
in this inquiry into how the govern
ment conducts its business was the
employee himself. He ought to know
from actual daily experience some
thing about the mechanism of the
national business and the relations be
tween the working force and employer.
1t was clearly impossible to talk to
the more than SOC, 900 men and women
who work for the government, but /
learned that between $4,000 and co.
900 of them are banded together in an
association called the National Fedora
ton of Federal Employees. 1t is "a
regular labor union, and is affiliated
with the American Federation of
Labor. 1t includes all classes Of gov
eminent workers, technical and
scientific men, as well as clerks and
unskilled workers.
I asked the president Of this en-
ployees' union, Luther G. Steward, IT
he and his associates were authorized
to speak for all its membership. He
assured me that they were. -
So I asked him to tell me about the
conditions of government employment
and how the business was carried on.
I am glad 1 did, for what he tsld
me discloses not only facts, but q
state of mind existing among the EN-
ployees which necessarily must be
taken into account In any considera-
ton Of the efficiency and management
Of our common business. Here then
Is what the employees, who speak
through Mr.. Steward, have to say, and
the constructive program they present
for the Improvement Of the service:
The civil service on It's human side
consists of about 100000 men and
women engaged In the operation of an
antiquated patched-up machine. Be
cause Of the durability OF Its vital
parts and the faith and ability Of the
mas of the operatives the machine
still functions. But the parts : are
ill-ftted, and many of them are de-
fective. The managers and superin-
tendents Of the establishment, being
too often chosen for political reasons,
r frequently inexpert, and the operat-
ing system is clumsy and disjointed.
The employees are recruited under
a law which provides q test Of
qualifications, and probably nine-tenths
Of the rank and file have satisfactorily
passed the entrance test. But the
better positions. say from $4,000 mp
ward, are usually occupied By political
appointees. Another considerable
group Of employees sst their appoint-
ments by executive order. waving
c~ivi-service tests Of fitness.
The newcomer III the services, there
fore, finds himself up against ! mini
mum Of opportunity Tor promotion.
with the dfsheartening knowledge that
the advancement which ID earned BIZ
competence III all TOO likely to be given
to the friend or political supporter Cf
some congressman or executive who
wishes 70 pay 4 political debt. And
the employee = subject TO dismizsal
at the will of the executive of hiS ~,
partment, unless he can bring SUFFICIENT
political sinflnenee 10 bear.
n other words, the ~ctyil-seryics NV
N not backed ND by enforcing pcwsr IN
~ Civil Seryice co1nr,lssfon. 4
merely recruits ~ applicants foF -
txNnce Thereaffer the enaployee1
fafe 4 largely mattsr 1T hfs pFn
Iuck ami negative pssstys mef1t. Theirs
no aystem n with n !
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