The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1922-02-15
Bv EDWARD G.LOWRY
Copyright. Western Newspaper Union
NJ.
HIRE GOVERNMENT HELP

HIRE GOVERNMENT HELP
The civil service commission hires
all employees in the classified service
Of the government. The only thing to
be said about the classified service, is
that it has not yet been classified.
But you shall hear what the civil Serv
ice commission has to say about hir
ing help, without comment from me.
There is au utter lack OF definitely
planned and well-organized employ
ment policy in the government Serv-
ice.
There is need for a centralized EN-
plOyment office with jurisdiction i'll all
matters relating to employment.
The employment methods of the gov
eminent should be such as to seryy
for model for private business
There is at present no central cor
troll over the executive service &i,"rt
of the President. The preSidtn. is Il
busy man and cannut concern himself
with the details Of the executive De
partmentS.
The lack OF efficiency in &oyeri,-
lIICIll OlitNtN !Lttc al MAJ hNu NIit'i VII
private business.
Definite information concerning Tie
number of federal civil employees n
different branches of the service and
the amount Of the government pa,
roll are not readily available.
An official register, or blue book.
is issued eyery two years. 1t is n"f
Of date long before it is printed.
4 provision of the civil service rui
Theoretically gives the civil service
commission authority to coIlect aul
maintain complete personnel statis,
tics The labor and expense involved,
however. practically prohibit the col
lection and compilation of reliable sta
tistiCal data.
III addition to the limits Of the con.
missions authority is the alb: ence 4
authority to enforce its findings. The
commission can make recommends
lions to the departments and Offices
and urge their observance. but it can
not enforce them.
Congress passed what is known as
the civil service law January 1G 1883.
This act created the United States
civil service commission. The laW was
intended to cure in part the evils
traCeable TO the SpOilS system, which
grew out Of the four-year- tenure-of-
office act of 1920.
During the first 40 years after tie
organization of our government, adj
ministrative practice with regard 10
the civil service seemed to conform
to the intention OF the founders. The
Constitution fixed the term OF no o.
icer in the executive branch of the
government except those of the Pres
ident and vice president 1t was the
established usage during these first
10 years to permit executive officers,
except members of the cabinet, to hold
office for an unlimited period during
good behavior. The practice was
changed in 1920 by the fOur-yearten-
ure act. The spoils system, as it was
officially described as early as 1888,
was introduced and extended until it
permeated the entire civil service OF
the country.
The fundamental purpose of the civ
IL service law was to establish, i'll the
parts of the service covered by its
provisions, a merit system whereby
selection for appointment should be
made upon the basis of demonstrated
relative fitness, without regard TO po-
litical, religious, or other such con-
siderations.
No lirsnC hot o 10. Sh. N
provide, among other things for open
competitive examinations for testing
the fitness of applicants for the classi
fed service, the making of appoint
ments from among those passing with
highest grades, an apportionment of
appointments in the departments IT
Washington among the states and ter
ritories, a period of probation before
absolute appointment and the pro-
hibitiOn of the use of official authority
to coerce the political action of any
person or body.
In 1888, the year in which the civil
service law WAS enacted, 1921 posi-
lions in the civil service were made
subject to competition. The entire
number OF positions in the federal
executive civil service on June 20,
1916, was 4SO,327. At the height OF
the war expansion there were approx
imately 100000 men and women EN-
ployed in the federal executive civil
service, about 100000 Of whom held
positions subject to competition. On
July 81, 1920, the entire number of
federal executive civil positions, a.
nearly as can be estimated, had been
reduced to 691, 116. Approximately
100000 of these were subject to COM
petition, or, in other words, In the
classified service. The force is still
slowly but steadily decreasing.
During the 10 months Of our partici
patton In the war the civil service
commission gave competitive eXami
nations under the civil service law anc
rules to slightly less than 100000 per
sons, and about 100000 persons with
tested qualifications were supplied by
the commission to the service. A no"
mai years business is about 200C0C
persons examined and about $4,000
oDnOintp1