Evening star., 1922-07-26
FIND CIVIL SERVICE
BOARD BLAMELESS
Senators Deny Political Bias
in Rating Candidates tor
Postmasterships.
NO INJUSTICE IS FOUND
Mistakes Errors in Judgment and
Not of Wrong Intent Com
mittee Asserts.

Tba Civil Service Commission was
.xonerated of having certined cahol-
dates for office as postmaster 'hrousn
..,o,itical bias" in a report OF speciai
s.,ote committee, which has been IN
vestiga ting for months charges ihaue "
many states that democrats anu ioin.,
.eryice men had been oiscrihiih"'e"
AGAINST in the ratings given.
The report was filed by senator a,a
ling OF South Dakota, cnairnHlani Hi. Rbods
sig3ed also by Senators Coit' nno,u,e
Ss1and and Cummins, Iowa. repuoil-
..ms senator Ransdell OF l.ouisla',a, "a
democrat, had told the coInhis.e S,,n,
also would sign. it was salu. dano.
Mckellar Of Tennessee ec;.i .ne o commit
tss is at his home in Tennessee a,T rd
n.hie TO indicate his views IN resai"
to the report.
M Unfairness Discovered.
Tho report declared also tnat ,neir
,naarsd 10 be no reason for charges VI
mnfairness or injustice in the coi.'i'i for
;r. examination OF applicants 10y
SION ,,oces in the federal service. sucn
s ruraI carriers and clerks In ieueIa ia,
oftices. The commission, tne prse
added. seemed to be unusuai,s haen
from the influences wnich /. narating
charged in the senate "e
VIII" Thn renort said that while there
ars mistakes made in the certinca
lion of candidates for the inans
places. the invesugatlon II ;stnIes
would indicate that the mlstaSeSs
Wouiu rnrisinrlv few and that such
as NAV have been are due 10 error .
Of judgment and not to any "ro"e
intent. ,,a o.sss pre-
sented." the report Went on -
~ nnmmission was ably and con-
scientiously performed ana tnat po
Utical influence has not oeen uSeu'
mr. if sought to be used. has nau na
erect in the examinations conoue.s"
under the supervision OF tne 80 :,
mission or in the making or allei III :, .
of GRADES. 1t believes also that Tue
acts of Congress and executive oraer
giving preference to former serN,oe
men in appointment TO once unued
civil service rules nave peeh ooSe
by it's examiners
Reason for COntrOversies.
Further. in absolving the commis-
sion of blame. the report said II was
hcIieved that many of the controver-
sizes as to postmaster appointments
had arisen out of the rule requiring
the names of the three highest en-
gibles for appointment be certineo
hy the commission to the appointing <
mower 1t added that there remained
a grave question whether there wouio q
NOT have been less complaint had
that rule been abrogated and tne
name of only the highest eligible
submitted
The committee members signing
the report said they had not called
on members of the commission or
subordinateS to appear 1or testi-
n,ony before it, but that 1t had OBJ
tained from the commission a state,
been laid before it: The commits
sion's readiness to furnish informa-
tion caused the committee to take
the course rather than go into verbal
testimony, the report said. AIDING:
Full Information Given.
The committee was given to un-
derstand that the commission $ rec
ords were open to it, and in the
cases where inspection was made OF
tho records it was found that there
was more to justify the commission
in it's decisions than had. in fact.
been submitted to the committee In
the memorandum of the commission
on Individual complaints"
OF the several hundred complaints
laid before the committee. the report
said there had been found no failure
on the commissions part to observe
the laws and rules under which it
operates 1t was added, however.
that there may have been injustice
done in some cases, but that the fault
did not lie with the commission.
Candidates and the public as
we'll" the report continued. should
appreciate the fact that as to post
masters of the first, second and third
olasses, it Is the President who ap-
points; that whatever the number of
eligibles only three can be certified.
and of those three only one can be
selected for appointment. and when
the Civil Servi,e Commission has
made Anal examination and certifi-
cation Of the three highest eligibles,
it's work is done"