The Caledonian-record. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1920-current, 1922-02-28
HOW POSTMASTERS
ARE APPOINTED BY
THE GOVERNMENT
Civil Service Commission
Takes About 60 Days
for Examination

! for Examination
(Our Washington Correspondent
Gradually Vermont postmaster
appointments are comino through
but the process is so tagging that
now then is brought to the listen
inc ear Of Senator OF Congressman
a whisper that the home folks are
beginning to wonder what's hap
pening to the aspirations of wor-
thy citizens who would serve THEN
| fellow townsmen in that capacity.
! Time was, as every one knows,
when about all a would-be most
master had to do was to tip off hi:
Congressman that he was willing
for the lightning to strike him and
the job was as good as landed.
Today however, the Congress
man is one of the last to be con-
suited in the making up of post
master appointments states, for a
considerable Government has re-
lieved him of much responsibility,
at least so far as preliminaries are
concerned. These details are now
attended to by the Post Office De-
partment and the Civil Service
Commission, and it is not until af-
ter the Commission has certified
an eligible list Of annlicantS to the
Department in given case that
the Congressman comes into the
picture.
Under the now famous EXecu-
tive Order examinations are con-
Quoted by the Civil Service, at the
request of the Postmaster General
for the filling of position of post
master at post offices of the first
second and third class, and when
the field annlicants has been
duly sfted by this method, and the
necessary eligible list has been es-
tablished, the process of selection
is further continued. in part
through the assistance of members
of the Senate or House. until there
energies at the ton of the list the
man who finally gets the anpoint-
ment after his confirmation b. the
Senate. Fourth class officers get
their postmasters whenever va
cancieS occur-and these are not
dependent at all upon political pre-
ferenceS-by appointments from
the classified list of Nostal en-
ployes through the machinery Of
the Civil Service and the Depart
ment and thev are not subject to
confirmation by the Senate.
When the Civil Service Commis-
sion was made the medium
through which the selective pro
cess was to be carried out, Cigar
tic task was laid upon thhe should
ers of that body. At the present
time there are about $4,000 post
offices of the first, second, and
third classes in the country and
with the change in administration
must take place corresponding
changes in postmasters upon, or
after, the expiration of the terms
Of the old incumbents. DR.. Work,
the First Assistant Postmaster
General, issued the following nre-
nouncement on MAJ 81 relative to
the Executive Order:
at is in no sense the ~ulpose of
the Department to undertake to
disturb postmasters of the first,
second, and third classes post
offices who were regularly ap-
pointed and confirmed bv the Sen
ate, during the term for which
they were appointed, except for
cause"
At the present writing the Com
mission is approximately half way
THROUGH its undertaking. - ovid
mo eligibles through examinations
for these apnointive offices. The
latest compilation of the Civil
Service Complete up to February
~ shows that cliibles have been
certified to the Post Office De
partment following examinations
and the rating of their papers, in
the cases Of 5,14S post offices
divided as follows: First class,
210: second class. 100 third class,
4.148. With some 500 or 900 post
office examinations still in process
of being rated, and a call already
in for further examinations, the
list of offices ALREADY attended to
or in the way of receiving atten-
ton runs un to about 1865. in
Guiding Qualifications made from
eligibles already in the classified
service.
Further statistics obtained bv
your correspondent from the Civil
Service Board show that the num-
Der of persons who took these tests
for the 5,148 cases already di>-
posed of was16,545, apportioncd
thus: First class, 1925, second
class, 8, 989; third class, 11,031.
These figures "iven above do
not take into consideration the
Fourth class post offices, of which
there are about $4,000 in the Uni
ted States, and in which the terms
of office are indcterminatc..
When it is considered that every
one of the 1856 papers furnished
in the tests that are now out of
the way have had to be examined
and rated according to efficiency
by the Civil Service force-a lob
that is entirely apart from the
work of the Board in ATTENDING to
the general run of Civil Service
activitieS-it is not difficult to un-
derstand that the selection Of - :