Evening star., 1922-03-30
REPLIES. T0ATTACK
ON CIVIL SERVICE.
H. W. Marsh Says Attorney
General Put Himself in
"Ridicuious Position !. !.

Attorney General Da0enerty put
himself in a ridiculous and untenable
position. when he attacked the civil
service according toga statement, is-
sued today by HarrysW. Marsh. Sec
retary of the National Civil Service
Reform League. referrinesto remarks
made by the Attorney General before
the House appropriations COMMITTEES.
II am not aware as yet what is be-
hind the criticism made by Attorney
General Daugherty, bat have taken
steps to find out" Mr.. Marsh stated
II shall. be very glad to look into
cases Of fnefhciency which the Attor-
ney General says exist In his depart-
ment or any other department. II he
pertinent he can hold. bnay himself to
blame. All that fs necessary for him
to- do. in order to. get rid of the In
efficient, is to prefer charges against
them and tell them to co." r.
Secretary Marsh, n bis staten snt;
Daugherty boldly saggestss a, return
to the thoroughly discredited spoils
system system which has been In
operation for the past two, years Ter
the selection of the government eM.
ployes wia enforce the Voistead
oSe- 80 -,
Mr. MarshS Statement,
Mr.. Marsh continues, in part:
The belief that the civil service
law protects an incompetent employe
is somewhat common: The fact is.
however, that under the law the de-
partment in which a civil service en-
ploye works Is the sole and final
judge as to whether the employe
should be removed or not.
The MT hA 40 rf
ment or bureau is the judge as to
whether his force should be reduced
or not. OF course. the appropriations
allowed by Congress set q limit on
the size of the force, but the number
to be employed within that limit rests
with the employing department.
"The civil service law does not ex-
tend In its scope to the matter Of re-
moval. In large measure. the So
called spoiis system may stili be SAID
to prevail in the matter Of the dis
charge and retention Of employees.
moval Of an unworthy employe Is
proposed, outside pressure Is brought
to bear to keep him in his position,
often with success
Appofntments ProbationaL
"All appointments under the civil
service law are probatfonal. usually
for six months, and at any time with
Ill luS pcTlOu VI ptOO0SAoAI NuC SAh
ploying department may dismiss an
inefficient or otherwise undeS rable
employe without the formalfty OF
preferring charges against him:
THE Official records contain -abund-
ant testimony supporting the merit
system Of appointments
"The responsibility for the size and
quality Of the working force in an
ONCE to which the civil service law
is applied rests sQuarely upon the
shoulders Of the head Of that ONCE.
"The great difficulty is that EN-.
ploying oficers OF the government
are not always proof against outside
influence brought to bear in favor
of an employe who clearly should be
di dismissed; and the history OF the fed
eral civil service in all its branches
shows that, without system OF ap-
OF pressure is applied to original ap-
'It is automatic that an increase Of
force goes with the removal of, or the
failure to apply, the system OF COM
petitive examinations for appoint
the tendency always has been and
always will be to fnd as many places
as possible for ths friends and rela-
tiyes Of those Whosare in position to
make demands upon employing
officers of the government, which can
not easily De OenieQ.
Conditions Growing Better.
at is not claimed that the present
civil service system is perfect. 1t
is claimed that il is inestimably bet
ter than the conditions which pre-
vailed throughout the federal service
before the enactment Of the civil
service law. 1t is the hope Of those
who are most interested in the federal
civil service as an Institution that the
enactment of reclassincation legisla-
ton. such as IL nh# pei nding in Con-
gress, will result in further improve
ment by leveling out existing in
eQualtties which are apparent on
every hand, by providing Z definite
system Of promotions on merit. and
by establishing a system Of efficiency
ratings which will tend to weed out
the incompetent and inefficient, as
we'll as reward the competent and
efficient"
ATTACKS MR.. DAUGHERTY.