Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1924-02-12
>LEHLBACH ATTACKS
CLASSIC Y|NG BOARD
CHARGES DEFIANCE
Says They Have Held Work
of Congress to Public
Contempt.
HAVE DISTORTED LAW,
C0-AUTH0R DECLARES
Criticizes Herbert D. Brown as In
strumental in Killing CLASH
fication Act.


can, New Jersey, today bitterly at
tackled the personnel classification
board and Herbert ID. Brown. chief
nf the bureau of efficiency, on the
floor of the House.
classification is dead declared
rhe co-authcr Of the classification
act. THE work of Congress is held
up to open public contempt"
The classification board was scored
as composed of minor admlnlstra-
Awe officials" who had deliberately
cast aside. over the protest of the
Civil Service Commission member.
every provision of the law, except
the sentence bringing itself into
4, being
The chief of the bureau of efficiency
was criticized "a bitter opponent
OF reclaSSltication.
Schemcd for Defeat.
HE has worked openly and fur
lively to encompass it's defeat" de-
clared Mr.. Lehlbachffi lin this in
other Vaccinations he has had highly
influential support. He has resort
cd to misquotation Of the law, dis
sions TO influence those who placed
confidence in him. To reach persons
who he knew did not trust him. he
would use emissarieS who would not
disclose whence they came or In
whose behalf they spoke.
Throughout the months, he has in
u measure succeeded in creating in
the minds of some upright and con-
scientious men, anxious in full meas
IRE to perform public service, ms
conception of the terms of the clas-
sification act, an unfounded apprehen-
sion of its fiscal consequences and an
unwarranted prejudice against the
manner in which at first it was being
placed into effect. Up to the present
moment, he has succeeded. CLASH
sress is held up to open public CON
Tempt. If l can bring it about Con-
tcress will have the opportunity OF
giving full and free expression OF its
opinion of his work"
History of Act.
Mr.. Lehlbach reviewed the whole
history of classification, from its in
ception, in 1919, when Congress au-
thorized the joint commission on re-
Classification of salaries. and charged
that the board now in charge had
adopted policy on November II Ito
disregard" the act.
The act, Mr.. I4ehlbach said, had been
''nullfied in the field as well as in
the District OF Columbia"
Such notification in the District OF
' columbia had been accomplished, he
pointed out, when the board ordered
the department to allocate positions
in the District OF Columbia to the
eighteen grades of the repudiated
Brown schedules, instead of to the
service and grades carried in the act
of Congress.
cit established no classes explained
the speaker, and consequently furnished
no specifications of duties and qua.lnca-
lions for such classes by which uni
forrlity throughout the departments
was intended to be promoted. 1t es-
tabiished no titles by which any one in
the government or in Congress could
definitely recognize the character and
quality of work performed by person
holding such title. With amazing ef-
frontery the classification board turned
upon the law which created it and pro-
ceeded to destroy every provision of 1t
except that bringing itself into being"
Field Service Procedure.
In the field service Mr.. Lehlbach
said the board had at first started on
the right program, following the act,
but later had abandoned this pro-
gram, and ordered also that 'esti-
mates for the field service were to
follow the discredted Brown sched-
ules''
Classification in the field had been
started MI. LehIbach explained, in
conformity with the law, and the
compensation schedules contained in
section 13 of the classification act
were used as the basis"
1t had intended. he said, to follow
the law. which provides that the
classification board shall make
survey of the field services and shall
report to Congress at it's first regular
. session following the passage OF this
act, schedules of positions, grades
and salaries for such service, which
shall follow the principles and rules
tanned in the act, in SO far as these
are applicable to the field service,
and directs that this report shall in
clude proposed ALLEGATIONS by the
various heads of the departments"
1t had first been planned to have
this matter ready by November l. Mr..
Lehlbach said, but the date had been
changed, first to October l and later
to September Is. Finally the board
voted to abandon the work done
under its civil service member. dis
carded the classification and abol-
ished the field division"
Schedules Repudiated.
Mr.. Lehlbach said Congress had de
cisiveIy voted down" the Brown sched-
ules when n motion had been made
in the House to substitute them for
the outline of classification in H r.
1928. mo one to this day." he con-
tinued, has been able to ascertain by
what authority the bureau of eff
cheney spent the time and money TO
make a classification which was not
ordered by Congress, nor desired by
it. but, on the other hand, decisively
rejected by it. Perhaps the same doubt
as to authority actuated the maker of
this unwanted classification, for on
some pretext or another an executive
order was obtain on October "a, 1921,
validating the work ex post facto."
In the program of notification Mr..
i.ehlbach charged the moving spirit
behind the scenes" of the board was
the bureau of efficiency.
Defiance OF Congress.
Sit is unbelievable" he said, that
The personnel classification board,
composed of minor administrative Of
ficials, would have perpetrated on
their own motion and without ex-
traneous encouragement this defiance
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