The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1924-08-18
ICIAL 5.
GET CLASS
BOOK
Work Of Personnel Board Is
Distributed to Chiefs
Of Departments

Departmental officials today re-
ceived the long-awaited copies Of
class specifications from the Per-
sonnet Classification Board.
They plunged Immediately into
the work of using the specifica-
tions as a basis of cross-indexing
the final estimates for appropria-
tions for the fiscal year 1925 in
accordance with recent instruc-
tons from the Budget Bureau.
Few Changes Expected.
The specifications will not be
used to any great extent as a
means Of changing or, shifting the
present ALLEGATIONS of Federal EN-.
ployes, for 1t is generally believed
that they permit of such flexiblity
in ALLEGATIONS the present status
of the bulk of workers will not be
affected.
The book of specifications is a
paper volume of 141 pages, contain
ing hardly more than one-fifth Of
the material in the original classi
flcation as worked out by the
Joint Congressional Commission IN
1918 and as modified later by the
House and Senate Civil Service
Committees.
Scored BY MOffett
A formal statement in opposition
to the class specifications was
issued today by Guy Moffett, who
represents the Civil Service Com
mission upon the board. Mr.. Moi
felt attacks the specifications as
fundamentally defective and as a
clear violation of the classifications
act. He said in part:
1T Is not within the discretion of
the board to determine whether
such class specifications are a good
thing, or whether some substitute
would be better. That question
was settled by Congress and for
the board to depart from the princi-
pal laid down in the law is to sub
stitute it's own will for the express
will of Congress.
IF it Is kept in mind that the
law says that for two positions to
belong in the same class they must
be so nearly alike that the same
education, the same knowledge, the
same experience and the same abil-
ity are demanded Of the persons
occupying the positions, it will be
apparent that a carpenter, q ma
chinist a plasterer and a stationary
steam engineer do not belong in the
same class. But the boards has put
them in a group which is called a
class.
LAS a result of this attempt to
group a number of different kinds
of positions together and write one
statement of duties and one set
of qualifications. the duties and
qualifications statements are either
too vague and indefinite to be
useful, or when greater definite
ness is aimed at they do not fit
some one or more of the kinds Of
the positions in the group"
Mr.. Moffett further emphasizes
the fact that the, class specifications
issued by the personnel board will
be OF little value in dealing with
personnel, In announcing examina.
tons. In requisitioning eligibles
and fixing pay and In analysing
personnel needs for budget and ap-
preparations purposes.
Position Well Known.
Mr.. Moffett's position with re
spect to the present policies of the
classification tribunal is we'll known.
and it will result In the entire con-
troversy being aired again at the
next session of Congress. with d
renewal Of the fight to abolish the
personnel board and to turn over
it's functions to the Civil Service
Commission.
The departmental heads have
been instructed to employ the class
of specifications as means of
giving the Budget Bureau and the
Appropriations Committees Of Con,
gress exact information as to the
number Of employees in given
grades, groups. and classes, and as
to the average salaries paid in the
different grades. Officials of the
personnel board say this informa.
ton will be OF great value in deter.
mining what grades of workers
shall obtain increases of pay from
time to time.
II 1t is found. for example, that
promotions have been more rapid
(Continued on Page 1aN