Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-02-14
WORKING FOR THE GOVERNMENT
BY FREDERIC J. H4SKIN

Something more than d ripple Of
| surprise-almost wave of indigna-
| tion-went over the country at the re
| cent announcement as TO the number
of people on the public pay rolls OF
the Nation. It was stated that for
| every 10 persons in business or pri-
| vate employment there is one who
| draws his sustenance from the pub
| lie by holding job under the Fed
| eral, State or local Government.
The average pay of these public
! servants was estimated at 81 500 per
! annum. which would make an aver
| age burden of $3.50 per capita which
those who get their incomes in other
ways must pay for the privilege of
! being governed. And the salaries of
| officeholders of one kind and another
| represent only part or the total cost
| OF Government.
| That public Office is still regarded
as a private snap is evidenced by the
grand rush that is constantly on for
J appointive positions, as we'll as by the
| keen rivalry whenever an elective Of
| flee is to be filed
Many Wish Government Jobs.
| Only officers of campaign commit
| tees and Presidents. Senators, Repre-
| Sentatiyes, governors. mayors and
Quiet OlllCldIs IIdN liS pau ofdSt "
! dispense have a real conception of
the widespread desire there is among
| Americans 10 become jobholders.
| They are besieged by hungry hordes
! until life becomes a burden to them.
| and that indefinite but potent force
known as influence is brought to
bear on them in thousand and one
| ways.
Unfortunately they do not keep
I, 49, 10 oIn,. I'D <,f
| applications for appointments they
| receive. Hence there are no anthem
tic statistics available that would
! show what the proportion of public
| employees of one kind and another
| would be if all the would-bes could get
what they wanted. That it would be
far above l in 10 is. however. obvious.
Most of the placeseekers hope to
| better themselves financially by
getting attached to g public pay roll,
but members of Congress say that
a surprisingly large percentage of
them are better off than they would
be If they secured the jobs for which
, they apply. In many instances men
are willing to abandon businesses
| and private positions with better
| prospects and better pay than are
| and this for no aScertainable good
| reason other than the imaginary
| prestige that attaches to being re
warded for political activity.
| Civil Service Records.
1t is possible to get something Of
| an idea as to the extent of the de-
sire for Government employment
from the records of the United
States Civil Service Commission.
| During the last fiscal year the
J hnr of
| the commission was 216,l35. The
total number of appointments dur
ing the year to positions in the CLASH
fed service of the Federal Govern
ment was 4S,s04.
Manifestly, every position for
| which there was q vacancy was
] filled, so it is shown that there were
! more than four times as many ap-
| plicants as there were jobs avail
able. If that ratio holds with re-
| spect to places outside the Federal
classified service and those under the
State and local governments. then
it would seem that fully one-half
| the adult population of the country
| is ready and anxious to serve the
other half If the taxpayers will foot
| the bills.
OF the fortunates who were in
Quoted into positions under Uncle
| sam, ll,4U4, or Zoo pei CeHl, Weic
| beneficiaries Of the veteran prefer
| ence acts. Since these laws were
passed in 1919 as a means of re-
warding World War veterlns-givtng
| them a decided advantage over
other applicants-approximately $780,
900 Of these claims for preference in
appointment to positions in the Fed
! eral classified service have been al
| lowed, and Of the veterans who ap-
| piled for examination more than 91,-
900 have received appointment.
| The number Of different occupa-
tions or kinds Of positions for which
examinations were held by the COM
mission during the year was 979, In
addition to those held for mechanical
trades and similar jobs. This would
indicate that Uncle Sam has job for
some one in almost every line of
activity, provided he can pass q fairly
rigorous test and demonstrate his
qualifications.
During the year the commission dis
tributed almost 100000 Information
circulars, applications forms and
cards. The number of visitors to the
information office in Washington was
1O9, 1925 as against "a ,401 for the pre-
ceding year, and the number of let
ters and other communications re-
ceived in the application division,
aside from application forms, was
354,3s5 as compared with 299 ,779 for
1924. This may be taken as a revela-
ton Of Uncle Sans growth in popu-
II