Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-26
Drive in Next Session of Con-
gress Planned by Or
gained Group.
FAIRNESS is QUESTIONED
BY MANY COMPLIMENTS
Several Government Officials Call
Plan Best Devised, but Admit
Some Injustices.


over the annual efficiency ratings OF
United States employees now being COM
pleted, organized Government workers
plan to make a drive on Congress next
session for elimination OF the whole
system.
1.-THE efficiency system is all wrong.
We are against it." declared Miss Ger
trude Mentally, vice president OF the
National Federation OF Federal En-
ployes. 1--WE are having great many
complaints registered by Government
workers against the ratings now going
into effect. There is nothing fan
about it."
Mrs. Margaret Hopkins Worrell. preSi-
dent of the League of the American
Civil Service, declared her Office is be-
ing swamped every night by Govern
ment workers registering complaints
against the system. The Office of the
league, at 1405 G. street, she said, which
usually closes about 6 o'clock every eve
ming is now being kept open until IL
and IL o'clock to receive complaints
against the efficiency system.
Ratings Made Once a Year.
The ratings now going into effect were
made by Government officials as of May
Is, under regulations of the Personnel
efficiency rating system developed by
the Bureau of Efficiency. They are
made only once each year for the pur-
pose of setting up rating Of each Gov
eminent employe under the classical
ton act to regulate his promotion, de-
motion or separation from the service,
according to the efficiency he shows on
the rating.
The reports are supposed to be all
nv TIlU I c
under the efficiency ratings of May Is
may go into effect by the first Of the
fiscal year, beginning July l, but as a
matter of fact they are usually not fin
ished until about August l. Copies of the
efficiency ratings of the thousands of
employees are all filed with the Person.
mel Classification Board. About 10000
or more are listed.
While admitting that the system al
lows inequalities, and some injusticeS
to creep in on account of the personal
equation involved, several Government
officials approached on the matter ex-
pressed the opinion it was the best sys-
tenn yet devised and no better one had
been suggested.
Defended by McReynolds.
William NJ McReynolds of the Bureau
of Efficiency, who was one of those be-
hind the development of the efficiency
rating system, former member of the
Personnel Classification Board. and now
directing the field survey of positions
under the Government throughout the
world, came to the defense of the pres
ent system.
1T may allow of some injustices at
times" he said. These would creep
into any system of personnel rating.
But the present efficiency rating pro-
NvSl @&Nw@%
year of the efficiency of Government
workers. This is more likely to result
In an equitable lineup of ratings and
rewards than If there were no sys-
tematic system. I believe there Is less
unfairneSs in the rating now employed
in the Government than in any other
plan which has been tried. 1 doubt If
any other system would work as we'll"
One official in large Government
department declared he had given much
thought to the whole problem, and
realized that in spite Of every effort of
officials to be fair in the matter there
were possibilities of unfairnesS. But"
he said, I'VE never had system as good
as this, and I have been unable to
think of a better one. The weakness,
suppose, comes from the fact that it
is all matter of dealing with human
beings. The rating officers are human,
equation operates sometimes to bring
about unfairness, despite all the checks
and balances of the system" In most
departments the first rating is made by
a rating officer in direct charge of a
group of employees, the ratings go before
a reviewing officer, and then before de-
partmental board of review.
The legislation which the League of
the American Civil Service will push in
order to abolish the efficiency system is
the Brookhart bill, introduced in the
Senate by Senator Brookhart of Iowa
and designed to set up new board of
appeals for all Government employees, to
abolish the Personnel Classification
Board and transfer the activities of that
board to the Civil Service Commission.
Mrs. Worrell, president Of the league,
declared that her organization would
push for passage of the Brookhart bill
The Government workers are not be-
ing properly rated at present" she de-
clared. "They are being rated accord
ing to favoritiSn more than anything
else. And there is no way Of checking
up on the rating officers, to find out
how the mistake was made" Employees
are complaining, she said. and they are
so worried over their efficiency rating
they cannot do their work right
The National Federation of Federal
Employees, which has already presented
a comprehensive array OF argument
against the efficiency rating to members
of Congress, has hopes for relief from
legislation expected to be proposed by
the House committee on the civil Serv-
Ice according to Miss Mentally, vice
president of the organization.
The report which now is being devel-
oped on the field service of the Gov
eminent, showing the salaries paid in
posts outside of Washington to Govern
ment employees, and comparisons with
salaries paid in commerce and industry
for similar. work, Miss McNally hopes,
will present some facts In support Of
the claim of the federation.
Under Metropolis Direction.
This report, however, is being COM
piled under direction of McReynolds,
who is recognized as one of the CO.
authors of the efficiency rating and one
of its supporters.
One of the principles for which the
federation has been contending, Miss
Mentally said, was that the rating
should be within the unit only, under
one single rating officer" Under the
present system, she said, so many diff
ferent rating officers had so many diff
ferent ideas of how to grade individuals
that comparisons of the ratings of one
officer with another resulted in dis
satisfaction among the employees, as
some officers naturally graded every one
higher than others. Miss Mentally said
one Of the principal difficulties came
aho,,t u,loe1 II became necessary for de-