Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-09
More important to Get Good
Men Than Save Few
Weeks, Says Reply.
MORAL INVESTIGATIONS
TAKEN FROM POLICE
Agents Trained in Selection of
Prohibition Officers Make
Searching Inquiries.

Strict character examination of cam
didateS for policemen has been reSpon-
Sible for some delay in the certifying of
men to fill vacancies in the Police De-
partment, the Civil Service Commission
declared today in a statement replying
to criticism yesterday by Maj. Henry G..
Pratt, superintendent of police, that
lack OF new policemen was preventing
the department from functioning at its
maximum effectiveness.
The statement of the commission dis
closed that character investigation, for
merly function of the Police Depart
ment, had been placed in the hands of
the commission in view of the commits
sion's experience in applying the char
acter test to applicants for prohibition
agent positions.
THE Civil Service Commission feels
that 1t Is more important to insure the
appointment of worthy men sas police
men," the statement declared, than to
save few weeks time.
Character Test Thorough.
such little delay as has occurred in
filling policeman vacancies" the state
ment continued, lis due to the thor
oughness with which the Civil Service
Commission is applying the character
test to the applicants who qualify in
the physical and mental tests in the
recent policeman examination.
THE policeman examination consists
of three parts. These are the mental
test, the physical examination and the
character examination, conducted in
the order named. Not until recently
has the Civil Service Commission
undertaken to conduct the character
Investigations in policemen examina-
tons. Formerly the character investi-
cations were made by the Police De-
partment itself. In view of the COM
missions experience in applying the
character test to applicants for prohi-
bition agent positions and other posi-
tons which have to do with law en-
forcement, the commission is convinSed
that extreme care should be exercised
in the character tests for pollcemens
| Jobs.
Covers Period of Years.
1.-THE character investigation is made
| personally by agents of the Civil Service
! Commission and includes searching in
! quiry among employers, neighbors and
! other associates of each applicant, COW
! ering period of years. The inquiry is
made with view to securing every
| scrap of evidence which might be of
| value in determining the fitness or I'M
fitness of the applicants for employ
ment as policemen.
THE commission will begin certify
ing eligibles for the policeman vacancies
in the District of Columbia within the
next three or four days. 1t has been
the commissions understanding that
the progress being made was salts
factory to the Police Department"
Maj. Pratt yesterday declared that
with 81 vacancies in the uniform per-
sonnet and funds available to fill them
he had been unable to get any definite
information from the commission as to
when the men who took the last police
examination would be certified for ap-
pointment. The examination was held
| April 81.
Maj. Pratt pointed out that some OF
the vacancies have existed since March
10, more than a month prior to the
examination, and that the department
made strenuous efforts at that time to
keep the personnel up to its full
strength by appointing men from the
eligible list of the Fire Department.
Twenty-nine of the 81 vacancies, Mai
Pratt said, existed before the beginning
of the current fiscal year, on July /, and
the others have been created by the
1881 appropriation bill.