Evening star., 1933-06-24
FEDERAL AGENCIES
URGED TO FILL Jobs.
FROM CIVIL SERVICE.
Editorial in Organ of En-
pIoyes Asks Officials to Up
hold Merit System.
CARTOON HITS DROPPING
OF CLASSIFIED WORKERS
Presidents Return Awaited for De-
cision on Appointments by
Executive Order.

Administrators of the new Federal
agencies today were called upon to up
hold the merit system and staff their
organizations with Civil Service en-
ployeS in an editorial in the Federal
News, organ of the National Federation
Of Federal Employees
An accompanying cartoon captioned
''No Place for Carpet-Baggers," by John
M. Baer, former Republican member Of
Congress from North Dakota, hit at
the principle of cutting off classified
workers in the name of retrenchment
and employing others without regard to
Civil Service as the new emergency
organizations are built up.
Two personnel courses are open to
the administrators of the new govern
mental agencies" the editorial says.
"One is to fill positions with 'politi-
cal appointees; the other Is to employ
persons of experience in the Federal
Government machine, who have met
the competitive requirements Of Civil
Service.
Only One Proper Step.
These two courses are open, but
there is only one proper step. That is
to re-employ the men and women with
civil service qualifications and train
ing and who, through absolutely no
fault of their own, have been the VIC
Tins of curtailed operations elsewhere
In the Federal Government.
'Thprp o2n he nn questioning the
wisdom Of following such a policy. 1t
is course which is dictated by every
consideration of sound and intelligent
personnel practice as well as by the
elements of justice and fair play.
The administration has set up the
new emergency agencies not to provide
jobs for so-called deserving persons,
but to hasten the Nations recovery. It
follows logically that the chief consid-
Grafton of administrators is to obtain
the most efficient and experienced
workers to aid them in their monu-
mental task.
Such workers are to be found in
the men and women whose names are
on the lists of the Civil Service Com
mission"
Awaits Presidents Return.
Meanwhile, the return of President
Roosevelt was awaited to bring to a
head the demand of House Democrats
that Government workers covered into
civil service by executive orders since
1921. be dropped. After visit yester-
day from group which included Rep
resentative Byrns of Tennessee, ma
jority leader, and Representative Nc
Clintic of Oklahoma, head of the newly
organized "Job-Hunting Committee, at
which this matter was discussed Post
master General Farley reiterated his
previous expression in favor of removing
those brought under civil service "un-
fairly"
Recalling the case of some 164 mount
ed inspectors in the customs service,
who had been given civil service status
by President Coolidge, Farley said "a
horse as a Republican"
1t was made clear, however, that the
Postmaster General has no intention of
mixing in the congressional move to
make party label the test of fitness for
posts in the Library of Congress.
II an effort is made to revoke the
orders which have brought groups into
civil service in the past II years, it will
mean extensive study by the Civil Serv-
ice Commission. There have been a
total of 10,225 coverages in that time,
cho 4OilO"S Hal lOlllS, 1000, COOilGRe,
1894, including 2.083 wartime workers;
Hoover, 1868
The case Of each individual affected
would have to be scanned, as once a
post gets civil service status either by
induction of the incumbent, or the place
itself, it remains in that status, and
after the original incumbent goes, the
successors must qualify by competitive
test. The result of this is that in many
instances the holders of positions
brought under civil service have been
succeeded by workers who earned their
places by merit, and consequently, are
not subject to being tossed out peremp-
torily
Another angle that would have to be
considered by the administration is the
treatment to be accorded in those in
stances in which persons have been
brought into classified jobs without ref
erence TO the civil service laws, for the
simple reason that they needed work,
and it was felt they had some claim on
the Government Widows, generally
with children, have made up the largest
number of this group, and the appoint
ments have been made without any
reference to politics. The beneflciaries
have ranged even into congressional
circles.