Evening star., 1933-11-12
BIG CIVIL SERVICE
TURNOVER DENIED
Commission Says Actual Shift
Since March Lower Than
in Prosperous Time.

In a statement directed at the recent
publication in out-of-town newspapers
of an article declaring that the period
since March ! had been marked by a
huge turnover In Federal personnel, the
Civil Service Commission, whose month
ly reports had been used as basis for the
article in question, yesterday declared
1t altogether misleading"
Pointing to the quoted figures, which
showed some 145,000 additions to and
l48,000 separations from the Govern
ment pay roll, the commission said that
two-thirds of these represented short
time workers who continually are NOV
ing in and out Of the service as employ
ment fiuctuates, and that most of the
rest involved only persons shifted from
one branch to the other in the reorgan-
tzation program.
The author of the article criticized
had said that Federal employees, the fig
ureS indicated, have been dismissed at
the rate of about 10000 month, while
one Of the greatest armies of job-seek-
ers in history has been marching on
Washington, and requirements have
been made accordingly"
Turnover Less
"The acual turnover in the perma-
1ent force of the Federal executive civil
service during the seven months from
March to September 80, 1888, was con-
siderably less than the turnover In nor
mally prosperous times" the commits
sion responded.
Il The commission did, however, bring
out one point which has consistently
been attacked-that is the Government
policy Of retrenching at the cost of jobs,
In the regular agencies. and then build
ing up the new establishments with nom
civil service employees, although it was
contended this could not be considered a
turnover.
There are more than 1oo. 900 posi-
tions in the Federal executive civil serv-
ice, which are outside the operation
OF the civil service law and rules"
the commission said.
Figures Cited.
"On September 80, 1888, there were
666,356 employees in the entire Federal
executive civil service, including those
classified under the civil service law
and those NOT so classified. as COM
pared with 563.48 on March /, 1893,
crease, thousands Of employees were
separated in the seven months from
the old lipe' branches through the
operation Of economy laws The ap-
pointments to the new emergency
agencies, the greater part of them with
out regard to the civil service law and
regulations, more than eQualed the
number dropped from the regular estab-
hshment IN retrenchment
! The Civil Service Commission has
no authority to require the new emerg-
ency agencies to make appointments
from its eligible lists, either 're-employ-
n1ent registers or other registers, in
those cases where the law specifies
that appointments can be made with
out regard to the civil service law and
rules The commission gladly serves
these new agencies on their request"
The Unemployment list here. it was
continued, now contains about 1000
names OF those persons dropped or
furloughed for at least three months,
while many thousands more are on lists
in the field for positions in their par
ticular locality. The list here also con-
tains many who were separated from
field positions, it is explained.
Competitive Figures.
The last comparative figures on per-
sonnel under competitive civil service
are for June 80. This year, the num-
Der was 456,0e6, while the same date
of 1882, it was 467, ,161. drop of H.
o65 in the IL months. In the same time
it was added, the total reduction in the
classified and unclaSsifed service was
1879, of which 70 per cent took place
In the Post Once Department, where
nearly, If not all, have competitive
status.
In the seven-month period this year,
the commission said, the temporary a2-
pointments for job work totaled l16,475
and separations from the same class
of work 99.731.
"It is interesting to compare what
took place in the same seven months
of 1882" the commission said. THE
reports show in the 1882 period 123,S72
additions and l22,249 separations
But this cannot be called turnover any
more than the 1888 figures can be used
to show turnover. In the seven months
of 1882, "a, 4,o25 of the additions and
I06,144 of the separations are ac-
counted for by the constant coming
and going of temporary employees on
short jobs"