Evening star., 1933-07-14
OPEN COMPETITION
FORP. 0. Jobs SEEN
Speculation Rife on Form OF
LEGISLATION Under Roose-
Welt Plan.

With President Roosevelt proposing
to put all postmasterS under compet1-
tive civil service, speculation Is stirring
in the Capital as to the form in which
this legislation will be sought; that Is,
whether the incumbents will be blank
eted in" along with the jobs, or whether
the Offices alone will be brought in
and the holders forced to battle for
them with other aspirants.
In view of the furore raised by ad-
ministration leaders over the 'cover-
ages" into civil service in other
branches of the Government by Re-
publican Presidents in the past IL years,
and the strong effort being made to
have President Roosevelt strip the pro-
lection of civil service from such work.
ers, the logical assumption is that open
competition would prevail.
Further, this would be in conformity
with principle laid down by President
Wilson with regards to fourth class
postmasterS-the only class now in
competitive ranks. Another motive for
such competition would rest in the
fact that the post offices for which
civil service now is contemplated-firs
second and third class-are for the
most part in the hands of Republicans,
and it is hardly necessary to argue that
4lo 0CIliOS1dllC dOlll1lllolldllOl WOulO
blanket-in Republican postmasters-or
vice versa.
Efficient POstmasters Safe.
On the contrary, it has been said,
that no postmaster who is giving sat
isfactory service is to be dropped prior
to the expiration of his four-year term,
and to establish classified civil service
would do away with this period tenure
OF office, unless some provision were
made otherwise to take care of incum-
bents.
When President Theodore Roosevelt
sioner, first started bringing fourth
class poStmasters under civil service,
he blanketed in all those in the north
eastern section of the country; Presi-
dent Taft, succeeding him, blanketed
IN all the rest of the States.
When President Wilson took Office,
the cry was raised that the Repub-
hcans had loaded down the post offices
with members of their own political
faith, and one of the first things Will
son did was to direct that all fourth
class postmaSterS who had not attained
their positions by open, competitive eX-
animation. must undergo such a test
If they wanted to hold on. The up
shot of this was that in 1918 the Civil
Service Commission conducted more
than 10000 examinations for these
positions. There is no record at the
commission to show to what extent the
Democrats profited. or the mortality
rate among Republican incumbentS.
Under the practice developed, the
only exceptions to the competitive tests
for the fourth-class Offices are those in
which the annual receipts are less than
$500 annually-the top figure for such
an Office is $l,500-or where, when
tests are announced no one enters
In such case, a post Office inspector
is sent to the scene. finds some one
who is willing to take over the Office
which pays on a percentage basis, and
If their character is all right. the ap-
pointment goes through on that basis
Procedure Is Outlined.
But even under civil service, political
preference plays its part in the fourth
class postmasterships. When the ex-
animation is held, the Civil Service
Commission certifieS to the Postmaster
General the names of the three highest
elglbleS, and the selection of one of
these Is left generally to the member of
Congress from that district. If he hap
pens to be of the opposition party, some
other political leader is consulted This
procedure incidentally, is the same fol-
lowed for filling the so-called "presi-
dental post Offices those of first, sec
ond and third class, in whose selection
the Civil Service Commission aids, but
who are not under competitive civil
service and may only be brought in
by the legislation now proposed.
Meanwhile, administration officials
profess confidence that the plan for
competitive civil service for these three
classes will go through Congress, de-
spite the fact that opposition is certain
because it will mean the end of about
$4,000 patronage jobs. Thus far there
have been no kicks made to the ad-
ministration, since the proposal be-
came known Wednesday, but it is as
Sumed there will be.
The Post Office Department holds out
the plan as money saver, taking in
this respect the same ground that has
been held in previous administrations
However, members of Congress depend
on this potential patronage for support
then, too, some of the positions pay as
high as $4,000. under a scale that
starts at S1,100 for the smallest third
class Offices. and the job-minded will
hardly stand idly by and see these put
at the fate Of the Three Rs.
Machinery Unchanged as Yet.
Until the legislation becomes an ac-
complished fact. the selection Of post
masters will go on as in the past, the