Evening star., 1933-08-08
WORKERS
TO LOSE POSITIONS
|, 200 Others, to Be Retained,
- Will Lose Their Civil
Service Status.

Six hundred prohibition unit work
ers will be dropped tomorrow night,
preparatory to the reorganization going
into effect Thursday morning, and
1900 to be retained will lose their COM
petitive civil service status, as they
move into the new division of investi-
CATION
President Roosevelt's order which has
the effect of ''unblanketing" those en-
ployes holding their jobs was made
public here today concurrently with a
statement from John S Hurley, slated
to head the reorganized dry unit in the
division OF investigation, who gave the
figures on personnel.
- Hurley said most OF those staying IN
service were prohibition agents. This
class of Federal employe was brought
from the ranks of patronage into COM
petitive civil service in 1927, when pro-
hibition enforcement was transferred
from Treasury to Justice. All incum-
bents were required to take tests at
that time and only about so per cent
of some 2.400 made the grade.
Non-Civil Service Agency.
The Bureau of Investigation, which
is taking over only inveStigatlve work
ers from the prohibition office to form
the rev division, has always been a
non-civil service agency, with the single
exception of its flngerprint classiflers
They, by the way, are not affected by
the new order.
The Roosevelt order is not strictly an
"unblanketing" order, inasmuch as the
classified agency is being abolished, and
the employees holding on are going into
new setup. The effect, however. Is
the same.
The "unblanketing" feature was ac-
complished by providing in the order
that all positions in the division OF in
vestigation, except fingerprint classi-
fiers, go into schedule A, of civil serv-
ice, which is that excepted classifica-
tion for sections of agencies otherwise
under the competitive service. mas
much as the Bureau of Investigation
employees already are without civil
service status. it affects, for the present,
only the workers coming over, and this
was held desirable, according to Hur-
ley, so there would not be two classes
in the division:
Exacting In Personnel.
The Bureau of Investigation, which
in its new status as division. will con-
tinue to be headed by j. Edgar Hoover,
has rigiGiy supervised its personnel. and.
it has been contended, has been more
exacting under its non on-competitive status
than would have been required even
under competitive status.
When the dry forces were brought
under competitive civil service how
ever, it was to clean up an ad-
mittedly bad situation, and in the past,
civil service officials have pointed to
this move as one of the outstanding
gains for the merit system.
Under the changed status, diSmlSsals
and requirements can be made at will.
BY the reorganization order. all en-
ployes are automatically dropped, and
day. Hurley said, however that the
1900 were to be re-employed at once
and that there would be no material
change" in enforcement activities.
Asked if the majority of administrators
would be left off of the pay roll. Hur-
ley said that many might be and
that material changes will be made
all along the line in the interests OF
efficiency"
Saving 10 Be Effected.
With the dissolution of the Prohibi-
ton Bureau, it's activities other than
investigation are to be distributed
through the Department of Justice as
the Attorney General wills but no de-
cision has been reached on this as yet
The reorganization is due to cut dry
enforcement costs from S8300.000 tc
approx ximately S4,OO0,000 If it SO hap
pens that the dry law is repealed this
year, this money will be used chiefly tc
enforce laws prohibiting shipment ol
liquor from wet to a dry State.