Evening star., 1934-12-07
NEW DEAL STAFFS
FACE CIVIL SERVICE
Commission to Recommend
Procedure in Making
Annual Report.

The Civil Service Commission will
recommend in its forthcoming annual
report that the positions in those new
agencies which logically may be ex-
pected to become permanent part Of
the regular Government establish
ment, be brought under civil service, it
became known today.
At the same time it developed that
the commission is making a survey
Of the Federal structure to determine
what suggestions may be made in a
supplementary report to the President
as to the inclusion of particular groups
under civil service.
1t was not unexpected that the COM
mission would propose broadly that
the civil service system be extended to
those emergency agencies which are
likely to last. in view Of previous ex-
pressions by individual commissioners
that this be done; the fact that study
mendations to the White House was
not generally known.
Urge Examinations.
Where the groups are removed from
the field of political preferment, the
commission will propose that the
"blanketing" under civil service be by
on-competitive examination-a not
unusual procedure After the initial
group. however. is in. subsequent ap-
pointments to these branches will be
by open competitive examination.
For the most part, anything that
is done along this line will require ad-
ditional legislation. as the law creating
virtually all the New Deal groups pro-
vided specifically that they be set up
without regard to civil service Some
few agencies, perhaps with 1000 en-
ployeS all told, have been created by
executive order. and consequently the
President could prescribe their en-
trance into civil service on any terms
he saw fit.
There is a much smaller class. too
that was set up under civil service
including such organizations as the
Securities Exchange Commission and
the National Mediation Board nor
railroads. which were designed from
their inception to be permanent. and
which were consequently treated as
such.
Congress Saw Differently.
Just how far along the present move
will get is problematical. 1t is known
that when the emergency agencies be-
gan to spring up at the outset Of the
Roosevelt administration. it was the
intention of the White House
whether implied or expressed-that
they be stated with civil service en-
ployes- Congress saw differently, how
ever. and the result was that one after
another came into being as strictly
patronage groups.
Even then some administrators
such for instance as in the Agricultural
Adjustment Administration, went as
far as they could in using the employ
ment registers Of the Civil Service
Commission for their recruiting
ground, while the Tennessee Valley
Authority set up its own selective sys-
tenn backed by prescription against
political appointments.
Thousands 10 be Affected.
II all the new groups are brought
under civil service, thousands Of work
ers will be affected. A check as of
October 81 shows that the Federal
personnel has increased by approx
mately 1l7,700 since the Democratic
administration came into power
&c, 500 in Washington and the o,000
plus in the field. Relatively few of
these appointments have been under
the merit system, although many Of
those getting jobs already had COM
petitive status. A great number Of
these Of course are definitely on tenn
porary bases.
There is a feeling that adminstra-
tive officers in general would welcome
the application Of civil service to their
charges, if for no other reason than
that it would lift the job hunting pres
sure. There is distinct evidence, too,
that this principle Of employment in
creases efficiency. Employees also. it
has been indicated, would welcome the
change.