The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1935-11-29


policies about which there Is an ever
increasing complaint
ignore is Its wanton destruc-
Civil Service ton of the civil serv-
Ice 1t used TO be
said, under Democratic and Republican
administrations alike, that It was next
to impossible to get government job
except through examinations conduct
ed by the Civil Service commission.
That Is, there were few appointments
available other than under civil serv-
Ice below the rank of Presidential
selection. Now, the scene has changed
to such an extent that there is little
through civil service and the bulk of
the appointments therefore are Of
purely polltically-lndorsed character.
l do not mean to say that the Civil
Service commission has shut up shop,
although it has been virtually de-
horned, but l do emphasize that as
of September 30-the latest pay roll
figures for the government-the num-
Der of civil service workers was only
slightly more than half of the total
on the government pay roll exclusive
of the army, navy and Marine corps
and Civilian Conservation corps.
The Civil Service commission con-
tinues to issue Its monthly statements
on the government personnel but they
are becoming increasingly less reliable
because one of the most difficult things
to get in Washington these days is the
accurate figure on the number of
workers employed by Uncle Sam. The
commission records are complete as
far as they go but they fail to go far
enough. At this time, for example, the
Civil Service commission reports that
the government pay roll covers 1884,
467 employees. That figure, however,
does not include the vast army of en-
ployees of the Agricultural Adjust
ment administration who are scattered
in every county in the nation. have
heard estimates that the number of
these county chairmen, inspectors, in
vestigators, etc, exceeds 10000 but
whether that is too large or too small
j
there is no way by which the number
can be checked. Similarly, it is next
to impossible to ascertain the number
of workers in some of the newer agen-
cies, created under the guise of emer-
gency conditions, because they too are
scattered far and wide but the fact
remains that the personnel of the gov
eminent has been expanded more rap
idly than ever in history and to the
highest recorded peak even for war
time.
The number of employees on June
80 was given by the commission as
719,440 from which
FerSOnnet it will be seen there
increases has been an increase
of more than 10000
in three months. That is, there has
been that much of an increase for
which the commission has records, but
again it must be remarked that the
commission has no way of compelling
some of the alphabetical agencies to
supply it regularly with the number of
employees on their pay rolls
The number of federal employees
aside from the military services when
Mr.. Roosevelt took office was approx
imately $4,000. The number of en-
ployees on the federal pay roll when
Mr.. Coolidge retired and Mr.. Hoover
became President was roughly $4,000.
From these the enormous growth of
the government bureaucracy is at least
limited II not demonstrated fully.
Then, there are more yet to come.
Several new agencies were created
under acts of the last congress and
others have since been created by
executive order of the President. Take
the Rural Rehabilitation administra-
ton, for example. Prof. Rexford Guy
Tugwell, who used to be brain truster
No. /, has a fund of $25O,O0O,OO0 with
which to play and obviously Mr. Tug
well will need great staff to assist
him. The National Youth administra-
tion is another new one. 1t will not
have as much money as Mr.. Tugwell
but it is starting Its operation with
$5O,000,00 0-and that is quite chunk
of money to most of US. The National
Labor board is hardly organized yet
and the Social Security board has
/ just begun to arrange q setup. Like
wise the board TO administer the Cuff
fey coal lava little NRA for the soft
coal industry-has been appointed and
is operating with only a few clerks.
1t cannot get along without stable
corps of inspectors and examiners and
investigators. 1t will have TO have an
extensive research staff in order that it
can be supplied at all times with what
ever facts and figures 1t needs or
wants. SO it goes on through the list
almost amending.
One newspaper columnist had the
audacity to say in his column the
other day that if Relief Administrator
Harry Hopkins really wants to solve
the unemployment problem he ought to
turn his attention to the government
itself. At the rate of expansion, the
government probably could be made to