Evening star., 1936-07-23
NEW WPOSTMASTERS.
MUST TAKE TEST.
Roosevelt Order Is Designed
to Subordinate Patronage
Element.

In a move designed to subordinate
the patronage element in appointment
of postmasters for first. second and
third class Offices, President Roosevelt
has issued an executive order ma
terially tightening the selective pro-
cedure.
The order was made public ut the
White House last night.
The most important change is that
under which the candidate establish
ing the highest eligibility rating
through civil service examination gets
the post, unless disqualified by char
acter or residence.
At present either of the three
ranking applicants may be chosen.
The new order thus restores the
appointive principle established by
President Wilson, but overturned by
President Harding.
Power In Commission.
The order also takes the elasticity
out of the present disqualification rule
vesting this power in the Civil Service
Commission rather than the Post.
master General, and specifying only
the two causes-reSidence and char
acter.
On this point, the Civil Service
Commission today said: The order is
distinctly in the interests of the merit
system.
"One feature of the order is that
only one examination may be held for
an Office unless no eligibles are secured
from the first examination or the
eligible or eligibles resulting from the
examination are found by the Civil
Service Commission to be deficient
either as to character or as to resi-
dence. Under preceding orders as far
back as the administration of Presi-
dent Coolidge, the Postmaster General
was given final decision with respect
to the residence of eligibles certified
by the Civil Service Commission, and
the executive order of May l. 1929.
issued by President Hoover also placed
final decision as to matter Of cllarac-
ter in the Postmaster General.
"Only the highest eligible is to be
certified for appointment unless upon
presentation to the Civil Service Com
mission it is found by that commits
sion that his character or residence
disqualifies him for appointment.
THE order goes far beyond any
previous one in applying the princi-
pies of the merit system to these ap-
pointments.
Under an order issued in 1888, the
Postmaster General was given un-
limited power in disqualifying appli-
cants
Must Take Examination.
Another change will be that under
which inculnbents coming up for re-
appointment must take a non-com-
petitive examination, as must those
persons in the service who seek post
masterships. In this connection,
there is q distinct step toward making
the Post Office Department a career
service for postal employees only.
Heretofore. all employees in the Gov
ernment were on the same footing
that is, they could be appointed as
postmaSters without any strings at
tached, while now, postal workers only
can get in by non-competitive exam
ination, while other employees must
contest against the field, just as any
outsider. under the wording of the
order.
In the provision for the open COM
petitive examinations, the order also
appears to lift ban previously ap-
piled in this administration, under
which incumbents not named for re-
appointment could not take the COM
petitive test.
There will be 1890 post Offices af-
fected by the order, and the new pro-
gram will be applied as vacancies oc-