The Washington times., 1937-04-22
Rv 7. EARLE MoSER

dent RooSevelt's suggestion tc
Congress to extend the merit Sys
tenn in the Government is com
mendable, but his proposal to re
yamp the Civil Service under a
single administrator carries dan
ger.
This was the opinion expressed
here today by Robert Catherwood,
former president of the National
Civil Service Reform League, who
is attending the Eastern States
regional conference of the Civil
Service Assembly, which began
this morning.
Catherwood, now a writer and
lecturer on personnel problems,
said:
even il the proposed admin
istrator were chosen by open
competition, as provided in the
Brownlow report, he would still
be liable to dismissal at the
Presidents will, without one Of
the basic safeguards of true
merit .ystem-the right to de.
mand definite charges and a
hearing.
'Tt is too much to expect that,
with the ak of dismissal held
over his head, any but the
strongest and most impregnable
character would be immune to
suggestions or to direct or in
direct influence. 1t would be
more than possible that at some
future time when jobs are
wanted for distribution, the
White House might speak to the
administrator and the admins
traitor might oblige with seem
ingly decorOuS procedure and
Softening veiIs."
Catherwood pointed out that
most Presidents and many states
men have both indorse the merit
system and taken shot at
patronage" and that ever since
the Brownlow report was sub.
mitted by President Roosevelt
Congress has favorably handled
numerous m easureS excepting
Jobs from Civil Service. He
,lauded the British Civil Service,
where politics and the usual gov
GEuulSQI 1OuLlI1C dLG . II q y
separated, and concluded:
'"What is wanted is q merit
system controlled by the ,eople
themselves, where the examiners
who select or remove the ad-
miniStratOr Of the Civil Service
are chosen by q court or some
other body outside the field Of
:. politics. Given citizens facilI-
ties for preparing and filing
charges for removal to be heard
and finally decided by examl-
ners appointed for the occasion
by the administrator, or when
he himself is under fire, by the
court.
"If we do not now follow
English precedent and adopt
our own native merit system,
we shall very soon have on our
hands the largest, most power
full and most dal.serOuS bu-
reaucracy on earth"
The early session Of the Civil
Service Assembly at the Hotel
Commodore was to revolve still
further around the question of
the BrownloW report and it's sin
gle-administrato idea, with DR..
Leonard D. White. U. S. Civil
= Service Commissioner. as chair
man. At luncheon the principal
speaker was to be Robert L.
johnson, current president of the
National Civil Service Reform
League, while in the afternoon
L. L. Evans, chief of the Agricul.
ture Department classification di.
vision was to lead discussion Of
classification and salaries in Gov.
ernment bureaus.
Tomorrow will see Gertrude M.
McNally, secretary-treasurer Of
the National Federation of Fed
eral Employees, and Arthur s.
Fleming. director of the Ameri.
can University School of Public
Affairs, lead meetings devoted
to personnel organizations and
Civil Service legislation.
All three Civil Service Commis.
sioners, Harry B. Mitchell, Mrs.
Lucille McNillin and Leonard D.
White, conferred with President
Roosevelt at the White House yes.
terday, and were accompanied by
Lewis H. Fisher, chief of the serv.
ice record and retirement division,
. and Tsmar Baruch, who heads the
personnel classification division.
Daniel w. Bell, Acting Budget Di-
rector, also was at hand.
Mitchell described the confer
ence as a general one without
any decisions, on great number
of matters in which the President
is interested" but was taciturn
as to details discussed
It is understood. however that
suggestions for bringing greater
efficiency into the Government
service were passed back and forth,
: together with the possibility Of
raising qualification standards in
Federal examinations and holding
tests more frequently.
The simultaneous decision Of
the Maritime Commission and
Civil Service Commission to the
: effect that the former unit need
: not certify its personnel for posi-.
:; tions within the competitive classi,
fled service as soon as they become
eligible on Monday, is somewhat
: disappointing to personnel.
The effect of the decision iS that