Evening star., 1937-02-27
NEW BILL THROWS
CIVIL LSERV|CE|NT0
POLITICAL ARENA
Reorganization Measure
Takes All Patronage
From Congress.
JOINT COMMITTEE
LOOK INTO DETAILS
Revolutionary Proposals Give
President Right to Raise Pay
by Executive Order.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

BY WILL p. KENNEDY.
The new administration reorganiZa-
ton bill throws the extension of the
civil service into politics, permitting
the President to cover into the civil
service the peacetime peak Of Federal
and giving the President
the right to raise pay by executive
order. 1t takes all patronage from
Congress and strictly limits the SEN
ate on positions where the President
has appointive power and the Senate
confirms. The joint Congressional
Committee on Government Organiza-
ton meets again Monday to consider
the details of this new, revolutionary
Title 2 Of the bill covers the civil
service. 1t is emphasized that the
purpose is not to supercede but to sup
plement the civil service act Then
it abolishes the Civil Service Com
1t sets up an advisory COM
of seven, who name a COM
mittee of five, who in turn certify a
list of three eligibles for the Office OF
administrator-the President names
one of the three, and deputy. Then
the board of three ceases to exist and
so does the register of three, so that
the two not selected for admins
traitor have no priority in case of a
The advisory board of seven
get $50 a day and travelling expenses,
not to exceed $500 year, and are
to meet four times year.
Then practically the entire Gov
ernment personnel is covered under
civil service-with a probationary Pc
riod and non-competitive examina-
tions. The House Civil Service Com
mittee has been holding hearings and
expects next week to take action on
the Ramspeck bill to extend the civil
administration reorgani-
zation bill relieves any committee OF
Congress of this legislative function
1t gives the President unlimited au-
thority.
Brownlow Report View.
The Brownlow report, sponsored by
the chairman of the Presidents Ad-
visory Committee on Administrative
Management, says on this subject:
There are those who believe that
emergency activities should not be
brought into the recommended de-
partmental set up-twelve major de-
partments.' They fear that to do so
would constitute an acceptance by the
Federal Government of responsibility
for the continuation of function, and
that the discontinuance C. the work
would thus be made far more difficult
We are led to the contrary view. The
inclusion of temporary and emergency
activities within departments. where
they are brought into juxtapositior
with established related services anc
under the surveillance of the regular
managerial agencies for which We
have provided. will, We think, subject
them to a greater pressure for discon-
tinuance than if left to themselves.
Yet, the administrators reorganiza.
ton bill provides for extension of tht
classification act, as follows:
Whenever the President, after sucf
classification and compensation sur
veys or investigations as he (not any
other agency may direct the admin
istrator to undertake and upon con.
sideration of the administrators re-
Sultant report ant recommendations
shall find and declare that an exten.
sion of the provisions of the claSsifi'
cation act of 1928, as amended, to an!
Office or position in the agencies of tn.
Government is necessary to the mort
efficient operation of the Government
he may by Executive order extend tn.
provisions of the classification act O.
1928, as amended, to any such ofic'
or position not at the time subject t<
such provisions. That's how any ans
all agencies may be blanketed in.
Another Provision of Bill.
Clinching this bl DAD grant of powel
for extension of the Civil Service i
another provision of the bill-wher,
leaders in Congress see grave DANCE
of throwing the entire civil servic'
into politics. Section 215, specificall.
referring to agencies policy-formint
in character, define what agencies ma.
be brought in and what left out, unde
certain conditions. Then the very mex
section, ZIG, casts all those careful
curbs in the discard, saying: "In ad
dition to all other functions vested IL
and imposed upon him under thi
title, the President Is authorized b!
executive order to except from or cove,
into the classified civil service, AM
Office or position whenever he find.
and declares that good administration
Of the Government will be facilitated
thereby" Thus, any Office or EN-
ploye which did not agree POLITICAL.
could be declared not necessary Il
good administration and Ole "playin,
ball" politically could be declared II
be required for good administration
The President would be sole judge ant
jury.
So, the President would have au
thority, If this bill should be passed
Of covering into the civil service, al
his own unrestricted volition, thu
peace time peak OF Federal personnel
He would also be given the righ
to raise salaries by Executive order
Read this language: whenever tht
President, upon report and recon-.
mendation by the administrator, shall
find and declare that the rates Of the
compensation schedules of the classi.
f1cation act of 1923, as amended, are
inadequate for any Office or position
under such act, as amended and ex.
tended, he may, by Executive order
establish necessary schedules of differ.
entails in the rates prescribed in such
compensation schedules, but the differ.
ential in the compensation of any
such Office or position shall no. exceed
Is per centum Of the minimum rate o.
the grade to which such Office or po.
sition is allocated under such compen.
sation schedules"
And the bill takes away from Con.
gress practically all of its control ovel
appointments, through requiring con
firmation by the Senate. Only sever
groups of appointments are left fol
Senate confirmation.