Evening star., 1938-10-17
Civil Service
CONTINUED From First Page.)

the United States Junior Chamber Of
Commerce. which are taking part in
the assembly conference, in advancing
the cause of civil service. He rebuked
some professional groups" which he
said ARE frequently so engrossed in
advancing their own ends that they
have not contributed to the advance
ment or improvement Of public per-
sonnel administration or general pub
lie management as much as might be
expected by the training and caliber
of the individuals which they en-
brace"
ID. c. Merit System Urged.
A three-point program which in
cluded efforts to get the employees OF
the District of Columbia government
under civil service was outlined before
the assembly by H. Eliot Kaplan. ex-
ecutive secretary of the National Civil
Service Reform League.
Mr.. Kaplan said the league pro-
posed also to support the efforts OF
President Roosevelt to obtain in
creased appropriation for civil service
and that eventually it would strive to
obtain constitutional amendment
providing for civil service employment
The desirability Of getting District
employees under civil service was en-
phasized also by the District auditor,
Daniel j. Donovan. who, with Mrs.
Lucille Foster McMllin, member of
the Civil Service Commission, well
coined the assembly to Washington.
Auditor Donovan explained that no
member of the District Commission
has ever attempted to load up the
District government with his own ap-
pointees. despite the possibility under
the present personnel system, but that
he saw no reason, anyway. why the
staff should not be chosen by competi-
tive civil service.
Commission Not Adequate.
The auditor also explained the evo-
luton of the District government into
its principal form and in a brief dis
cussion of local taxation explained
that the Federal Government con-
tributes only S5,000,000 out of total
budget approximating $50 0000,0 ,000 This,
he emphasized, is decidedly inadequate
in view of the way In which the city
must be administered because it Is
the National Capital.
At a luncheon meeting which fol-
lowed the opening session Dr. Leonard
D. White of the University of Chicago,
former member of the Civil Service
Commission predicted that admins
traitors rather than multi-membered
commissions undoubtedly would ad-
| minister civil service, generally, in the
future
Despite brilliant-although unpre-
dictable exceptions-the general level
Of competence which has been char
acteristic of Civil Service Commissions
| during the last quarter century is not
| adequate to meet the demands of an
expanding public service changing Wis
IDLY in its quality as we'll as quantity,
and faced with complex problems of
emerging governmental interrelation-
ships he said
Single Administrator Seen.
1T is a reasonable prediction that
experiments will be made in the di-
rection of single civil service ad-
ministrator in lieu Of the traditional
Civil Service Commission"
President Roosevelts plan to sup
plant the bipartisan Civil Service
Commission with a single admins
traitor was one of the rallying points
nj zoos Nf tho ni2o hill
beaten at the last session of Congress.
Another speaker at the opening ses-
sion was Miss Marguerite M. Wells,