The Washington times., 1938-02-25
ORDWAY URGES
SAFEGUARDS TO
MERIT SYSTEM
Leaders Study Byrnes'
Bill Changes
By J. EARLE MOsER

SbA Sh'a0S
BY ]. EARLE MOSER
six amendments to the Byrne'
Government reorganization bill.
now facing Senate debate, today
were studied by the White House
and Administration leaders follow
ing announcement by Civil Service
Commissioner Samuel OrdwaJ
that he had compiled them al
necessary safeguards for the
merit system"
Written around the premise
that q single civil service admins
traitor would be less useful thar
the present bipartisan commits
sion unless protected from patron
age pressure by specific legisla
ton, Ordway's report evolved
after o series Of conferences with
the President. It Is an attempt
he said, to supply safeguards OF
the original Brownlow committee
which are not in the Byrnes
measure.
PROPOSALS OUTLINED
His recommendations, supported
by suggested sections for insertion
in the Byrnes bill, are as follows;
/. Civil service rules and regu-
lations should not be made by
the proposed personnel admin
istrator alone, but should be
subject to White House approval
to relieve the administrator Of
political pressure. "The rules
contain the CUTS Of civil serv-
ice," Ordway wrote Mr.. Roose-
welt.
2. Management Of personnel
within departments and tnde-
pendent offices should be ad-
ninistered by professionally
trained personnel directors, COM
petitively appointed, who. with
others, would serve on Coun-
Gil of Personnel Administration
to study personnel problems, IN
itiate improvements, and report
to the President.
3. Promotions from grade to
Grade in the classified service
should be made via competitive
test, service ION the Job" to be
given "due weight"
REMOVAL COURT"
4. Transfer and reinstate-
ment registers should be MAIN
tanned of employees who apply
to be placed on them, and use
Of such registers be mandatory
on department heads.
s. Employees claiming unfair
removal should be allowed by
law to present their evidence
to the proposed central person
mel agency, which, after weigh
ing it against that presented
against them, should have the
power to place the plaintiff at
the head of appropriate eligible
registers.
6. The central personnel
agency should have power to
subponea witnesses in investiga-
tions Of the proper enforcement
Of civil service rules, and power
to enforce it's finding for disci-
pine or dis1nisSals by certifying
its decisions to appointing Off
GERS and the Federal auditing
or disburSing agencies.
RAMSPECK ALSO OBJECTS
'Unless the pending organiza:
ton bills can be amended to
protect the administrator from
pressure for change of rules to
meet individual demands" Ord
way wrote, land unless the CEN
tral function is defined sepa-
rately, and departmental person
mel divisions separately eStab-
liShed, it would be far safer to
, maintain the commission and
! omit those sections which create
an administrator"
Ordway is the second public
figure recently to attack the
Byrnes legislation. Representa-.
tive Robert RamSpeck Cd OF
georgia, House Civil Service
chairman, recently declared him
self against the one-man admins
traitor proposal at an ennploye
meeting. Ordway's. report, which
he said is mot opposed" by the
two Democratic Civil Service Com
rnissioners, stressed the need, how
ever, of the ByrneS measures pro
visions for extending civil service
to all but policy-making positions
and extending classification to
the field services.