Evening star., 1939-04-11
Rannspeck Bill
To Spread Civil
Service Favored
Unanimous Support
Given by EmpIoye
Aides at Hearing

Unanimous support of the RAM
speck bill, which proposes to bring
some 250, 1000 employees in temporary
Federal agencies under the civil
service without competitive exami.
nations, was voiced today by repre-
sentatives of the various employe
organizations at an open hearing
before the House Civil Service Com
mittee. Today's session closed the
hearings.
The heads of the various organ
izations who so testified in favor Of
the measure included Col. Charles
I. Stengle, American Federation Of
Government Employees; Jacob Baker,
United Federal Workers of America,
and Luther C. Steward, National
Federation of Federal Employees.
Republican members of the COM
mittee, however, led by Represent
ative Edith N. Rogers of Massachu-
sets, protested vigorously that they
will fight the bill unless open COM
petitive examinations are required
before the temporary employees are
classified under civil service. H.
Elliott Kaplan, executive secretary
of the National Civil Service Reform
League, called the demand for open
examinations "idealistic." intimat-
ing that the Democratic majority
in Congress would not pass a bill
which might throw Democratic
workers out of the jobs they now
hold. He said, I've lost my long
hair of the reformer long ago.
Realistically, we'd support COM
petitive examinations but realistic
ally we oppose them"
Politics Held Operative.
Representative Charles Halleck.
Republican, of Indiana. asked,
whats the use of kidding our
selves? We know that politics is
going to work whether under civil
service or not"
The proposed competitive exam
nations might not be fair to the
employees who now hold their JOBS
and would be brought under the
civil service, Mr. Kaplan argued,
while Mr. Baker said, After all, the
three or five years experience these
people now have must enhance their
value to the Federal Government"
Mr.. Kaplan told the committee
that he does not believe there is any
such animal as temporary agency.
We know they go on forever and il
| fhorn ic THING u-hiP, ic DO
moralizing the Federal service, it is
/ having one-half of the workers un-
der civil service and one-half not
under civil service
Mrs. Rogers insisted that permit
ting those who get their jobs with
out examination to come into the
Federal civil service without ex-
animation ''is unfair to those who
did pass the test and got their
standing in open competition
Bill Held Clarifying.
Mr.. Steward said: This bill would
clear up situation which is not
getting any better as time passes"
He argued that classification should
be by qualifying examinations rather
than by open competitive examina-
tions. Mr.. Stengle said that his or
ganization, which is affiliated with
the American Federation of Labor,
is heartily in favor of the Ramspeck
bill.
He explained his opposition to the
competitive examination require
ment by saying: This is one time
when the idealistic procedure is i'm
practical
Mr.. Bakers organization is af-
filiated with the Congress of Indus
trial Organizations. He said that
the group he represents vigorously
supports" the Ramspeck bill and in
his belief an open examination
would disrupt the Federal service"