Evening star., 1939-02-01


the Huerta government of Mexico
The commission met in Canada and
Mr.. Lamar made frequent reports to
the President, just as would any
other ambassador
On other occasions members of
the Supreme Court have repre-
sented the United States Govern
ment in arbitration awards, usu-
ally as between foreign govern
ments. But the instances are rare
In which the advice or services OF
Supreme Court justices are used on
purely domestic matters.
More Work for Court.
There is no real objection to the
process, except that it may possibly
mean additional work for the men,
bers of the court. But on the other
hand the chances are that the pro-
posed commission which is to study
civil service reforms will merely ask
from Justices Reed and Frankfurter
an understanding of the principles
which they consider basic,
Presidents have in the past con-
suited Supreme Court justices as to
public policy, not with the IDEA OF
finding out the constitutionality of
legal matters that might arise in
connection with proposed pro-
gram, but often to get the detached
Judgment which Supreme Court
Justice might have on particular
problem with which he was eSpe-
cially familiar before coming to the
bench.
The problem of civil service re-
form is of transcendent Importance.
It ought to be, of course, nom
political question, but because jobs
are involved nearly every discussion
of changes in the civil service results
In some form of political pressure
from those most concerned. What
70 do about it has been a source of
perplexity to every President in the
last SO years. Mr.. Roosevelt un-
doubtedly felt that start might
be made by asking few detached
minds to make a thorough study
and offer some principles on which
public opinion could be crystallized.
Frankfurter Is Specialist.
Justice Frankfurter has long been
known as an advocate Of civil service
reform. He has been especially
enthusiastic about the administra-
tive service and permanent person.
mel operations of the government
Of Great Britain. He Is one of the
few specialists in the country, and
that's one of the reasons why he
was natural choice for the COM
mission. 1t would have been diff
cult for the President to find any
body else who knows as much about
the problem.
The same, in a sense, is true OF
Justice Reed, who has been in close
touch with the question OF whether
to put lawyers into civil service be-
cause he was general counsel of the
r. F.. c. and later Solicitor General,
and hence had a great deal to do
with the very personnel problems
which it is now sought to solve.
The selection of Prof. Leonard
White of the University of Chicago,
who has devoted many years OF his
life to personnel administration and
who served here recently as chair
man of the Civil Service Commis-
sion, was also natural" from the
viewpoint of those sincerely inter-
ested in civil service reform. The
other four members of the proposed
commission are bound to bring valu-
able advice, too, since Attorney
General Murphy had experience
with personnel questions when Gov
ernor of the State of Michigan, and
Gen. Robert E. Wood of Sears Roe
buck and Gano Dunn of the j. G.
White Engineering Co. are particu-
larlv familiar with personnel ques-
tions arising in large business oper-
ations involving the use of profess
sional and technical employees Will
liam H. McReynolds, administrative
executive of the Treasury, knows the
problem from the inside of govern
ment.
1t is milestone in the fight for
real civil service reform to have
such a broad-gauged commission
appointed and the recommendations
from such a body will be difficult for
the politically minded members of
Congress to ignore.