Evening star., 1939-03-09

This Is omitted from the Byrd plan
in the Senate.

IN the senate.
Major Issues Dropped.
In putting the bill through the
House this year, however. those In
charge OF 1t threw overheard the
highly controversial phases OF the
1888 measure, which split Demo-
cratic ranks so widely that the
whole bill was killed last spring.
Among the major issues dropped
from this years bill were:
Abolition of the bipartisan Civil
Service Commission and its replace
ment by a single administrator.
Abolition OF the controller gen.
| erals office and creation of an
auditor general, limited to post
audit of expenditures.
Creation of new Department of
/ Public Welfare.
While it would be possible to re-
vive any Of these questions in sep
arate bills later, it is highly i'm
probable this will be attempted.
Representative Nichols, in urging
reorganization Of the civil service,
sharply attacked the present merit
system, characterizing it as the
biggest octopus on the Government
today" He advocated a new sys-
tenn, under which employees would
be dropped if they fell below
certain efficiency rating and pro-
noted only when they obtained a
higher rating.
He was answered by Chairman
Ramspeck of the House Civil Serv-
ice Committee. who declared that
last year Mr.. Nichols had pro
claimed he was for the spoils sys-
tenn" when postmaster civil serv-
ice bill was under consideration.
He said he hoped Mr. Nichols would
join him later in this session when
he brings forth measure for "a
real merit system"
Warren Opposes Nichols Motion.
Representative Warren, Demo-
crat, of North Carolina, who, with
Chairman Cochran of the Reor-
ganization Committee, had charge
of the House bill, also opposed the
Nichols motion to take the Civil
Service Commission off the exempt
list, and it was rejected.
In addition to the Summers move
to change the basic scope of the
bill, another Democrat, Representa-
tive Kleberg of Texas, sought to
give Congress more definite control
over reorganization by proposing
that presidential orders take effect
only after affirmative action by
House and Senate, but this failed,
139 to 176.
The Summers plan to stop a re-
organization program if one branch
Of Congress disapproved was en-
bodied in an old reorganization law
passed during the Hoover admin
istration and later changed.
After Mr.. Warren had opposed
the Summers motion, Democratic
Leader Rayburn also took the floor
against it. He told the House that
if the Summers plan were adopted
there is a strong probability no
reorganization will come about"
Those in charge of the bill agreed
to several changes in the text of
the bill as concessions to the op-
ponents Of the measure.
Concessions Made.
One of these would make 1t
mandatory on the President to
accompany a reorganization order
with statement of the probable
reduction in expenditures that
could be expected from the con-
solidations.
Another would preserve the right
of exempt agencies to prepare their
own estimates.
A third, offered by Representative
Smith, Democrat, of Virginia, pro-
vides that no reorganization order
could have the effect of continuing
a function beyond the limit fixed in
the law that established the func-
ton. This would apply to some of
the new agencies created in recent
years for definite periods of time.
Still another proviso would pre-
vent the establishment of any new
executive departments.
The House rejected a proposal by
Representative Dirksen, Republican,
of Illinois which would have stipu-
lated that the number of agencies
after reorganization could not ex-
ceed the present number.
On the final roll call, which evoked
a noisy demonstration, only five
Democrats voted against the bill and
J~h