Evening star., 1940-02-09

|0f Civil Service
Laid 10 Hoover

LdIQ TO n0OveI
Commissions Ire
Reused by Testimony
OFF. B. !. Head
The Civil Service Commission
bluntly charged last night that
j. Edgar Hoover, director of the
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
had "indulged in misrepresenta-
tions" regarding the civil service
system to induce Congress to per-
NIT the bureau to remain outside Of
civil service.
The commission ire was stirred
by the testimony which the F. B. I.
head recently gave before House
appropriations subcommittee, when
he cited list of reputed defects in
the commission selective system, and
declared that under our system of
personnel selection we get a much
higher type of employe than the
Civil Service Commission has been
able to certify to U.S."
After Mr. Hoover's testimony, the
subcommittee continued the rider
which first was tackled onto the
Justice Department appropriation
bill last year and prevents pay
ment of salary to any civil service
employe except fingerprint classi-
fiers. This rider was designed orig
inally to prevent the bureau staff
from being brought under civil
service last February in conformity
with President Roosevelt's civil serv-
ice expansion program and would
continue to have that effect.
Hoover's Contentious.
Mr.. Hoover argued also against
the continued inclusion of finger
print classifiers under civil service
in his testimony, declaring the COM
mission selective plan was slow and
costly, and amplifying:
1--WE have had certified to us for
appointment persons who had crimi-
nal records and who had served
time in penal institutions; We had
certified to us a man who was dis
charged from the military service
| for disability due to dementia prae-
cox; we had man certified to us
who had SO per cent physical dis
ability and had lost his right arm;
others possessed unbalanced men
talities. We had psychotics certified
to us; others possessed Conmunistic
and radical tendencies. We have
been advised with regard to Com
munists that unless we could find
something other than their Com
munistic beliefs or tendencies We
must accept them"
"The principal difference between
Mr.. Hoover and the Civil Service
Commission is that Mr.. Hoover
wants to operate civil service per-
sonally and without regard to the
democratic principles of open COM
petition and equal opportunity
which the American people. through
Congress, have insisted should be
a part of the Federal merit sys-
tenn" the commission retorted in a
statement.
Declaring that the F. B. I. had
shown complete unwillingness'
to work with the commission, the
statement took up the question of
the fingerprint certifications about
which Mr.. Hoover had complained
Applicants for these positions
were not investigated by the COM
mission" it was explained, because
Mr.. Hoover's bureau assured the
commission that it could make these
Investigations promptly. In fact, the
Bureau of Investigation stated that
even though the commission did
make such investigations they would
also investigate the persons certi-
fed"
On Communism.
On the question of alleged Com
munism among the employees, the
commission said that it sis opposed
to having any such persons actually
enter the employ of the Federal
Government" but added that it re
fuses, however, to place any indi-
vidual or group of individuals in
this category until it has evidence
which would justify it's action"
I'm this connection" the commits
sion continued, sit is interesting to
note that Mr.. Hoover's bureau is
unwilling to cooperate with the
United States Civil Service Commits
sion in its efforts to keep out of
other Government agencies persons
Of poor character. The bureau has
recently, in violation of rule of the
President of the United States, re-
fused to open up personnel files Of
its former employees to Investigators
of the Civil Service Commission,
who were in the process of conduct
ing character investigations to de-
termine whether or not these en-
ployes should be certified to other
agencies"
Concluding, the commission said
that "the American system of open
competition could and would select
persons of the highest character and
competence for Mr.. Hoover's bureau
just as it has for such agencies as
the Intelligence Unit of the Internal
Revenue Bureau, the Secret Service.
the Customs Service, the Post Office
Inspection Service and the Immi-
grafton and Naturalization Service" !"
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