Evening star., 1941-12-23
100000 War Jobs
Declared j. ). Need
In Next Six Months
Civilian Specialists
Wanted, FIemming Says
In Radio Forum Talk

In k0oI0 forum l0lk
The urgent need for qualified per-
tions in the Federal service to meet
the headlines" and back the Ma
tion's defense effort was pointed out
last night by Arthur S. Flemming,
United States Civil Service Commis-
sioner, in an address over the Ma
tional Radio Forum. The forum.
arranged by The Star and broad
cast over a National Broadcasting
Co. network was heard locally over
Station WMAL.
The text of Mr.. F1emming's ad-
dress follows:
Slogans are the order of the dav.
"Keep 'em Rolling! g!'-"Keep 'em
Flying!" These and others come to
our minds at once. We can't, OF
course. win the war with slogans.
We can, however, use slogans for
the purpose of keeping before us
the goals which must be reached,
If the war is to be won.
Tonight it is my privilege to rep
resent an agency of the United
States Government that 18 months
ago said to itself: Our slogan-the
goal which we must reach-is this
Meet the Deadlines!"
That slogan doesn't mean very
much to you, does it? Let me ex-
plain Just what it does mean 20
every employe of the United States
Civil Service Commission.
We are a service agency. 1t Is
our job to see to it that the war
agencies of the United States Gov
eminent get the best personnel it is
possible for us to find. But that
doesn't tell the whole story. Not
only must we get the best personnel
but we must get that personnel
when the war agencies say they
need 1t. If the War or Navy De-
partments want 100 men in 48 hours,
we must find 100 nen in 48 hours
and not in 70 hours. Forty EIGHT
hours becomes our deadline and all
of us know that the deadline must
be met.
Meet the Deadlines!" What has
been the result of our activities over
the past 18 months as day in and
day out we have kept this slogan
before us? Here is the answer in
lust one sentence. From June /,
1910, to December 13, 1941, the
United States Civil Service Com
mission has placed $4,000 civilians
In positions In the War and Navy
Departments alone.
Employees 'Meet Deadlines."
Yes, in one sentence, that gives
you some idea of what has been
done And yet, it doesn't begin to
tell the whole story. OF course, I
can tell you that this means that 10
times as many civilians were placed
in positions in the War and Navy
Departments in the past 18 months
as we would ordinarily place in the
entire Federal Government in a
period of year.
And yet even that doesn't tell the
story. The real story is a story OF
employees of the United States Civil
Service Commission performing what
seemed to be almost impossible tasks.
The real story is story of employees
working until the early hours of the
morning in order to make sure that
a Var Department establishment, q
Navy Department establishment re-
ceived on the following day the per-
sonnet needed in order to carry for
ward the defense effort.
For example: Remember Pearl
Harbor!" has overnight become the
battle cry of a nation at war. But
for our employees, Remember Pearl
Harbor' has been watchword that
has been before them day IN and
day out for over a year.
Pearl Harbor gave us one Of our
first opportunities to see If we could
really meet the headlines"
It was a Saturday morning early
In October, 1910. A high-ranking
naval officer visited us. Here is the
deadline he gave us: Recruit, ex-
anime and investigate approximately
1000 workers for the Pearl Harbor
Navy Yard and have them on the
West Coast ready to sail in three
weeks.
Our 18th district offices went to
work that Saturday afternoon. They
continued ito work, day and night
for the next three weeks. They
met the deadline. AS result, they
received the commentator Of the
Secretary Of the Navy.
Since then we have engaged In
q continuous program Of recruiting
persons for this an-important navy
yard. We are engaged in such q
program now, and a little later ir
this broadcast I want to tell you
about the kind of workers that the
Pearl Harbor Navy Yard needs right
now.
Thousands Recruited.
You know, whenever I refer te
this story-and I do quite often
because all of us are proud Of it
some one always asks me this ques.
ton: But does the Civil Service
Commission recruit persons for th'
Government navy yards and thu
Government arsenals?" The answer
is "Yes," and the answer has beer
"Yes" for a great many years. Ane
we are proud of the results.
1t has been my privilege during
the past few months to visit all O.
the Government-operated nav.
yards and all of the Government
operated arsenals. I have been i'm
pressed by the fine leadership tina
these yards and arsenals are re
ceiving from the commissioned off
GERS of the Army and Navy. II
addition, I have been very much i'm
pressed by the men who are the civil
ian superintendents and foremen il
these yards and arsenals. They ar
men who entered the Federal Gov