St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1946-01-25
Dear Joe"
A Weekly Column by and
for Veterans
By JAMES l.. HICKS

Y
Dear Joe:
The CT Bill helps those who help
themselves.
The Army didn't give you eggs
in your beer and there's no need to
come out in civilian life expecting
to get any. lin fact the way things
are going for veterans in civilian
life you are lucky if you can get
the beer.)
But what | started out to say
is that many Of the boys are pass
ing up some good opportunities
while looking for some Of those
high-salaried jobs we heard war
workers were holding while we were
on the other side.
Tuesday, Joe, Civil Service said
that it had to reopen clerk and
stenographer examinations to civil
ians because not enough veterans
had applied for the hundreds of
vacancies it has in those positions.
Now, Joe, I'm not telling you to
take a clerks or a stenographer's
job. I'd like to see you be an ex-
ecutive, but you know as well as
l do that all of US can't be execu-
tives any more than all Of US could
be majors in the army.
Before the war a clerical job
under Civil Service was considered
a pretty good position and that time
will soon come again. l don't go
along with Booker T. Washington
in saying cast down your bucket
where you are" because frankly l
can't see that bucket idea, but what
I'd like to get across to you is that
accepting a clerks job is a good
step toward some day becoming
chief Of the section-and there are
more clerical jobs open now than
there ever will be again.
Speaking of helping yourself to
get a job in the Federal government
Joe, the Civil Service Commission
was pinned down to some definite
statements Tuesday which if you
follow through on will help a lot
of guys like you and me get a lot
of jobs that we have not been get
ting. A lot Of it depends on whether
or not you will do your part. Give
a look:
Civil Service said this for the
record! When you qualify for a
job your name is placed on a regis
ter and the job will be filled from
one Of the top three names on the
register. But land here is the punch
line) Richard Schneider Of the Civil
Service public relations office went
on record as saying that if vet
eran is passed over by the agency
and n non-veteran given the job,
the veteran can demand that the
personnel officer passing over his
name give his reasons for doing
so, and those reasons can be made
public by the veteran.
This is a radical change in Civil
Service procedure, Joe, and / hope
you get what it means to colored
guys like you and me. II p per
sonnet officer turns you down ." a
Job because he doesn't like the way
you conk your hair, he's got to say
so to you and the Civil Service Com
mission, too, and you can let guys
like me know so can tell guys
like Bill Dawson and Adam Powell
so they can raise Holy He'll. By
the time they get done you'll have
your Job and your conk, too (al-
though I just despise conks, don't
you, JoeD
Civil Service also said If you APP
ply for a job and your name is plac-
ed on a register you are entitled
to drop around any old time and
take a look at the register just to
see where you Standard some
body had better show it to you.
There's a lot Of protection in
statements like these, Joe. But I'M
less you follow through on them,