The Daily Alaska empire., 1947-04-29
VETERANS GUIDE
 By MAJOR THOMAS M. MAJ


 This column is to be about Civil Service. Exactly, it's going to start off telling a very little about the present system of awarding preference to veterans who want Civil Service jobs, and of some new ideas for changing this system.
 i Most all the ex-service world knows that every veteran dis charged under honorable conditions rates either a five or 10point preference tackled on to his Civil Service examination mark. Ten points go to veterans who have any service-connected disability and five to all others.
 Well, that sounds good, say Am vets, one of the largest World War III vets outfits. It sounds good, but it doesn't mean much, says Amvets. If you asked them why, hey'd say this;
 Suppose a veteran gets a below passing grade on a c. s exam but, with the help of this prefer ence, that grade is boosted above the passing mark. Well, the grade of almost any veteran who rates ten points would be boosted above passing. And disabled veterans who pass with their ten point prefer ence automatically go to the very top of the list of "eligibles' be- ing considered for a c. S. posi- tion. That's the law.
 But this veteran doesn't neces- sarily get the job. The chief of the government agency or bureau can pick either of the next two "eligibles' on the list and pass over the veteran. Veterans who have no disability do not go to the top of the list.
 Now, if the bureau or agency chief knows the veteran isn't in- telligent enough, or hasn't had enough experience, to pass the exam without the help of his pref erence he's naturally going to give very careful consideration to the next two eligibles-maybe two non- veterans who got good marks with out any preference at all. That's only smart-or human.
 Those two guys, the bureau chief will say, really are much better equipped to do the job than the veteran, because they got much better grades.
 So the veterans is likely to end up with no job and feeling lhe got the old gyp. That's what the Amvets say.
 l It comes right down to this, and here's the way Amvets put it to me the other day: The prefer ence system is not getting vet ferars government jobs because bureau chiefs have too much dis cretion in selection of personnel"
 And they went on, "The present system misleads veterans into thinking that they are going to get jobs and at the same time prejudices bureau chiefs against giving veterans jobs"
 Amvets' .idea is to grant veter- ans absolute priority in all c. S. jobs provided that the examina- tions for any particular position can be passed without the help of a preference.
 Abolish the preference system for five years, say Amvets, and as long as there are c. s. jobs available and veterans who can pass examinations for them give those jobs only to veterans!
 After the end of five years, Am vets says, go back to the present system of preferences.
 The Veterans of Foreign Wars, too, think the present setup should be changed. They think the ten point preference should go only to vets who have at least a 10 per- cent disability. And they think that only veterans who have at feast 30-percent disability rat ing should get showed up to the top of the list of eligibles.
 Why" I was told, under the present setup a slightly disabled veteran who maybe got a pune tured eardrum or something gets a much better chance for c. s job with his ten points and his top of the list spot than the disabled vet who, maybe, made much better grade in the same exam.
 Its a case of veteran com peting against veteran"
 i Well, of course, vets are com