Evening star., 1952-02-19
Hoover Unit I'd Seek
Civil Service Reform
Before Disbandinq

Reorganization of the Govern
ment'S civil service system was
the No. goal today of the Citi-
zens' Committee for the Hoover
Report, as it mapped plans for anI
all-out drive to win enactment oil
Government reforms during the
three remaining months of its
existence.
The keynote on the necessity of
revamping the Governments per-
sonnel system was sounded last
night by former President HerbeIt Il
Hoover at the citizens group din
ner meeting in the ShorehamI
Hotel.
Mr.. Hoover's speech climaxed a.
one-day meeting of the citizens
group at which leading members
OF Congress, Government, industry
and labor participated in the dis
cusslon Of how to carry out the
reforms advocated by the Hoover
Commission.
Mr.. Hoover called on Congress-
for civil service reforms to end
what he called "sickening con-
duct" by Federal officials.
months of Humiliation"
The, former President headed
the bipartisan group which hand
ed Congress sweeping proposals
for reorganiZing and undermining
Government operations three
years ago. He declared:
Surely the Nation has a right
to better system of choice and
management of its employees than
one which has produced these
months of humiliation.
OF the 18 major Hoover Com
mission proposals still before Con-
gress. Mr.. Hoover said recent
events give special urgency to one
That is the reform and the
reorganization of the Civil Service
Commission and the whole per-
sonnel system" he declared.
"Sickening Conduct"
mo one can ignore the flood
OF exposures of less than sacred
honor or real patriotism by en-
ployes in many agencies of the
Government during these recent
years.
Daily. Congress and grand
1urles are turning up sickening
conduct of Federal civil officials.
These exposures can mean only
one thing: That our method of
selection and organization of Fed
eral employees is badly at fault
somewhere.
Mr.. Hoover declared that, had
the Hoover Commissions pro-
posals for a stronger civil serv-
ice career system been enacted
promptly in 1948, they would
have saved great grief to our
country"
Among the Hoover Commission
proposals still unacted on are
those to make the Civil Service
Commission chairman the chief
advisor to the President on civil
service matters and to give direct
recruitment and examining au-f
thqTtN to the individual depart
mentS%and agencies.
Assure Best Selection.
The Hoover group Said, this lastI
prppeSal would sassur& the selec-a
ticn OF the best" qualified personst
for Federal positions and alSof
would give the Civil Service Com
mission more time to formulate
Federal personnel policy. The
commission would fix the stand
ards under which employees were
chosen.
The Senate last year approved a 7
bill decentralizing recruitment and
examining functions to the in
dividual departments and agen-
cieS, somewhat along the lines
proposed by the Hoover group.
The measure is now before the
House Civil Service Committee.
Other projects to be pushed by
the Citizens Committee are al
unified medical administration, al
reorganized Agriculture Depart
ment, reshaped Veterans Ad-
ministration, a merger of Army
Engineers and the Bureau of Rec
lamation into a single Interior
Department agency and an i'm
proved postal service.
The former President said the
humiliation" of the past year
extends to both the thousands
of men and women who hold to-
the sacred honor of Government
service and the humiliation of the
whole of a great and God-fearing
people"