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One hears a great deal about the civil service in these days, and of the laws that are being enacted to regulate it. This service comprises the departments of work under the various municipalities, counties, states and under the federal government. Men and women who work for a public body are said to be in the civil service. It is a well-known fact that politicians in general seek for patronage, or the power of appointing men to office, else they would not strive so hard to be elected, or pay such large sums in aid of certain political parties in campaign times. It can be readily seen that civil affairs in most departments can be conducted much more efficiently if employes who give satisfaction, and who have spent a long time in becoming acquainted with their work, are kept in office regardless of politics, instead of having all public business turned upside down at every election. The effort that has brought about this feeling and put it into practice is called civil service reform, and the laws enacted to carry it out are styled the civil service laws. The persons employed in the various civic offices of the country number hundreds of thousands. Under the United States government there is the postal service, with its thousands of clerks and carriers, the treasury department, custom-house officials and employes, consular agents, pension clerks and many others. Civil offices in all the states hire great numbers of clerks and laborers, and the counties and cities and towns need policemen, and firemen, and clerks. In President Jackson's time, "to the victors belonged the spoils," and there was a general discharge of employes with every political change of administration. At such a time, the efficiency of the public departments fell to a very low degree. Many times money was paid by subordinates to get their appointments, and much corruption followed. This was true up to a late date in the city of New York, under the control of Tammany Hall. Abuses went so far in the civil service of the country at large that in 1883 Congress passed laws limiting the appointing and removing power of elected officials. Many departments have since been brought under these laws, and further enactments have been made to hedge about the service. These laws provide for competitive examinations for applicants for positions, and for the promotion of employes, through merit rather than influence. But influence still plays a large part. Frequently, trusted officials meet with rebuke for disobeying the law in this respect, and there is opportunity for great improvement along the line of clean service under the merit system. Notwithstanding the abuses which work against the law and service the movement for a merit system all over the country has had a salutary effect. The examinations are competitive, the highest on the list receiving the appointment. Persons addicted to the habitual use of intoxicating liquors will not be accepted. Applicants must also be in good health, and must give proof of good moral character. In many cases recommendations from well known officials are necessary. The examinations are not difficult, save in technical departments, where expert services are required. The following are some of the subjects on which applicants are examined: penmanship, orthography, arithmetic, interest, discount, the fundamental rules of bookkeeping, the elements of geography, history of the government of the United States, the English language, letter writing, and the proper construction of sentences. To illustrate the system of civil service, the following extracts from the Illinois civil service law, which governs most of the departments of the civil service of Chicago, are given: No person shall be admitted to examination for any position in the official service who is not a citizen of the United States, and who has not been an actual resident of the city of Chicago for at least one year next preceding the date of the examination. Unless otherwise provided in these rules, no person shall be admitted to examination for a position in the official service who is less than twenty years of age at the date of examination, except that applicants for positions of pages and messengers must not be less than 17 years of age at the date of examination. In special examinations for any place requiring technical, professional or scientific knowledge, or manual skill of a high order, the commission may wave the requirement of residence in the city of Chicago, fixed in Section 1 of this rule. Application for admission for examination shall be made on blanks in such form and manner, and supported by such certificates of persons acquainted with the applicant, as the commission may prescribe. These blanks will be furnished to applicants for examination. No question in any examination shall relate to political or religious opinions or affiliations, and no appointment or selection for an office, or employment within the scope of these rules, shall be in any manner affected or influenced by such opinions or affiliations. Examinations shall be held it such times and places as the commission shall designate, and two weeks' notice thereof shall be given, as provided by law. The subjects for the examination shall be designated from time to time by the commission and shall be such as the needs of the service require, and such as tend to prove the qualifications of the applicant for the office sought, and may include special tests of fitness for any particular place requiring technical, professional or scientific knowledge, or manual skill. Proficiency in any subject shall be credited in grading the standing of the person examined in proportion to the value of a knowledge of such subject in the branch or part of the service which the applicant seeks to enter, and also the applicant's physical qualifications and health. The relative weight. of each subject shall be fixed by the commission for every examination. The name of no person shall be entered on a register of eligibles whose standing, upon a just grading in the examinations, shall average less than 70 per centum of complete proficiency in the subjects of the examination, taken as a whole, and of such minimum mark as may be fixed by the commission for any part thereof. All questions used in any examination shall be first approved by the commission. All examinations shall be conducted under the supervision of, and examination papers shall be marked under the regulation of, the commission. The same series of examination papers shall not be used a second time. No examination papers and no examinations shall be subject to review by the Civil Service Commission, or any of its members, after the posting of the eligible list. All competitors who attain a general average of 70 per centum or over (and of such minimum mark as may be fixed by the commission for any part thereof) shall be eligible for appointment to the place for which they are examined, and their names shall be enrolled in the order of general average upon the proper registers, which shall be in such form as the commission shall prescribe, and shall be called the "Register of Eligibles." Names shall remain upon the registers of eligibles for two years from the date of their enrollment unless sooner removed under authority contained in these rules, or by appointment. At the expiration of one year, the eligibles shall, upon a form prescribed by the commission, furnish new certificates of character. All promotions in the classified service, unless herein otherwise provided, shall be from grade to grade, and shall be made upon voluntary, open, competitive examination. Competition in such examinations shall be limited to the employes in the next lower grade of the same position, serving in the department in which the position exists, unless the Commission shall deem it for the interest of the service to admit competitive employes in other grades or other divisions, serving in that or other departments. No officer or employe in the classified service who shall have been appointed under these rules, and after examination, shall be removed or discharged except for cause, upon written charges and after an opportunity to be heard in his own defense. When a removal is deemed necessary, the appointing officer shall immediately notify the Commission in writing of the grounds therefor. Such grounds shall be investigated by the Commission, and the accused person shall be given an opportunity to be beard in his own defense, provided, however, that such officer or employe shall file a written request for investigation within three days after the date of his removal. The finding and decision of the Commission shall be certified to the appointing officer and shall be forthwith enforced by said officer. Pending such investigation, the appointing officer may suspend the accused for a reasonable period, not exceeding 30 days. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require such charges or investigation in cases of laborers or persons who have the custody of public money, for the safe keeping of which another person has given bonds. THE UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE |