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Therefore, the incentive for making a change is lacking and the faithful subordinate stays on.

The prohibition as to the consideration of political influences, it is well to reiterate, applies to appointments and promotions in public office, as well as to removals from such office, and to positions in the exempt and non-competitive classes as well as to those in the competitive class. The law (section 23) explicitly declares that no appointment or selection to or removal from an office or employment within the scope of the Civil Service rules shall be in any manner affected or influenced by the political opinions or affiliations of any person whatever.

Frauds in Examinations.

The Commission is in frequent receipt of communications alleging frauds in examinations, particularly in the case of those conducted under the direction of the several municipal commissions. It gives careful attention to complaints of this character, and sometimes is able to trace them to their source and determine their truth. In one noteworthy case during the past year, it obtained evidence of an impersonation committed at an examination conducted by its chief examiner in New York City. This case is now in the hands of the district attorney of New York county, and it is the desire of the Commission, if guilt is proven, that the culprit shall be punished by a term of imprisonment, as the only effective deterrent for such offenses against the law. But most of the complaints referred to are without real foundation, as was undoubtedly that of an unsuccessful candidate in a recent New York examination who made grave allegations as to the integrity of the examining officers, but who has thus far successfully evaded the Commission's summons to appear and

prove his charges. In a large majority of cases, the communications are anonymous and the Commission finds it impossible to identify or communicate with the writers, or secure their aid in an investigation.

The State Service.

The classified civil service of the State, by the extension of the rules over the counties of Albany, Monroe, Onondaga and Westchester, and by natural growth, has been increased during the year by 1,067 positions, of which 454 are in the competitive, 315 in the non competitive and 298 in the exempt class. This makes a total of more than 11,000 positions now directly under the purview of the State Commission. To provide for the filling of new positions and for the changes incident to this large force, the Commission through its chief examiner and his assistants has conducted monthly examinations in each of the cities of the State, besides a number of competitions for positions requiring the possession of peculiar qualifications, and in addition to a large number of promotion and provisional examinations. There have thus been examined during the year a total of 6,923 candidates, of whom 4,562 have been found qualified and 2,361 failed. Among the most notable of the examinations held were those to establish lists of candidates eligible for appointments to the following positions: Bank Examiner; Law Examiner, Board of Statutory Consolidation; Military Instructor; Assistant in Geology, State Museum; Supervisor of Farm Cottage, State Industrial School; Taxidermist, State Museum; Assistant in Clinical Laboratory, Pathological Institute; Histological Laboratory Assistant, Pathological Institute; Sub-Inspector of Public Libraries, Department of Education; Assistant in Photographic Chemistry, Cancer Laboratory; Chief of Bureau

of Statistics and Information, Department of Agriculture; Inspector of Locomotive Boilers; Architectural Designer; Examiner, Mortgage Tax Bureau; Transfer Tax Clerk; Bookbinder; Music Teacher; Assistant in Botany; Assistant in Microscopy; Bertillon Clerk; Statistician; State Librarian; Law Librarian ; Reference Librarian; Director of Library School; Chief of Home Education Division; Lecturer, Education Department.

Of the total number of positions now in the State service, as above stated, 1,284 are classified as exempt, 4,080 as competitive and 4,879 as non-competitive. At first sight, in comparison with the Federal service, this may seem an excessive number of exempt and non-competitive positions. But while a general and systematic reclassification of the State service might result in a considerable reduction of the number of such positions, no comparison of the Federal service and the State service can be justly made which does not recognize the fact that the State government is made up of small departments whose chief officers are necessarily exempt and that the State service does not like that of the Federal government contain offices where thousands of persons perform substantially similar work. In this classification is also included the county service, where under the law many employees, such as deputy sheriffs, may perform the duties of their chiefs. The great majority of the exemptions in the State and county service are not subject to the discretion of the Civil Service Commission, but are required by the statute. They include 196 court clerks and secretaries to heads of the departments. It is also to be noted that of the 4,879 positions in the non-competitive class over 4,733 are in the State hospitals and other State institutions as attendants, firemen, nurses, etc., drawing what are practically laborers' salaries. The non-competitive

examination was prescribed to guarantee efficiency and not allow unrestricted employment in these cases, when it was found that the salaries were not attractive enough to induce general competition. When the Salary Classification Commission on October 1st raised the salaries of nurses in State charitable institutions from $25 to $35 a month, the State Civil Service Commission, with the approval of the Governor, immediately placed those positions, thirty in number, in the competitive class.

The Municipal Service.

The inspection of the work of municipal civil service commissions has been carried during the year to the second-class cities, with excellent results. Except in the case of Troy, where, as before stated, unsatisfactory conditions were disclosed and remedied, the administration of the law in those cities was found to be intelligent and efficient, and it was learned that the rule of competition was faithfully observed. Conditions in some of the smaller cities, as disclosed by these inspections or by information obtained from the annual reports of the municipal commissions, were not so satisfactory, but as a whole showed considerable improvement over those of previous years. The cities officially visited during the year by the Commission, or its secretary, or its chief examiner, were as follows: New York, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse, Troy, Hudson, Ithaca, Rome and Yonkers.

Complete revisions of the Civil Service rules of the cities of Middletown, Mt. Vernon, Troy and Yonkers have been made during the year. The State Commission has given careful consid eration in each case to the new rules, in several instances assisting in drafting them and in others suggesting amendments, and it feels confident that in the form finally approved they embody the best methods of procedure and faithfully express the spirit

of the law making merit and fitness as ascertained whenever practicable by competitive examination the sole qualification of candidates for subordinate offices.

Pursuant to section 10 of the Civil Service law, requiring favorable action by the State Commission before amendments to municipal rules and regulations become effective, resolutions proposing such amendments have been approved in behalf of the following-named cities: Auburn, Buffalo, Gloversville, Hudson, Kingston, Little Falls, New York, Olean, Rochester, Rome, Utica and Watertown.

Resolutions proposing amendments to the Civil Service rules of the cities of Hudson, New York, Olean, Oswego, Rome and Watertown have been returned without approval.

Recommendations.

The successful application of the Civil Service rules to the four additional counties above mentioned, and the consequent improvement of the public service by its removal from the demoralizing influences of the spoils system, suggests consideration of further extensions of the classification, as the fee system of compensation is replaced and other changes in conditions make it practicable.

The looseness of the administration of the law by municipal civil service commissions in some of the third-class cities, as shown by reports of recent visitations by officials of this Commission, leads to the conclusion that the transfer of control of the service in such cities from the local to the State Commission would make for uniformity, efficiency and economy of adminis tration. The county service is successfully managed by the State Commission, and that of the smaller cities could be as well. If this change should not be effected, then at least the experiment

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