with appointments to the fire and police departments. Neither of these amendments passed.

An amendment was offered increasing the salary of the clerk of the civil service board of New Haven from $500 to $1,000 a year, and putting him in the same class with other civil service appointees. Opposition was offered by our Association on the ground that the present salary was ample, and the result was that the resolution was modified so that the board should fix a salary not to exceed $1,000.

In New Haven an interesting question has just arisen as to the rights of an unsuccessful applicant for a civil service position. A candidate for the position of building inspector, who is a mason by trade, was reported as having failed in the examination. He thereupon demanded of the board that his marks on the individual questions should be shown him, and, subsequently, expanded his demand to a requirement that he be permitted to see his own paper and those of the two successful candidates in order to compare them. This was refused, and he then presented a petition to the board of aldermen for an investigation. A special committee of the board of aldermen was appointed which spent two evenings on the matter. An opinion has been obtained from the corporation counsel declaring that the records of the civil service board made in the performance of its duty as required by the charter are public records and as such are open to public inspection. This covers his claim to see his marks. As to the right of a candidate to review his own papers, the corporation counsel declared that to be a matter entirely within the jurisdiction of the civil service board, to permit or refuse as it saw fit. He then demanded that he be allowed to examine his own paper with an expert, in order to determine whether or not his markings were correct. The matter has not yet been finally settled, but the board consistently refuses to show the candidate any paper except his own, or to allow any other person than the candidate to examine his paper.

The Assistant Secretary read the report sent by Mr. Henry Van Kleeck, President of the Civil Service Reform Association of Denver:

The past year has been a memorable one for the Civil Service Reform Association of Denver in that it witnessed the enactment by the Colorado Legislature of its bill "In relation to Civil Service in State Institutions and Municipalities." The act applies to all appointive officers and employees in state institutions for the delinquent, the defective and the dependent, and in all cities. of the first and second class, which may elect to adopt its provisions.

While the scope of the act is limited, its application may be extended in the future, without amendment to its general provisions which are broad and comprehensive. It provides for three commissioners, who shall serve without compensation. The Governor has appointed Charles R. Brock, James H. Pershing and Henry Van Kleeck, all of Denver, as the first civil service commission. The commission may appoint a secretary who shall also be chief examiner, at a salary of $1,800 per annum. It was the intention that the secretary should be included in the classified service, but there has arisen some doubt in the interpretation of the act in this particular. The commissioners have, however, decided to select the secretary through competitive examination open to the public.

The first act of the commission, with the consent of the Governor, on the suggestion of this Association, was to request the Secretary of the League to prepare a draft for a set of rules, a work which he had so admirably done for the City of Denver. The rules were adopted by the commission in substantially the form prepared by him, and with some changes required by the Governor, have received his approval.

It is expected that the law will be in full operation by the beginning of the coming year, and thus finally crown with success ten years of unremitting effort by this Association.

In the City of Denver, the civil service provision of its charter are well enforced to the great benefit of the

departments of fire, police and public utilities, to which alone they apply.

Mr. Harry J. Milligan submitted the report from the Civil Service Reform Association of Indiana:

I think the history of civil service in Indiana, technically speaking, might be written in one chapter and that chapter would say that there is no civil service law in Indiana. Anything I say here I will be repeating in a measure what has been said before. You must not get an idea that Indiana is sitting in outer and utter darkness because it has not a technical civil service reform law. I think it is fair to say that the state institutions are managed on the merit system and while admission to of fice is not through any competitive examination, merit is considered in the appointment and observed in the retention of officers. A year ago I almost essayed the role of prophet and announced that the next legislature which was then to convene would pass a civil service law, but I was mistaken; the law was not passed and was not offered.

In regard to city government in Indiana I cannot speak so favorably. I have sometimes felt that the question was much deeper than the question of civil service; that our manner of elections, that is, of allowing everybody to vote, would always result in a bad city government. Our trouble in Indianapolis is that we do not get good candidates. We are under a charter where the mayor has almost absolute power. Indianapolis, as you know, is a city of at least average intelligence, I think the people are certainly up to the average in intelligence and in the desire for better things, but they do not get the chance to vote for good men very often. The machinery for selecting the candidates is such that they cannot be heard. I have sometimes felt very much discouraged and felt that the difficulty was fundamental and could not be overcome permanently until there was some great change. But coming here to this city, a city that is governed substantially as Indianapolis, and learning that you have nothing but the best men in office, that everything of a public naturę is attended to in the best form, I

have concluded that the trouble is not in the system but in the locality.

I think it is fair to say though that in Indiana, as everywhere else, the cause of civil service reform is gaining adherents; people are beginning to take the rational and sane view that municipal affairs and state affairs, so far as they are questions of administration, should be administered as nearly as possible like those of a great corporation. Now, of course, these are platitudes among those who have thought about these things, but they have not been among the people; there has been a prejudice against civil service reform which is disappearing. So I say that while I have nothing definite to report, I think the general conditions are slowly but surely improving.

Mr. William J. Trembath submitted the report from the Civil Service Reform Association of Luzerne County:

The Luzerne County Association as its name indicates is a mere helpmate of the Pennsylvania Association and its efforts have been directed in the aid of the Pennsylvania Association rather than in any independent line of work. Our efforts in behalf of legislation were directed chiefly toward the promotion of a bill which failed of passage, a bill to secure civil service methods in counties of 150,000 population and upwards and in cities of the third class, of which there are three in our county. Our efforts in that behalf we still view with a degree of wonderment and mystification for one of the senators who gladly hastened to our aid and enrolled himself as a member of our association prior to the opening of the session eventually voted against the bill; and another senator who over his own signature declared himself in favor of the old principle "to the victor belongs the spoils," and who repudiated civil service in theory, nevertheless voted for the bill; and also another senator from my own town, who up to the time of the passage of the bill had refused its support; also several of the representatives who pledged themselves to favorable action on the bill still have to explain why they were among those absent or dodging. So that there is still very much

to explain in the action of those whom our association attempted to influence towards legislative action.

Our work along educational lines has met with a greater degree of success, as evidenced by the unanimous passage of resolutions by a body of a thousand teachers which met last week. The resolutions which I have in hand are as follows:

"We believe that the best interests of the teachers of the state will be subserved by the enactment of such laws as will vest in a civil service commission, acting under the jurisdiction of the Department of Public Instruction, the power to pass upon the employment and dismissal of teachers in the public schools. Therefore, be it

"Resolved, That we urge that the teachers and a legislative committee to be appointed by the county superintendent use their best efforts in securing the enactment of such laws as will make the office of school superintendents and teachers in this commonwealth permanent during competency and good behaviour."

I offer this as evidence of the growth of a sentiment in favor of civil service reform in this particular locality since this was the spontaneous action of the teachers upon their own initiative.

I think perhaps the most effective work done by our association in the past year, though entirely outside of the scope of a civil service reform association, was in supplying the initiative for the formation of a committee for the purpose of punishing election frauds perpetrated at the November election in 1906. Without going into this matter I would say that the efforts of that committee, which was instigated by this association, have resulted, only a few days ago, in an election in our county to which no honest man can take exception, and therefore we feel that in thus being the pioneer of a local association whose activity is restricted to a small neighborhood. I believe the first one of the kind in Pennsylvania, we have done something which has already justified itself and affords an example which other communities of our state can well follow.