points out that the efficiency of his department is affected by the retention of persons over 65 years of age by reason of their physical rather than their mental infirmities. Another writes that "employees who have rendered faithful service and who become incapacitated in a degree by reason of impaired health or advanced years naturally receive and will continue to receive consideration that is inconsistent with the greatest amount of efficiency in the department."

The tenor of the replies to the Commission's inquiry goes to show that, while there are many exceptions, the efficiency of men holding positions requiring clearness of vision and ability to climb stairs, rapidly deteriorates as their years lengthen. It is evident that employees are kept on in the service when their work could be better done and more cheaply done by younger men, the dictates of humanity preventing their dismissal and the consequent withdrawal of their means of support. The adoption of some system of retirement pensions or insurance, it seems in the light of the above statistics, would not involve even at its inception such a burden on the State as should preclude its consideration, and if organized on the lines suggested in the last report of the Commission, so as to require State employees to contribute from their salaries the fund from which they could later draw pensions or annuities the proposition would appear to be entirely manageable. The payment of such pensions or annuities, upon a public employee's retirement, to take a position in private service, or by reason of his disability, or on account of his having reached the age for compulsory retirement, or at death to his widow or dependent children, could doubtless be worked out as it has been so successfully by various railroad companies and large industrial corporations.

The pressure of the various civil employees' associations in favor of some pension scheme, and the example of European nations in making provision for the old age of employees in public or private capacities goes to show that the State ought not longer to delay frank and considerate attention to the problem involved and thereby avoid legislation hastily devised and of doubtful wisdom. The adoption of such a plan, avoiding the intolerable burdens that would attach to a noncontributing pension scheme, would operate, the Commission believes, to encourage the

entrance into the public service, and the retention in that service, of men of efficiency who now shun it altogether or leave it in the search of occupation affording greater assurance of competency in the declining years of life, as well as to relieve the service of a considerable number of employees incapacitated in whole or in part for the performance of active duty.

The Commission desires to emphasize the necessity of coupling with any plan for annuities safeguards against an employee's interest in a pension fund operating in any way to give him a claim to retention in public employment. In its report for 1909 the Commission said:

"Any insurance system, it is believed, should be so organized that every individual would have his own particular insurance, paid for by himself and no one else, except the State in the case of employees already advanced in service, and every insurance policy should have at all times an adequate surrender value, so that no question could arise as to property right in office, or in the pension fund contributed to by an employee which would be sacrificed by separation from the service. It is absolutely essential to the discipline of the public service that heads of departments should have the fullest right of removal for reasonable cause, without the necessity of proving in court a case of positive malfeasance. Any property right in a fund attached to the public service would tend unreasonably to hamper the exercise of that power, and to put the administration of the public service at the mercy of organized public servants."

The Commission notes with gratification that President Taft, after a thorough study of the subject of civil pensions in his recent annual message, reaches practically the same conclusion as to the superiority of insurance or annuity to pensions in the federal service, and as to the necessity for the segregation of individual contributions and the return of the proceeds in case of separation from the service. He says:

"The experience of England and other countries shows that neither can a contributory plan be successful, human nature being what it is, which does not make provision for

the return of contributions, with interest, in case of death or resignation before pensionable age. Followed to its logical conclusion this means that the simplest and most independent solution of the problem for both employee and the government is a compulsory savings arrangement, the employee to set aside from his salary a sum sufficient with the help of a liberal rate of interest from the government, to purchase an adequate annuity for him on retirement, this accumulation to be inalienably his and claimable if he leaves the service before reaching the retirement age or by his heirs in case of his death."

Uniform Grading of State Employees.

Another subject which the Civil Service Commission, co-oper ating with the heads of the State departments, could properly take up with a view to unifying the service and economizing in public expenditures would be that of establishing a system of uniform grading of employees, which would provide for promotion through rigidly defined grades and would eventually secure equality of pay for the same service in all departments.

This subject was intelligently discussed in the 1908 report of the former Chief Examiner of the Commission, Mr. Charles S. Fowler, who also outlined the legislation needed to make the service of the State thoroughly businesslike in its organization in this respect.

The adoption of such a system, the Civil Service Commission believes, would make for good discipline, would remove occasion for controversies over the regularity of promotions, and would relieve the Commission from the necessity of holding repeated examinations for promotion where there is no real change in grade of duties. It would also lessen the pressure on the Legislature to consider personal appeals for salary increases, and it would, as Mr. Fowler suggested, "prevent the appointment of a new employee at the high salary which had been granted after a long period in consideration of the faithful and superior service of an old one and so prevent the gradual increase in the cost of the service from this cause."

As an aid in the consideration of such a uniform system of grading, and to show also the line of authority in the organization

of each of the State departments, the Commission has requested the drafting and filing in its office of diagrams illustrating the respective department organizations on lines similar to that which it has prepared for its own convenience and which is presented as a part of this report.

Efficiency Records.

The State Commission is pleased to report that one department, that of the Public Service Commission for the First District, has put in force during the past year a carefully worked out system for keeping continuous and comparative records of the efficiency, punctuality, attention and general good conduct of employees. With this rule faithfully and uniformly observed so as to afford a reliable basis for rating the qualifications of candidates for promotion, on the basis of their previous service, as provided by the Civil Service Law, the Commission could wisely forego reliance upon written examinations in cases where the promotion proposed contemplates only an increase of salary beyond a grade without change of duties, and only insist on such examinations when there is involved advancement to different and more important work and assumption of larger responsibilities.

National Assembly of Civil Service Commissions.

Upon invitation of the New York State Commission, the Third Biennial Meeting of the National Assembly of Civil Service Commissions was held at the Capitol in Albany on June 2d, and in conjunction therewith was held the Third Biennial Conference of the New York State and Municipal Civil Service Commissions. The meeting was opened with an address of welcome delivered by Governor Charles E. Hughes, and its sessions continued through two days, the program covering discussions of practical problems in the administration of civil service laws by representatives of the National and several State Commissions, and from the standpoint of the appointing officer by Comptroller William A. Prendergast of New York city. There was a large attendance of delegates and others interested.

The Municipal Commissions.

The State Commission has endeavored to bring up the work of the municipal commissions to the highest possible standard. Through official visits of inspection by members of the Commission, or by its secretary and its chief examiner, it has inquired into their methods of business, examined their records, advised changes in their system of examinations, and when occasion demanded ordered the completion of defective records and the summary refusal of certification to payrolls for illegal or irregular employments. It has required all commissions, except that of New York city, to present for filing reports of recurring examinations and copies of the question papers used, together with the notices posted for such examinations, thereby keeping itself informed of the work of the several commissions, the character of their examinations and the relative weights given subjects in written examinations, physical qualifications and experience.

Two notable exceptions to the general high standard of efficiency were found in the work of the commissions at Utica and Buffalo. Inspection of the work of the Utica commission disclosed the fact that upon the incoming of a new city administration, the reorganized municipal civil service commission proceeded to make a change in the office of its own chief examiner without the formality of dismissing the incumbent or holding an examination of candidates through which to establish a new eligible list and make appointment therefrom in legal method. It also appeared that the new commission had accepted without protest the action of heads of city departments in replacing old employees with new ones by similarly unjustifiable methods, it appearing that through a sort of "gentlemen's agreement" every change in the political control of the city government was accompanied by a change of all subordinates, whether in the exempt or competitive class. The members of the municipal commission were cited to appear before the State Commission to show cause why they should not be removed from office, and a majority of the State Commission voted that the evidence warranted such action, but Commissioner Kraft, feeling that the city commissioners had been led into the faults noted through precedent established by their predecessors and had not committed any willful or intended violation of law, and that now