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for their successful defense in successive litigations of the action of the Commission. To Mr. Samuel H. Ordway and Mr. Charles P. Howland of New York and President Rush Rhees of the University of Rochester it is indebted for assistance in conducting examinations. To the newspapers, for their aid in extending notice of examinations, it also returns thanks.

Respectfully submitted,

CHARLES F. MILLIKEN,
JOHN E. KRAFT,

ROSCOE C. E. BROWN,

State Civil Service Commission.

CHIEF EXAMINER'S ANNUAL REPORT

ALBANY, N. Y., December 31, 1910.

To the State Civil Service Commission:

GENTLEMEN.- The Chief Examiner submits the following report of the work of the examinations division during the year

1910.

Organization of the Division

But few changes have taken place in the organization of the division during the year. Miss Harriet W. Bingham, stenographer, resigned on May 15, 1910, and her place was filled by the promotion of Miss Mabel P. Vanderpoel, the position of the latter being filled by the promotion of John E. Carpenter from page to junior clerk. The page position was filled by appointment from the register of Martin Flynn, on May 16, 1910. On July 11, 1910, Raymond Jones was appointed to this position which had been made vacant by Flynn's transfer to the administration division.

The Work of the Division

The work of the examinations division is on the increase; about 20 per cent. more candidates have been examined in open competitive examinations during the year 1910 than in 1909. The total number of persons examined competitively and non-competitively this year is 13,658, as compared with 11,431 in 1909.

As usual, a considerable proportion of the examining work during the past year has been done outside the office, but on the whole, we have been able to keep the work very well up to date at all times.

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Statistics of the Year's Work

The work of the examinations division for the year may be summarized as follows:

Examinations of 1909 completed in 1910:

No. of

No. o

exami

cand.

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Non-competitive examinations, Rule VIII...
Non-competitive examinations rated in the office.
Non-competitive examinations rated at the insti-
tutions

Total number of persons examined.....

357

8,540

101

965

23

29

264

55

133

3,672

13,658

The following table affords a comparison of the number of persons examined during the past five years:

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More oral examinations have been held during 1910 than during 1909, including examinations for the following positions: Assistant supervisor of equipment, Public Service Commission, Second District, $2,000 per annum; physician; transfer tax appraiser,

Department of State Comptroller, New York and Kings counties; probation officer, Oneida county; court and trust fund examiner, Department of State Comptroller; examiner of municipal accounts, Department of State Comptroller; franchise examiner, Public Service Commission, First District; instructor, State Agricultural and Industrial School; assistant actuary, Insurance Department, $3,000; assistant examiner, Insurance Department, $1,800; assistant corporation examiner, Secretary of State, $1,500; bank examiner; motor cycle officer; prison guard; supervisor of agricultural education, Education Department, $2,500; assistant principal keeper, Clinton prison, $1,500; stock transfer examiner, Comptroller's office; chief clerk, Division of Telephones and Telegraphs, Public Service Commission; guard, State Agricultural and Industrial School.

The increasing number of examinations in which the oral test with rating on personality has been introduced seems to indicate the increasing favor with which it is regarded by appointing officers, and the Chief Examiner repeats what was stated in his last report, that many "positions in the State service have been placed in the non-competitive or the exempt class on the ground that competition was not practicable- or rather it should be said, because the appointing officers felt that competition of the usual written examination would not bring satisfactory results. It is true that in many important positions the element of personality is of the greatest importance and appointing officers have taken the ground that they were better able to select satisfactory employees than the Civil Service Commission."

Upon the application of State Comptroller Williams, the Commission placed the position of transfer tax appraiser in the competitive class, but the request of the Comptroller was accompanied by the statement that he would not make this request to subject such an important position of a peculiarly confidential nature to the ordinary civil service examination, but that he would be willing to have such employees selected from an examination in which due weight should be given to education, experience and personal fitness. It is believed that the list resulting from the examinations for transfer tax appraiser, New York and Kings counties, contains the names of men peculiarly well qualified for the position, VOL. I-2.

and that no such satisfactory eligible register could have been prepared without the rating upon the oral examination.

In all of the examinations mentioned above, the oral examination has produced highly satisfactory results. Referring particularly to the matter of the rating for personal qualifications in the examination for bank examiner, Superintendent of Banks Cheney, in an address delivered before the State Bankers' Association held at Cooperstown, N. Y., in the summer of 1910, said, referring to the State bank examiners:

"In my opinion they are energetic, enthusiastic and efficient. Thanks to the Civil Service Commission, we are now adding to the service men rated upon their experience, education and personality, rather than upon mere ability to answer written questions. We are obtaining experienced bank men of dignity and judgment as the material from which capable examiners will be developed."

Promotion Examinations.

Attention is again invited to the statistical table of competitive promotion examinations held in 1910, showing the number of competitors" entitled to enter and notified" for each examination. It appears that thirty-two examinations were held in which three or fewer candidates competed, whereas 522 persons were notified for and entitled to enter the same.

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