Chief Examiner's Annual Report ALBANY, N. Y., December 31, 1899. To the State Civil Service Commission, Albany, N. Y.: GENTLEMEN: I have the honor to submit the following report of civil service examinations held during the past year: The number of candidates examined in competitive examinations during the past year is 2,407; the number in 1898 being 3,072; in 1897, 3,587, and in 1896, 3,829. The number of applications received for competitive examinations in 1899 is 3,087 against 3,124 in 1898; 3,908 in 1897, and 5,108 in 1896. The falling off in the total of applicants may be attributed in part to the gradual improvement in business conditions, and in part to the cessation of the great work on the canals of the state, which necessitated the employment of a great number of engineers and inspectors in 1896 and 1897 and proportionately increased the number of competitors and applicants. The number of separate open competitive examinations held and reports made during the year is 116, besides 4 competitive promotion examinations and 24 provisional examinations. The non-competitive examinations, involving 1, 795 candidates, are almost entirely conducted by local boards of examiners in the various institutions. The papers are reviewed, however, in the office of the Commission and a record kept of the persons examined. Some idea of the variety of positions in the state service and of the scope of the necessary detail work of the examining force of the Commission will be gathered from the following list of positions for which examinations have been held during the year: Tailoring instructor Assistant entomologist Bookbinding instructor Gardener Director of trades schools Bandmaster Teacher of calisthenics and kindergarten Assistant paleontologist Associate in anthropology Manual training instructor Inspector of charities Assistant chemist Superintendent of knitting industry Instructor in carpentry Court stenographer Assistant Bertillon clerk Bertillon photographer Assistant commissioner of agriculture Library assistant Boiler inspector Chief engineer Inspector of nurseries Architectural draughtsman Steward Instructor in shoe industry Assistant in history division, State Library Inspector of licenses, Department of Factory Inspector Assistant in zoology Electrical expert Heating expert Sanitary expert Bridge designer and inspector Veal inspector Bee inspector Examiner of printing bills Stenographer and telegrapher Kindergartner Instructor in dressmaking and millinery Superintendent, House of Refuge Inspector of public works Veterinarian Assistant horticulturist Foreman of furniture finishing Inspector of training classes Beet sugar inspector I have selected this list of special and technical examinations from those held during the past year. Most of these examinations are for positions for which we have not been called on to hold examinations before and a list of new examinations nearly as numerous could be selected from the examinations held in any one of the recent years. For most of these special positions the number of candidates is small but that fact does not diminish the labor required in preparation of the same or the difficulty of finding a suitable examiner for technical positions. It would be extremely desirable to have in the office of the Commission a trained staff of examiners who could be depended on to take charge of the greater number of special examinations as they come up. It has been my experience that the professional examiner, even though not technically acquainted with the duties of the position for which examination is to be held, will often be more successful in framing questions and grading an examination for a special or technical place than will the specialist thoroughly acquainted with the work to be done but unused to examination work. I believe that Mr. Eames, recently appointed as technical examiner, will prove a very valuable acquisition to the Commission and that he will be able to take care of a great variety of examinations which we have heretofore been compelled to send out of the office for preparation and marking. In the short time he has been here, he has shown himself an intelligent, conscientious and industrious worker and has already taken charge of examinations of considerable importance. Mr. Saxton continues to be of great service in caring for the routine work of ordinary examinations and in supervising the work of the non-competitive boards of examiners. Complaints are continually sent to the Commission of the faulty administration of the civil service law in the cities of the state through unfair examinations and disobedience of the civil service rules and statutes. As it is manifestly impossible for the Commissioners to personally investigate the civil service administration in the cities, I recommend that an inspector be appointed for this purpose. The unsatisfactory conduct of municipal commissions results oftener from ignorance than from wilful violation of the law and rules, and such an employee as is suggested could do invaluable service in instructing the municipal commissioners as to their rights and duties and as to the meaning of the rules and the proper manner of conducting examinations and keeping records under them. The funds at the command of the Commission for the current year will be amply sufficient for this purpose, and also to provide additional permanent help in the examination work. The tables appended to this report will show the dates and kinds of competitive examinations held, with the number of candidates in each; the usual statistics as to the age, education and previous occupation of competitors; the promotion examinations, provisional examinations and non-competitive examinations held, with the number of candidates examined; also the number of persons appointed from competitive and non-competitive examination. Respectfully submitted. CHARLES S. FOWLER |