MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN Civil Service Commission rule provides for additional credit not exceeding five points when an applicant who has qualified for a position merits special recognition for extraordinary services rendered to the city, state or Federal Government. "I think I can truthfully say that this rule of the Commission has had very little effect on the administration of the civil service in our city." (Extract letter from Milwaukee City official.) TACOMA, WASHINGTON Fifteen points added to subject of experience. "The opinion of this office is that there has been no noticeable effect on the administration of the civil service due to this soldier preference. The turnover in the city service since the passage of this preference law has been slight and the department most affected has been that of public safety.” (Extract letter from Tacoma City official.) DETROIT, MICHIGAN Absolute preference in appointment and promotion. HOUSTON, TEXAS Preference for veterans where equally qualified with non-veterans. ELBRIDGE L. ADAMS, Chairman NICHOLAS KELLEY Afternoon Session, Hotel Statler Mr. Richard Henry Dana, President of the League, presided. Hon. William Dudley Foulke read a report from the Special Committee on Investigation of Appointments of Presidential Postmasters. The report is as follows: Preliminary Report of Special Committee on Investigation of Appointments of Presidential Postmasters Your special committee on Presidential Postmasters immediately after their appointment went to Washington and on October 6th had a very remarkable and very interesting interview with Postmaster-General Hays. He took us into his private office and talked to us for half an hour in a very earnest and impressive manner. He told us of the difficulty there had been in securing any kind of a competitive examination for Presidental Postmasters, and that the President's order of May 10th was the utmost possible. He called our attention to the crowds in the outside room and to the inter views in which he had just turned down certain Congressional recommendations. He admitted that Congressmen all had the opportunity to make these recommendations, that he consulted with them very freely, but that he had tried in every case to make the best appointment and he was much gratified to find that over 76% of these appointments had been made from the first man on the eligible lists. He told us that he knew a good deal about politics; that he regarded it as the highest political wisdom to stand for good things quite irrespective of their influence on parties, individuals or classes; that he believed it was the highest political wisdom to make the civil service non-political, and he added, "Even if I had no other than a selfish interest, I would do all I could to make the merit system a success, for I am already strongly committed to it." He referred to his speeches. (In these he had said, "The merit system shall control without any subterfuge under any circumstances whatever," and that his purpose was "with absolute fidelity to put the entire service upon a purely business basis so sound and so serviceable that no political party will ever again dare attempt to ignore or evade it ultimately.") He said to us, "I cannot go back on these things now nor fail to carry them out as far as possible. My one great purpose is to see that the Department is established as a business institution without political interference, but I cannot do that in a day nor keep Congressional pressure out all at once." He asked our help in securing the passage of a proposed bill classifying Presidential postmasters. The League, he said, might criticize him for individual appointments, but this would only weaken him in the things we were trying to do together. We left him much impressed with his purpose to carry out the merit system as far as he could with the tremendous pressure around him. But although Mr. Hays is personally a masterful man, he is possibly not in entire control of the situation. Above him is the President who made the order permitting the choice from three instead of requiring the appointment of the highest eligible. Below him are assistant postmasters general in charge of details in the office, who were appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate, whose tenure does not depend upon the Postmaster-General and who are not wholly subject to him. Many abuses can creep in without his personal participation or approval. Such abuses undoubtedy exist. Your committee has sent out, through the secretary, questionnaires in all cases where the head of the list has been passed over, these seeming the more important and time not permitting more. In these we asked each of the men who have quit the service as to the cause and method of the change; whether a Congressman sought his displacement or recommended his successor or whether his successor was recommended by any political organization; the name and address of the head of the list and his politics; the politics of the appointee, as well as that of the former incumbent. When answers are received, similar questionnaires are sent to the new appointee and to the head of the list who was passed over. We also intend to prepare similar questionnaires in cases of promotion or transfers from other branches of the service. The time has been so short that the first questions have only been partly answered and the remaining ones scarcely at all. The answers are not yet sufficient to form the basis of a satisfactory judgment, and, before making any final report, we feel that the results of these answers ought also to be submitted to the Post Office Department for criticism and comment so that our final report shall not be exparte in character. It appears that in nearly all the instances where the second or third men on the list have been appointed, the appointees have been Republicans. In a few of these cases the men superseded have been Republicans also, though the majority were Democrats. All of these cases should be verified by an enquiry from the appointee and the Congressman before being regarded as conclusive. In regard to one matter, however, and that is the tendency of the President's order of May 10th to keep Democrats from attending the examination, no such confirmation nor any statement from the Post Office Department is necessary, and that tendency distinctly appears from a number of the answers. For instance, in the Fairfield, Illinois, case, Mr. Dole, the postmaster superseded, who was at the head of the list, writes us: "I had no expectation of receiving the appointment when I took the examination, as I was confident as to who would be appointed if Congressman Kopp could bring it about. way of additional information relative to other post offices I might add that W. R. Shott, late postmaster at Birmingham, Iowa, refused to take the examination for reappointment and that no Democrat took said examination. Mr. Shott stated that it would be useless for a Democrat to take the examination, as Kopp would name the postmaster and a Democrat stood no show. If the Republican politicians succeed in getting all Democrats to feel that it is useless for them to take the examination (and it seems that this is now practically accomplished in this section) so that there will be no Democratic applicants, then all positions can be filled by Republicans, and after this has been brought about, the Republican politicians will exultantly point to the fidelity with which they have carried out the civil service rules and will give as the reason for there being no Democratic postmasters, that they were unable to pass the test and get on the eligible lists." Mr. Charles Manning, former postmaster at Cheneyville, La., writes: "I am a Democrat and think it would be useless for me to take the examination for any post office," etc., etc. There are some places where Democrats compete in these examinations, especially former incumbents of the offices, but this is by no means universal and there can be do doubt that President Harding's order of May 10th in opening appointments to the three highest eligibles instead of requiring appointment of the highest has led to a widespread belief that politics controls these appointments. Your committee is convinced that there was only too much ground for the statement of the Executive Committee of May 18th as follows: The League fears that the announcement that the selection will be made from the first three may be interpreted by possible candidates as notification that only Republicans with political influence will be appointed, with the result that no Democrats will make the effort, and that many Republicans not active in politics will also be deterred. Your Committee has been continued to make further investigation and report, and has been empowered by the Council to publish such reports after they have been submitted to and approved by the President of the League. Since preparing the above, the followingg telegram was received from the Postmaster-General: William Dudley Foulke, Hotel Statler, Detroit, Mich. Washington, Nov. 15, 1921. Just received your letter of November twelfth of two thousand one hundred forty-four postmasters appointed. Seven hundred fiftynine have been promoted from the Service. Nine hundred seventy-two were the first eligible on the list. Two hundred seventy were the second eligible. One hundred twenty-four were the third eligible. Thirteen were the fourth and six were re-appointed without examination. In addition to these figures I want to assure you that we are prepared to go to great lengths to aid the civil service idea. We want the co-operation and help of the Civil Service League at all times. What we can do will depend largely on the measure of support they can give us. I deeply regret you did not secure lists. The instruction was issued, but for some reason was not carried out, failing probably because of the joint jurisdiction of the Civil Service Commission and the Post Office Department. My secretary has written Mr. Van Dusen fully on this matter, which I believe is satisfactorily arranged now so that you will receive all the information you want. Of course, with three hundred ten thousand employees in the classified service there will be criticisms of promotions every time a Democrat is reduced and a Republican promoted, no matter what the merits of the case may be. We cannot refuse to demote a man because he is a Democrat or refuse to promote him because he is a Republican. We have many clippings here commending us on the impartial way in which we have conducted the service and many others criticising us for not giving preference to Republicans. The selection of one of the highest three is a principle which is generally followed out in the selection of the five hundred thousand men under the civil service. It is our fixed policy not to appoint acting postmasters pending the holding of an examination, except where it is necessary to remove the postmaster at once for service reasons. I trust this information may be of help to you. WILLIAM D. FOULKE, Chairman LEWIS H. VAN DUSEN The Secretary read the report of the Committee on Resolutions. The report is as follows: The National Civi Service Reform League, assembled at its Forty-first Annual Meeting, adopts the following minutes: Resolutions of League 1. Presidential Postmasters should be appointed on a pure merit basis, and should be put under the Civil Service Law by act of Congress. President Harding, in abrogating the requirement that the highest on the list of candidates be submitted to him for appointment, and in allowing the Postmaster-General to submit to him one of the three highest and to seek the advice of members of Congress in making that choice, opens a door for spoilsmen that should be promptly closed. |