tion at a salary of $1,800 per annum and house rent. The examination covered natural sciences, French, German, editing and proof reading, cataloguing and indexing. From the successful candidates an appointment has been made which I am informed is very satisfactory to the authorities of the station.

An examination for chief clerk in the State Board of Charities was held on February 3d, the position seeming to require a knowledge of office work and affairs beyond that represented by our general list of clerks.

The examinations for draughtsmen, both engineering and architectural, have been extended from one day to two days of eight hours each, so as to give opportunity to the candidates to do a considerable amount of careful draughting in the examination in answer to set questions. This plan was pursued in the examinations of February 10th and 11th and August 27th and 28th. The results have been more satisfactory to the examiners than any that have been obtained in a one day's examination.

The cessation of contract labor in the State prisons necessitated the establishment of several new industries to supply the demands of the various State and municipal officers and boards. Competitive examinations were held on March 4th for superintendent of cabinet-making industry, superintendent of clothmaking industry and superintendent of printing industry; on April 22d for superintendent of the Goodyear shoe industry and on May 18th for foreman of the knitting industry, in the various prisons. In each of these examinations the questions related entirely to the experience and practical knowledge required for the position. They were prepared by experts in the various industries and the successful candidates appointed have proven satisfactory to all concerned.

On March 23d at Elmira and Albany was held an examination for telegrapher. The subjects of examination were the same as for clerks with the addition of a practical test in telegraphy. This test was conducted in Albany by the superintendent of the local Western Union office and in Elmira by the telegrapher at the Elmira Reformatory. The practical exercise consisted in

the sending and receiving of messages exactly as would be done in a telegraph office. From the resulting list several appointments have been made.

Three examinations have been held during the year for the position of assistant manual training instructor at the Elmira Reformatory, and one for a similar position at the State Industrial School. Although the requirement of residence in New York State was suspended by the Commission in each of these cases, it was necessary to repeat the examination before suitable candidates could be obtained. The supply of properly schooled instructors in these branches seems to be smaller than the demand.

On March 23d and 24th examinations were held for the positions of statistical clerk and inspector of teachers' training classes in the Department of Public Instruction. The examination for inspector covered all the subjects included in the uniform examinations of the department, especial weight being laid upon the history of education, school management and methods. The examination for statistical clerk was identical with the first day's examination for inspector, and covered spelling, arithmetic, algebra, grammar and composition, bookkeeping, civil government and school law.

In the examinations for stenographer and typewriter, in order to avoid the inconvenience resulting from the large number of declinations of appointment to low grade positions by those on the eligible list, we have held graded examinations. The candidates for the first grade (salary under $600 per annum), being required to take dictation at ninety words per minute; for the second grade (salary $600 to $900 per annum), at 120 words per minute, and for the third grade (salary over $900 per annum), at 150 words per minute. The bulk of the appointments in the State departments are made from the second grade list, and we have heard many compliments of the work done by the appointees from that list. The State institutions on the other hand pay lower salaries and take their stenographers from the first grade list. These persons although competent stenographers have not

as a rule had a great deal of experience and cannot be made so generally useful as those in the higher grades. In order that the dictation at the various places in these examinations shall be uniform, they have been conducted in person either by myself or Mr. Saxton, as I felt it would be unfair to candidates in different parts of the State to be tested by dictation of the different local examiners. The speed of ninety words per minute seems to be a high one for a minimum requirement, but it is found that a very large percentage of the candidates who have taken a thorough course in stenography and had a little actual office practice are able to write successfully at this speed when the dictation is careful and distinct. Examinations for stenographers were held in April and October in eleven cities of the State.

Examinations were held at the Elmira Reformatory on April 15th and 16th for director of trades schools, and on June 12th for director of schools. The trades schools and common English schools of the Reformatory are taught very largely by convict instructors, with the assistance of a few outside instructors employed by the hour. The two directors mentioned have charge respectively of the two kinds of schools and select the convict teachers and to a certain extent instruct them. Special attention was paid to the thoroughness of the education of candidates and to their experience as fitting them for the duties of the positions.

As soon as practicable, after the promulgation of the new rules on July 1st, arrangements were made for a general examination to be held in a large number of cities, to provide merit lists for as many as possible of the positions for which frequent demands are made. Nineteen cities were selected, covering the whole area of the State in such a way that no candidate should be more than fifty or sixty miles from an examination.

Examining boards were selected in each of the cities and villages and examinations were held on August 27th and 28th for thirty-four positions, for which we endeavor to keep standing eligible lists. The only important positions not covered were that of stenographer, the examination for which requires the

presence of an examiner from the office, and some local and special positions which can be held at any time in single cities. The resulting merit lists have proved sufficient for the requirements of appointing officers to date, and a large number of appointments have been made from them, and provision will be made for holding similar examinations in January to supplement those lists which are being depleted, and to provide such new ones as time has shown are necessary. In preparing for this examination, each appointing officer has been asked to suggest any examinations which he desires to have held for his department.

On September 9th, examinations were held for moulding instructor at the Elmira Reformatory and for Superintendent of the House of Refuge at Hudson. The former consisted wholly of practical questions, relating to the trade of moulding and the experience of the applicants. The latter covered experience, New York State geography and government, including questions relating to houses of refuge, letter writing, physiology and hygiene, sanitation and housekeeping.

Examinations were held on September 14th for instructor in bookbinding, and on October 30th for instructor in upholstering in the State Industrial School. In each case the questions were prepared by experts, and related to experience and technical knowledge.

The usual difficulty in securing sufficient eligibles for the medical positions in the State hospitals has been experienced, and numerous examinations have been found necessary for the positions of junior physician and medical interne. Such examinations were held in February, April, June, August and October, and further examinations have been advertised for January.

On October 23d an examination, the first of its kind, was held for building inspectors on contract work in the Department of the State Architect. The examination was prepared by the chief of the inspection force in the bureau of buildings in New York city, with the assistance of the head draughtsman in the office of the State Architect, and many of the candidates were architects of a high grade.

On December 11th was held an examination for the position of tax clerk in the office of the Attorney-General covering the experience of candidates, general legal knowledge and special legal knowledge of tax laws and land titles, including the regularity and validity of assessments, tax sales and conveyances. The number of candidates was small, but a large percentage were well qualified.

On December 28th an examination was held at Albany, Syracuse and Plattsburgh for the position of inspector of schools in the examination department of the University of the State of New York. Eleven candidates were present, many of whom had long experience in public school work. The subjects of examination were experience, history of education and school economy. Continued effort has been made in all cases of new examinations to adapt the subject matter of the examination to the duties of the position, and to test so far as possible the capacity of candidates for the work they were to undertake. Considerations of age, personal character and physical ability have, however, been left almost entirely to the fitness examination. It would be possible to take up these matters more thoroughly if special examiners could be employed to deal with, and the results of our examinations would no doubt be fortified by such a course. Unless such tests are very thoroughly and carefully conducted, however, they do not add much to the value of the examination reports and are particularly open to criticism.

CLASS III EXAMINATIONS.

The non-competitive examinations for positions in Class III have been continued on the lines pursued heretofore. There is a great difference among the various local boards conducting these examinations, in the standard maintained. In some institutions the examinations are carefully conducted and considerable effort is made to adapt the examinations to the requirements of the various positions to be filled. In many cases, however, the work is performed by the local boards in a perfunctory manner and the examinations are comparatively worthless as a means of de