them for the drudgery of the world's work has been happily replaced by a broader humanity and a higher conception of the obliga tions of the body politic to all its members. Universal education, to the extent even of compulsion, is now accepted as the most urgent duty of the State, and it would be indeed a rash or thoughtless man who should say that the training of the common school made the watchman more stupid or the fingers of the mechanic less facile, or that such training is not useful in these and every other vocation in life.

In addition to these general objections to the competitive examinations, there are frequent challenges of the system based upon individual cases. It is occasionally asserted in conversation or in the public journals that some one has been rejected in the examinations, though eminently fitted to discharge the duties of the situation sought, and the charge is often made with such circumstance and force as to gain credence in the absence of denial. No doubt the accuser often believes he has good cause for complaint, and in rare cases the cause may be good. All human agencies are at times fallible, and now and then an individual competitor may accidentally be underrated by the examiners.

In practice all personal considerations are reduced to the minimum, and the grading of the several papers is made under regulations and invariable methods; but in the best devised plans errors of estimation may occasionally occur.

For such errors the regulations provide an accessible and prompt remedy by the opportunity given to every competitor to examine, personally or by agents, his papers and the markings thereon, and to have detected errors made by the examiners, corrected by the Commission upon protest.

Where the charge of injustice is made, however, by a friend of the competitor, it generally arises from an ignorance of all the facts or from that imperfect knowledge men usually have concerning the abilities of their friends. In every case within my ken, where protesting friends have examined the answers made by a presumptively aggrieved competitor and the marking thereof, they have professed astonishment at his mistakes or his ignorance. A man's associates may for years enjoy his social qualities and not suspect his ignorance of the "rule of three," or that he cannot spell correctly the simple every-day words in his mouth; or again his signal abilities in some one direction may blind them to his deficiencies in all others. When the accusation of injustice comes from the disappointed competitor himself, there is usually a striking illustration of self-deception. Again and again I have heard the protesting competitor declare that he had answered properly every question, and when confronted by these answers and the correct solutions sadly confess that he had overrated himself. The revelations in these cases that have come to my personal knowledge have illustrated an inherent defect in the patronage system, where an appointinent was based upon the personal representations of the appointee or the estimates

of his ability given by friends. Hereafter when any plausible accusation is publicly made that the methods of examination are incurably defective or their administration is unfair, because of individual failures to pass, it is to be hoped that the accuser will call for the complete record and abide by its public demonstration. It is due to the reputation of the examiners that their explanatory or defensive evidence should be as public as the accusation against them.

SUBJECTS IN EXAMINATIONS.

Recently the public attention has been attracted to the subjects on which competitors are examined and to the particular questions propounded to them. A part of this attention is due to an intelligent interest in the proper application of the new methods and a part has been aroused by the publication of fabricated questions for the purpose of depreciating the merit system. Scarcely a day passes without some public declaration that stokers are examined in geology and astronomy or policemen required to give the number of pints of water in the Mississippi or the latitude of Hong Kong. Absurd as are these inventions, their frequent repetition would indicate that they gain some credence with the ignorant, which is, undoubtedly, the purpose of their fabricators.

In the initiatory steps of a new system there must be something tentative which may be modified as experience is gained. Much in this direction has already been accomplished, and the examination papers are now much more satisfactory than at the outset, and improvements will continue to be made as examiners become more skilled. Whatever defects have existed in the examination papers, they have not been of a character to injure the service.

The general principles that have governed the preparation of examinations for the State service have been,, viz. :

1st. To require for every position vouchers as to moral character, sobriety and industrious habits, and of satisfactory physical condition.

2d. To demand for the lower positions the ability to read, write and perform the four fundamental processes in arithmetic; in fine to have the rudimentary education of the free schools.

3d. To make the examinations measure, so far as may be, the qualifications of the position sought, and with this purpose in view, to test general intelligence as evinced by information on such subjects as form a part of the ordinary education open to all citizens.

4th. Where the first position sought is of a series of grades, the lowest one, above which the vacancies are to be filled preferably by promotion, to make the examination, so far as possible, test the intellectual capacity and aptitude of the competitors to advance in proficiency and become worthy of promotion.

These general outlines will indicate why certain subjects, which do not superficially appear to be pertinent to the duties of a certain position, may be invaluable as tests of trained intelligence, requisite

not only for the narrow duties of the place immediately in view, but also for those to which the incumbent may be transferred or obliged to assume in the varied exigencies of the business in every public

office.

So far in the State service, competition has been confined to the educational examination, but the Brooklyn municipal examiners have extended it to matters of character, habits, reputation and business experience. The results of this interesting experiment will be of great value, and if successful, the method will undoubtedly be generally adopted.

In the published schemes for clerkships the range of subjects remains the same as at the date of the last report, except that to the optional list has been added "expert penmanship." Handwriting remains as one of the obligatory subjects and carries a large relative weight, but in order to supply a demand from several offices for expert penmen to be selected under the third section of the seventeenth rule, candidates are now permitted to exhibit their skill with the pen as a distinct accomplishment.

Spelling is tested by accuracy in writing down the words in matter dictated, and grammar by the general correctness in this respect of the answers to the questions on all subjects, or by original composition, as in letter-writing. These methods, being a true measure of practical acquirements, are superior to those which require the correction of misspelt words, or of false syntax in given sentences, both of which tend to become scholastic.

There has also been added to the obligatory subjects for messengers, orderlies, etc., "writing down from memory the substance of matter orally communicated." As the principal duties of employes in these grades are to carry out verbal orders, or to convey verbal messages, the above test of their intelligence, perception and memory is valuable.

The very comprehensive scheme of subjects for asylum physicians has been given under another head. A committee of the Bar Association of New York city has aided in the determination of subjects for examination of clerks and officers of the courts. A similar committee, appointed by the American Society of Civil Engineers, is in consultation with the Commission in the preparation of standards of qualification for the several grades of engineers in the State service, and in determining the subjects and scope of examination for testing such qualifications.

Whenever desired by them, the competitors have been examined in such optional subjects as have been placed on the respective schemes, and several have availed themselves of this chance to demonstrate proficiency in special branches of education.

For clerkships the optional subjects selected have been book-keeping and the French and German languages. In an examination for places in the Immigrant Depot at Castle Garden competitors were tested in the German, Swedish, Norwegian, French, Italian and

Spanish languages. The successful competitor for the place of third assistant physician at the Hudson River Hospital, was examined optionally in Latin, German, French, and in practical microscopy, standing high on all, and maximum on the last subject.

EXAMINING BOARDS.

The full statements accompanying the report of the Commission exhibit in the ample lists of examiners the great enlargement of its means for holding examinations not only at the capital but at all places in the State convenient to any considerable number of positions under the rules. The functions of the examiners under the civil service law are essentially judicial and great care has been taken to select for these positions citizens of such high reputation as would be a guaranty of absolute fairness in the conduct of the examinations. The discriminating care taken by the Commission in this respect has been reflected in the excellent condition of the records and in the fact that not a single allegation of injustice as to the conduct of the examination or in the grading of the candidates has yet been made. The notably high class of citizens who have accepted the position of examiner, in most cases as a gratuitous public duty, justifies the request of the Commission that induced the amendment to the law, permitting persons not in the State service to render these important duties. In every case where the citizen invited to act as examiner or representative could do so without injury to other trusts, he has accepted the appointment as an obligation of citizenship, and this in itself is a signal proof of the great popular interest in the regulation and improvement of the civil service under the law.

To these public-spirited gentlemen and to the capable general board at Albany I am greatly indebted for counsel and assistance in the examinations during the past year.

Their unselfish devotion to the highest public interests is convincing proof that in their hands there will be no retrogression in the work allotted to them in the future.

CIVIL SERVICE OF CITIES.

Under the direction of the Commission I have given a great deal of time to the regulations for the municipal service and have been in frequent consultation with the mayors of the several cities, particularly of Brooklyn and New York, and also with the respective examining boards.

I have already spoken of the important work, especially in the extension of competition, accomplished by the examining board of Brooklyn. The very able advisory board at New York has given great time to the preparation of regulations for that city, as also to a thorough classification of the service and the elaboration of methods of examination. Its report as also that of the Brooklyn examining board gives in detail the transactions in the two cities during the [Assem. Doc. No. 42.]

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past year. I have visited several other cities and believe that their mayors are now generally prepared to enforce the regulations as required by the statute.

The beneficent results of a plan that rescues the public service from partisan greed and abuses, and from selfish perversions through patronage, will be more patent in the great cities than elsewhere. The methods prescribed in New York and Brooklyn for the examination of candidates for the police force, based upon the report made at your request by a committee of which Mr. Edward Cary, of New York, was chairman, are the most thorough and satisfactory tests of qualification for executive places yet devised anywhere.

When relieved from certain features of dependence upon the police board and certain antagonistic legal provisions which now weaken their force, these methods will in time raise the police force of these cities to the highest degree of efficiency.

The growth of a healthy public interest in municipal reform has been aided by the full application of the civil service law to the cities and that interest will sustain and encourage the officers intrusted with the enforcement of the regulations.

In closing this report I beg leave to return my thanks for the kind consideration, courtesy and cordial support in my official work extended to me by yourself and your associates.

I have the honor to be very respectfully yours,

SILAS W. BURT,

Chief Examiner.