TABLE 1. Showing, by kinds of examination and sex, number of persons examined and number that passed... 2. Showing total number of appointments during the year ended June 30, 1929; the number appointed by sex, from different kinds of examinations, which gives number of persons ex- anined and the number that passed; whether such appoint- ments were made in the departments at Washington or in the field service, and the range of salaries at which appoint- 3. Apportionment of appointments from July 16, 1883, to June 4. Showing, for all branches of the classified service, the number examined, the number that passed, the per cent that passed, the number appointed, the per cent appointed of those that passed, and the approximate number of competitive classi- fied positions in the service during the several periods covered FORTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION WASHINGTON, D. C., November 4, 1929. SIR: The merit system of appointment, established by the civil service act and rules, is increasingly effective in regulating and improving the civil service. The highest scientific, technical, and professional positions are being successfully filled through the examinations and we urge the extension of the system to the selection and tenure of all nonpolitical employees. The standard of employees is being systematically raised. In the early days of the classified service only a mental test was required. In time this was supplemented by a physical examination and where appropriate, a marking on experience. Now, for many places of trust, a searching character investigation is made. EXAMINATIONS AND APPOINTMENTS The number of persons examined by the commission during each of the last three fiscal years for original appointment, promotion, transfer, or reinstatement for positions classified under the civil service rules, and positions not so classified, and also the number appointed each year as the result of such examinations, are shown in the following table: The last fiscal year marked a further increase in appointments. The departmental increase was due, not to additional activities in any single department, but to a general need for a larger force. While employment was likewise increased throughout the field serv 1 |