not be effectively provided for until a retirement system is established which will make provision for this class of employees.

The commission believes that a contributory plan is the only just and practicable one for the retirement of employees, and earnestly recommends its adoption at an early date.

SERVICE RECORDS.

The commission maintains a service history of employees in the classified service as a check upon irregular or illegal appointments. The Census Office publishes once in two years the Official Register, which is a directory or finding list of names of officers and employees, with their positions, salaries, and States from which appointed. The register, however, being arranged alphabetically, is of little value for statistical or comparative purposes and is quickly out of date. The service records, on the other hand, being kept up to date on the card system, are far more valuable and useful. Several bills have been introduced in Congress to avoid this duplication, to provide at less expense for one uniform and complete card record of the entire executive civil branch of the service to be kept by the commission, from which reliable statistics and current information might be readily obtained. This record may be supplemented by a volume issued annually containing only the names of the more important officials, and general information respecting the personnel. This plan is approved by the Department of Commerce, which publishes the Official Register, and is heartily approved and recommended by the commission. (For details of this plan see pp. 169-171, Thirtieth Report.)

NEEDS OF THE COMMISSION.

CLERKS AND EXAMINERS.

For several years the increase in number of clerks and examiners in the commission's Washington office has not kept pace with the increase in the number of persons required to be examined. It is true that for each of the last three years Congress has increased this force, but the increase has not been large enough to take care of the increase of work. The result is that the examining work has been greatly in arrears, and especially so during the past year. In an endeavor to catch up with the work all of the force was required to work at least one hour overtime for several months. In addition several thousand examination papers were rated in the New York office, where it was found possible to obtain the detail for this purpose of a number of employees of the Post Office Service. Had it not been for these expedients the work would probably have been so

far in arrears at this time as to preclude the possibility of bringing it up to date until some time after an increase in force could be obtained through Congress. Labor-saving methods and devices have been put into operation to reduce the amount of work to be done on each set of papers without affecting the accuracy of the result. However, all of the efforts to keep the work current have been without avail, because it has come in faster than the present force has been able to take care of it. The following statement, it is believed, will show why the recent increases in the force have not been adequate to take care of the increases in the work:

During the fiscal year 1912 the number of clerks and examiners in the commission's Washington office was 151. The number of persons examined for the classified service that year was 106,078.

For the fiscal year 1913 Congress made an increase of 1 in the force of clerks and examiners; during that year 141,905 persons were examined for the classified service, an increase of 33.7 per cent.

For 1914 Congress increased the force by 12, making the total number 164, or 8.6 per cent greater than in 1912; but the number examined was 198,099, an increase of 39.6 per cent over 1913, and an increase of 86.7 per cent over 1912. This increase does not, of course, take into account the number examined for fourth-class postmaster at offices where the incumbent had not been appointed through examination, separate appropriation having been made for this job of work.

For the current fiscal year (1915) an increase of 10 has been made in the force, or 6.1 per cent, making the total number of clerks and examiners now employed in the commission's office 174.

For the fiscal year 1916 the commission has estimated for an increase of 35 clerks, or 20.1 per cent increase.

To state the matter in another way: The number of persons examined in a year is a fair indication of the volume of work devolving upon the commission's force. The increase in number of competitors in 1913 per capita of clerks and examiners was 32.9 per cent over the year 1912; in 1914, when there had been an increase in the force, the per capita volume of work increased still further, being 72 per cent greater than in 1912. In 1915 there is an increase of 10 in the number of clerks and examiners over 1914, but if the volume of work for the year 1915 is no greater than it was in 1914 the amount per capita to be done will be 62 per cent greater than in 1912. If Congress should grant the commission the 35 additional clerks and examiners as estimated for 1916, and if the number of persons examined is not greater than in 1914, the per capita volume of work will still be more than 35 per cent greater than it was in 1912.

The commission does not hold any examination until the needs of the service so require. Consequently, when there is undue delay

in obtaining the results of the examination the service is affected detrimentally.

PRINTING AND BINDING.

An estimate of $60,000 has been submitted for printing and binding for the fiscal year 1916. This estimate is based upon the actual needs of the commission, as shown by expenditures during the fiscal years 1914 and 1915. The appropriation for 1914 was $45,000, and subsequently a deficiency appropriation of $8,000 was secured, making the total for the year $53,000. This amount was not sufficient to meet the commission's needs, and printing to the amount of $4,987 which should have been completed during that year was carried over and charged against the fiscal year 1915. The appropriation for the fiscal year 1915 was $45,000. Prior to November 1 requisitions had been drawn amounting to $20,985.26, while $1,489.81 had been reserved for the printing of examination questions and announcements, leaving only $115.93 available for the general printing of the commission to January 1, 1915. A deficiency appropriation of $15,128.42 has been requested of Congress for the balance of the fiscal year. This amount is based upon the expenditures for the corresponding period of the last fiscal year, making the estimated expenditures for the year $60,128.42. During the fiscal year 1910 the commission's appropriation for printing and binding was $35,000. In 1911, 1912, and 1913 it was $40,000. The appropriation for 1914 was $45,000, with the subsequent addition of a deficiency appropriation of $8,000, making a total of $53,000. The commission requested an appropriation of $55,000 for the fiscal year 1915, but was granted only $45,000. The insufficiency of the appropriations has caused a growing deficit from year to year, thereby hampering each year's appropriation by charges for work which should have been done in the previous year but which could not be done on account of lack of appropriation. The necessity for an increased appropriation is found in the expansion of the classified service and the increased number of applicants for examinations. The utmost care has been exercised to limit printing to the actual needs of the service, and wherever possible the flexotype has been used, thereby saving the cost of printing. The number of applications during the fiscal year 1914 increased more than 80 per cent over the number received during the fiscal year 1912, but the commission's appropriation increased only 32.5 per cent, and the increase of appropriation requested is only 50 per cent greater than the appropriation of 1912.

TRAVELING EXPENSES.

An estimate of $20,000 has been submitted for travel for 1916. The appropriation for 1914 was $12,000. Later a deficiency appro

priation of $7,500 was secured, making a total for the year of $19,500. The appropriation for 1915 is $12,000. The amount asked for next year is $8,000 more than is available for the current year (1915), but only $500 more than the amount available for 1914, including the deficiency appropriation. It will probably be necessary for the commission to ask Congress for a deficiency appropriation this year. The expenses for travel have greatly increased during the past few years, due largely to the necessity of holding examinations for rural carriers and fourth-class postmasters on the occurrence of vacancies. With the appropriation available it has been necessary frequently to have rural-carrier examinations conducted by fourth-class postmasters instead of by representatives of the commission, and where the commission's boards of examiners have conducted examinations it has often been necessary for the competitors to travel considerable distances to the places designated. Much investigation which would have been of advantage has necessarily been omitted owing to inadequate appropriation.

STATIONERY.

An estimate of $9,000 has been submitted for stationery for 1916. The appropriation for 1914 was $5,500, to which a deficiency appropriation of $1,000 was added, making the total for the year $6,500. The appropriation for 1915 is $6,500, being an increase of $1,000. This increase was the first the commission had been granted since 1906.

The appropriation in 1906 was $5,000; in 1914, including the deficiency appropriation, it was $6,500. The increase in number examined in 1914 over the number examined in 1906 was more than 100 per cent, while the increase in appropriation during that period was only 30 per cent, and the amount requested for 1916 is an increase of only 80 per cent over the 1906 appropriation.

We have the honor to be, very respectfully,

The PRESIDENT,

The White House.

JOHN A. McILHENNY,
CHAS. M. GALLOWAY,
HERMON W. CRAVEN,

Commissioners.

The COMMISSION:

REPORT OF THE CHIEF EXAMINER.

OCTOBER 10, 1914.

The following report is respectfully submitted of the work done under the supervision of the chief examiner during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1914:

The following table shows the number of persons examined and appointed during

1 In addition to these, 26,298 persons were examined and 3,515 appointed during the fiscal year, under the Executive order of May 7, 1913, requiring competitive examinations for the fourth-class post offices at which the incumbents had not been appointed under the regulations. For this work a special appropriation was authorized by Congress.

In addition to the foregoing, certain examinations were held for services not in the classified service of the United States, with the following results:

1 Report showing the results of the examinations of all persons examined for designation as cadet or midshipman is made to the Representative in Congress for whom such examination is held.

There were 364 different kinds of educational examinations held according to title or kind of position. The noneducational type of examination was given for a large number of different kinds of mechanical trades positions, but the form of examination being the same for each kind of position, the number of different titles is omitted from this report.

As compared with the year 1913 there was an increase of 56,194, or over 39 per cent, in the number examined for the classified service. Compared with the number examined in 1912 there was an increase of over 87 per cent. In addition to this increase in the regular current work of the commission, 26,298 persons were examined for fourth-class postmaster under the Executive order of May 7, 1913, as herein shown; and, including this work, there was an increase during the past fiscal year in the number examined of over 58 per cent as compared with the year 1913 and of over 111 per cent as compared with the year 1912.

The number examined for professional, scientific, and technical positions during the past year was 24,995, as compared with 7,269 for 1913, an increase of about 244 per cent. The work connected with each of the examinations in this class is much greater than for one of the clerical or subclerical examinations.