CIVIL SERVICE LAWS. The term "Civil Service Act" refers to an act of Congress "to regulate and improve the Civil Service of the United States," approved January 16, 1883, which gave the power to the President to appoint, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, three persons, not more than two of whom shall be adherents of the same party, as a commission, with authority to prescribe regulations in pursuance of and for the execution of the provisions of the rules and of the Civil Service Act. The act requires that the rules shall provide among other things for open competitive examinations for testing fitness of applicants for the public service, the filling of classified positions by selections from among those passing with highest grades, an apportionment of appointments in the departments at Washington among the States and Territories, a period of probation before absolute appointment, and the prohibition of the use of official authority to coerce the political action of any person or body. The act also provides for investigations touching the enforcement of the rules promulgated, and forbids, under penalty of fine or imprisonment, or both, the solicitation by any person in the service of the United States of contributions to be used for political purposes from persons in such service, or the collection of such contributions by any person in a government building. The terms used in the regulations are: "Classified Service," referring to all that part of the executive Civil Service of the United States included within the provisions of the act; "Grade." referring to a group of employes or positions in the classified service arranged upon a basis of duties performed without regard to salaries received; "Class," referring to a group of employes or positions in any grade arranged upon the basis of salaries received, and "Excepted Position," referring to any position within the provisions of the Civil Service Act, but excepted from the requirement of competitive examination or registration for appointment thereto. The Executive Civil Service in 1906 embraced about 326,000 positions, with a payroll of about $200,000,000. One hundred and eighty-four thousand one hundred and seventy-eight positions are subject to competitive examination under the civil service act and rules. Of the holders of positions not subject to competition nearly 70,000 are postmasters, 4,500 pension examining surgeons, about 3.000 Indians in minor positions in the Indian service, and about 7,000 nominees subject to confirmation by the Senate. Examinations are also now prescribed for the consular service under a board in the State Department outside the civil service rules. Examinations are held in every State and Territory at least twice a year. They relate as nearly as possible to the duties to be performed and, wherever pracAdmissions and Removals. ticable, include practical tests. No one is certified for appointment whose standing in any examination is less than 70 per cent, except soldiers and sailors having preference under Section 1,754 of the Revised Statutes, who need obtain but 65 per cent. A certificate is given to each person examined, stating whether he or she passed or failed to pass. Upon requisition of an appointing officer the commission certifies the names of three eligibles for the position desired to be filled, and from the eligibles thus certified selections are made. Provision is also made in the rules for the filling of positions by promotion, reduction, reinstatement or transfer. During the fiscal year 1905-06 117,277 persons were examined, of whom 91,345 passed and 39,050 were appointed. Persons discharged from the military or naval service by reason of disability resulting from wounds or sickness incurred in the line of duty who receive a rating of at least 65 are certified first for appointment, All others are required to obtain a rating of 70 or more to become eligible. The rule barring reinstatement after a separation of one year does not apply to any person honorably discharged after service in the Civil War or the war with Spain, or his widow, or an army nurse of either war. The revision of the rules promulgated by President Roosevelt on March 20, 1903, contains this limitation on the power of removal: "No person shall be removed from a competitive position, except for such cause as will promote the efficiency of the public service, and for reasons given in writing, and the person whose removal is sought shall have notice and be furnished a copy thereof, and be allowed a reasonable time for personally answering the same in writing; but no examination of witnesses nor any trial or hearing shall be required except in the discretion of the officer making the removal. Copy of such reasons, notice and answer, and of the order of removal, shall be made a part of the records of the proper department or office, as shall also the reasons for any change in rank or compensation, and the commission shall upon request be furnished with copies or the originals thereof." On October 17, 1905, President Roosevelt issued an order modifying the conditions of removal as follows: "When the President or head of an executive department is satisfied that an officer or employe in the classified service is inefficient or incapable, and that the public service will be materially improved by his removal, such removal will be made without hearing; but the cause of removal shall be stated in writing and filed. When misconduct is committed in the view and presence of the President or head of executive department, removal may be made summarily and without notice." The rules also forbid any person in the executive Civil Service "to use his official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election or affecting the result thereof." They provide that no discrimination shall be exercised, threatened or promised by any person in the executive Civil Service against or in favor of an applicant, eligible or employe in the classified service because of his political or religious opinions or affiliations. Persons who served in the military or naval service of the United States and were discharged by reason of disabilities resulting from wounds or sickness incurred in the line of duty have under the rules a certain preference. They are released from all maximum age limitation, are eligible for appointment at a grade of 65 (while all others are obliged to obtain a grade of 70), and are certified to appointing officers before non-veterans. By two executive orders, one of July 3, 1902, and the other of March 26, 1903, President Roosevelt directed that appointments of all unclassified laborers in departments in Washington be made in accordance with registration tests for fitness, and extended those tests to laborers and workmen in the government employment in such other large cities as might be agreed on by heads of departments and the Civil Service Commission. In addition to the home service, the commission holds examinations for positions in the Isthmus of Panama Canal zone, in the Philippines, Porto Rico and Hawaii. Besides examinations for positions in the classified service, the commission also holds examinations for entrance to the Naval Academy, the municipal government of the District of Columbia, including the office of the Recorder of Deeds, and for laborers in the departments at Washington and in the large cities of the country. Appointments of unclassified laborers in the departments at Washington and in the large cities under executive order are required to be made in accordance with regulations restricting appointment to applicants who are rated highest in physical condition. The system, however, is outside the Civil Service act and rules. In pursuance of an act of Congress approved April 12, 1900, the civil authority of the United States succeeded the military in Porto Rico. Inasmuch as the ex In Porto Rico and Hawali. ecutive officers and employes under this act became a part of the executive Civil Service of the United States they were held to come within the operations of the Civil Service act and rules. There are approximately 301 federal positions, of which 152 are subject to competitive educational examination, 81 subject to competitive registration, 20 are excepted and 48 are not subject to classification. In Hawaii the same classes of positions are embraced within the classified Civil Service as are included in that service in other Territories. On September 19, 1900, the United States Philippine Commission passed an "act for the establishment and maintenance of an efficient and honest Civil Service in the Philippine Islands." The act provides for a Civil SerIn the Philippines. vice Board of three persons, which is authorized to prepare rules for appointments and promotions according to merit and by competitive examination as far as practicable. The act applies with few exceptions to all appointments of civilians to positions under the civil government, and vacancies in the highest positions must be filled by promotion. On November 30, 1900, the President issued an order directing the United States Civil Service Commission to render such assistance as may be practicable to the Philippine Civil Service Board. In accordance with this order the commission examined 1,174 persons for the Philippine service during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1902, and 534 during the fiscal year ending June 30, 1903 These examinations were for positions requiring professional, technical, scientific or special clerical ability, as natives are appointed to all positions for which they are competent. The revised Civil Service rules provide that those who enter the Philippine Service are eligible for transfer to the home service after three years' employment in the Philippines. POSTAL LAWS-GENERAL POSTAL INFORMATION. Classes of Domestic Mail Matter.-Domestic mail is divided into four classes, as follows: First Class-Letters, postal cards, private mailing cards and matter wholly or partly in writing, whether sealed or unsealed (except manuscript copy accompanying proof sheets or corrected proof sheets of the same), and all matter sealed or otherwise closed against inspection. Rates of postage-Two cents per ounce or fraction thereof. Postal cards, one cent each. "Post Cards" with written messages, conforming approximately to government postal cards in quality and weight and to the regulations prescribed by the Postmaster General, one cent each. On "drop" letters, two cents per ounce or fraction thereof, when mailed at letter carrier offices, or when mailed at offices which are not letter carrier offices, if rural free delivery has been established and the persons addressed can be served by rural carrier. The only drop letters entitled to the one cent drop letter rate of postage are those deposited in post offices where neither letter carrier nor rural delivery service has been established and those deposited in postoffices where rural delivery service has been established, and the persons addressed cannot be served by rural carrier, because they reside beyond the limits of the rural delivery service. Second Class-Newspapers and publications issued at stated intervals as often as four times a year, bearing a date of issue and numbered consecutively, issued from a known office of publication, and formed of printed paper sheets, without board, cloth, leather or other substantial binding. Such publications must be originated and published for the dissemination of information of a public character, or devoted to literature, the sciences, art, or some special industry. They must have a legitimate list of subscribers equal to 50 per cent of the number of copies regularly issued and circulated, and must not be designed primarily for advertising purposes, or for free circulation, or at nominal rates, or have the characteristics of books. Rate of postage-For publishers and news agents, one cent a pound or fraction thereof. For others than publishers and news agents, one cent for each four ounces or fraction thereof. Third class--Books, periodicals and matter wholly in print (not included in second class), proof sheets, corrected proof sheets and manuscript copy accompanying the same. Rate of postage-One cent for each two ounces or fraction thereof. Seeds, scions, cuttings, roots and plants, and also correspondence of the blind printed in raised characters, and sent unsealed, are mailable at third class rates. The insertion of the date, name of the addressee and sender in writing does not impair the rights of a circular to the third class. Fourth Class-Merchandise, namely, all matter not embraced in the other three classes, and which is not in its form or nature liable to destroy, deface or otherwise damage the contents of the mail bag, or harm the person of any one engaged in the postal service, and not above the weight provided by law. Rate of postage One cent per ounce or fraction thereof. Payment of Postage. On first class matter the postage should be fully prepaid, but if two cents in stamps be affixed the matter will be dispatched with the deficient postage rated thereon, to be collected of addressee before delivery. Packages of first class matter exceeding four (4) pounds in weight must be fully prepaid; but letters and packages of first class matter weighing less than four (4) pounds when prepaid one full letter rate will be dispatched and the deficiency collected of the addressee. The fee is 8 cents, in addition to postage, and must invariably be prepaid. Limit of Weight.-A package must not exceed four pounds in weight, unless it be a single book. Second class matter and fully prepaid first class matter are not subject to the four pound limitation. Registry System.-All mailable matter may be registered if fully prepaid with ordinary postage stamps, but not matter addressed to fictitious names, other than legitimate trade names, initials or box numbers, or bearing vague and indefinite addresses. The registry fee is eight cents, in addition to the postage, both of which must invariably be prepaid. Money Order System.-Fees for money orders are as follows: 3 cents to 30 cents for orders on Domestic form payable in the United States and Island possessions (Porto Rico, Hawaii, Guam and the Philippine Islands), the United States Postal Agency at Shanghai, in Canada, Cuba and Newfoundland, and in Barbados, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent (West Indies); 8 cents to 50 cents for International orders payable in Austria, Bahamas, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, British Guiana, British Honduras, Chili, Costa Rica, Denmark, Egypt, Hungary, Jamaica, Japan, Leeward Islands, Liberia, Luxemburg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Sweden, Switzerland, Transvaal and Trinidad; 10 cents to $1 for International orders payable in Apia (Samoa), Cape Colony, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Honduras (Republic), Hongkong, Italy, New South Wales, Portugal, Queensland, Russia, Salvador, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. The maximum amount of a single order is $100. International money orders may be issued up to $100, which is the maximum, except for orders issued and payable in Cape Colony, for which the maximum amount is $50. Postal Conventions.-Postal conventions are now in operation for the exchange of money orders between the United States and the following countries: Great Britain, Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Newfoundland, Jamaica, New South Wales, Victoria, New-Zealand, Queensland, Cape Colony, Windward Islands (Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent and St. Lucia), Leeward Islands (Antigua, St. Christopher-Nevis, Dominica, Montserrat and the Virgin Islands), Belgium, Portugal (including the Azores and Madeira), Tasmania, Sweden, Norway, Japan, Denmark, Netherlands, Bahama Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, Austria-Hungary, British Guiana, Luxembourg, Bermuda, South Australia, Salvador, Chili, Honduras, Egypt, Hong Kong, British Honduras, Cuba, Russia, Mexico, Bolivia, Apia (Samoa), Costa Rica, Greece, Liberia, Peru and the Transvaal. Special Delivery.-The regulations governing "rapid" or "special delivery" provide that any article of mailable matter bearing a 10c. special delivery stamp, in addition to the lawful postage, is entitled to immediate delivery on its arrival at any United States postoffice between the hours of 7 a. m. and 11 p. m., if the office be of the free delivery class, and between the hours of 7 a. m. and 7 p. m., and to the arrival of the last mail, provided this be not later than 9 p. m., if the office be other To entitle such a letter to immediate delivery the resithan a free delivery office. dence or place of business of the addressee must be within the regular letter carrier limits of a free delivery office, and within one mile of any other office. Special delivery articles are also delivered by rural carriers to bona fide patrons of their routes (those who have erected approved boxes), provided they live not exceeding Special delivery stamps are not available for the payone mile from the route. ment of postage, nor can ordinary postage stamps be used to secure immediate delivery of mail matter. Foreign Postage Rates.-The rates of postage to all foreign countries and colomes (except Canada, Cuba, Panama and Mexico) are as follows: Letters 15 grams (1⁄2 ounce), 5c.; postal cards, each, 2c.; double postal cards, each, 4c.; newspapers and other printed matter, per 2 ounces, 1c. Commercial papers: Packets not in excess of 10 ounces, 5c; packets in excess of 10 ounces, for each 2 ounces or fraction thereof, 1c. Sample of merchandise packets not in excess of 4 ounces, 2c.; packets in excess of 4 ounces, for each 2 ounces or fraction thereof, 1c. Registration fee on letters or other articles, 8c. Ordinary letters for any foreign country (except Canada and Mexico) must be forwarded whether any postage is prepaid on them or not. All other mailable matter must be prepaid, at least partially. Matter mailed in the United States addressed to Canada, Cuba, Panama or Mexico is subject to the same postage rates and conditions as it would be if itwere addressed for delivery in the United States. Full prepayment is required upon all registered articles; and postage upon all articles other than letters is required to be prepaid, at least in part. If the postage is not prepaid in full, double the amount of the deficiency will be collected of the addressee when the article is delivered. The rate on "commercial papers" per 2 ounces is the same as for "printed matter," except that the lowest charge on any package, whatever its weight, is 5c. The rate on samples of merchandise per 2 ounces is also the same as for "printed matter,' except that the lowest charge on any package, whatever its weight, is 2c. Articles of every kind and nature which are admitted to the United States domestic mails are admitted, at our domestic postage rates and conditions, to the mails exchanged between the United States and the United States Postal Agency at Shanghai, China. Articles addressed for delivery at the following places in China, namely: Chefoo (Yentai), Chin-Kiang, Chung-King, Hankow, Hang-Chow, Ichang, Kaiping, Kaigan, Kinkiang, Nanking, New-Chwang, Ningpo, Ourga, Peking, Shanghai, Taku, Tienstin, Wenchow, Wuchang, Wuhu and Yentai, are transmissible in the mails made up at San Francisco, Seattle and Tacoma for the United States Postal Agency at Shanghai; but at places other than Shanghai additional charges for postage may be collected of the addressees upon the delivery of the articles. Parcels Post.-The first parcels post convention between the United States and any country in Europe was signed between the United States and Germany on August 26, 1899, and went into operation October 1. It was the beginning of a postal service by means of which articles of merchandise may be exchanged by mail between the two countries, provided they are put up in packages which do not exceed 4 pounds 6 ources in weight. The postage rate for parcels going from the United States to Germany is fixed at 12c. for each pound or fraction of a pound. The rate in Germany on parcels for the United States is fixed at 1 mark 40 pfennigs a parcel, whatever its weight. Provision is made for customs declaration and payment. The United States had parcels post conventions with several countries in Central and South America and the West India Islands, but this was the first convention made with any country in Europe. Similar conventions were signed with Great Britain, effective on April 1, and with Australia, effective on August 1, 1905. The law empowers the Postmaster General to make such conventions by and with the advice and consent of the President. Postage Rates Between the United States, Cuba and Island Possessions.All mail matter sent between the United States and Cuba, the Island of Guam, the Philippine Archipelago, or Tutuila (including all adjacent islands of the Samoan group which are possessions of the United States), or from one to another of these islands, is subject to the United States domestic classification, conditions and rates of postage. NATURALIZATION LAWS. The naturalization system of the United States was amended and enlarged by an act of Congress, approved June 29, 1906, a full synopsis of which is given elsewhere in this volume, under "The Fifty-ninth Congress, Acts and Resolutions of the First Session," pages 99-103. War. PENSION LAWS AND STATISTICS. Its The act of March 18, 1818, thirty-five years after the termination of the Revolutionary War, was the first general act passed granitng a pension for service only. beneficiaries were required to be in indigent circumstances and in need of assistance. About 1820 Congress became alarmed at the large number of apRevolutionary plicants for pensions under this act (there were about 8,000) and on May 1, 1820, passed what has been known as the "alarm act," which required all pensioners then on the roll to furnish a schedule of the amount of property then in their possession. Many of the pensioners whose schedules showed they possessed too much property were dropped from the rolls.. Penstoners were dropped who owned as small an amount as $150 worth of property. On May 15, 1828, or forty-five years after the war, service pension was granted to those who served to the end of the war of the Revolution. On June 7, 1832, or forty-nine years after the close of the war, & general law was enacted pensioning survivors who served not less than six months in said war. On July 4, 1836, being fifty-three years after the termination of the war, an act was passed granting pension for five years to Revolutionary War widows, provided they were married to the soldier or sailor before the close of his last service and that his service was not less than six months. On July 7, 1838, or fifty-five years after the close of the war, the above act was amended so as to provide where the marriage took place before January 1, 1794. On July 29, 1848, or sixty-five years after the war, the above laws were amended to include those who were married prior to January 1, 1800. On February 3, 1853, or seventy years after the war, an act was passed striking out the limitation as to date of marriage. The first law granting pension for service in the War of 1812 was passed February 14, 1871, fifty-six years after the close of the war. This act required sixty days' service, and widows were not entitled unless they were married War of to soldier or sailor prior to the treaty of peace February 17, 1815. 1812. The act of March 9, 1878, sixty-three years after the close of the war, reduced the period of service to fourteen days, and made no On July 27, 1892, fifty years after period included in the act, pension was provided for those who served thirty days in the Black Hawk, Creek, Cherokee and Florida limitation as to date of marriage in case of widows. wars with Seminole Indians from 1832 to 1842 and to their widows. On June 27. 1902, Indian the benefits of said act were extended from that date to the survivors of the Florida and Georgia Seminole Indian war of 1817 and 1818; the Fevre River Indian war of Illinois of 1827; the Sac and Fox Indian war of 1831; the Sabine Indian disturbances of 1836 and 1837; the Cayuse Indian war of 1847-48 on the Pacific coast; the Florida wars with the Seminole Indians from 1842 to 1858; the Texas and New Mexico Indian war of 1849 to 1856; the California Indian disturbances of 1851 and 1852, the Utah Indian disturbances of 1850 to 1853, and the Oregon and the Washington Territory Indian wars from 1851 to 1856, and to the surviving widows. On January 29, 1887, thirty-nine years after the close of the war, an act was passed providing for soldiers and sailors and their widows for service of sixty days, if 62 years of age, or disabled or dependent. War With There has never been any law pensioning widows of soldiers whose death was due to service in time of peace prior to March 4, 1861. No provision has ever been made for mothers and fathers and brothers and sisters if the death of soldier or sallor resulted from service prior to March 4, 1861. The laws relating to pension have been more liberal since 1861 than they were prior to that date. To make it plainer, as an illustration of this fact, a sailor who lost both arms in the service and line of duty prior to March 4, 1861, would be entitled to a rating beginning at $3.50 per month and to the various rates provided from time to time to February 12, 1889, when he would receive $100 per month. Acts of July 14, 1862, and March 3, 1873. titled, in the order named. Any officer, soldier, sailor.or marine, disabled by reason of wound received or disease contracted in the service of the United States, and in the line of duty, may be pensioned for such disability during its continuance. In case of his death from causes originating as above set forth, his widow or his child or children under 16 years of age become entitled to pension. If he has left no widow or child under 16, his dependent mother, father, or orphan sisters and brothers are enAny officer, soldier, sallor or marine who served ninety days or more in the milltary or naval service of the United States during the late war of the rebellion, who has been honorably discharged therefrom, and who is suffering from disability of a permanent character, not the result of his own vicious habits, which incapacitates him from the performance of manual labor in such a degree as to render him unable to earn a support, is entitled to pension under this act of not less than $6 per month nor more than $12 per month. In case of the death of any person named above his widow becomes entitled to. pension, provided she married him prior to June 27, 1890, and that she is without other means of support than her daily labor. If she remarries or dies the child or children of such soldier or sailor under the age of 16 years become entitled. The act of May 9, 1900, which is an amendment of the act of June 27, 1890, provides that in determining inability to earn a support each and every infirmity shall be duly considered, and the aggre gate of the disabilities shown be rated. It is also provided that a widow may have title to pension if she is left without means of support other than her daily labor and an actual net income not exceeding $250 per year. Aet of June 27, 1890, as Amended by the Act of May 9, 1900. All women employed by the Surgeon-General of the army as nurses during the late war of the rebellion for a period of six months or more, and Act of who were honorably relieved from such service, are granted a August 5, 1892. pension, provided they are unable to earn a support, There is no Service law granting service pension to any person for service rendered since 1858, aside from the allowances made under the provisions of sections 4756 and 4757, Revised Statutes, for twenty years' and ten years' service, respectively, in the United States Navy or Marine Corps. To obtain a pension the applicant must file a claim with the Commissioner of Pensions, Washington, D. C. In a claim by the soldier he should set forth all his military or naval service, giving dates of enlistmert and discharge. The prime requirement to Methods of establish a claim under act of July 14, 1862, usually termed the general law, is to show that the disability for which pension is claimed had its origin while in the service and line of duty; that it has existed as a disabling cause from date of discharge, and now exists in a degree pensionable under the law. In a claim under the act of June 27, 1890, the essential requirements are: A service of ninety days or more, an honorable discharge therefrom and proof that the disability for which pension is claimed is not due to claimant's own vicious habits, but it need not necessarily be of service origin. In a widow's claim it is necessary to show her legal marriage to the soldier, the date of his death, and, under the general law, that it was due to some cause of service origin. She must also show that she has remained his widow. If there are children of the soldier under sixteen years of age at the date of his death, their names should be given and the date of birth of each clearly shown. If any have died the date should be proved. In a widow's claim under the act of June 27, 1890, the requirements as to service are the same as under an invalid claim, and in addition there to she must show a legal marriage to the soldier prior to the passage of the act. the fact of soldier's death (but it need not be shown to be due to service), her continued widowhood and that she is without other means of support than her daily labor. The act of May 9, 1900, amending the act of June 27, 1890, gives title to widows who are without means of support other than their daily labor and a net annual income of $250. A minor child's title to pension accrues only on the death or remarriage |