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supposed needs of the service. The commission urges the restriction of temporary employment to the actual and absolute needs of the service.

THE APPORTIONMENT.

The civil-service act requires that appointments to the classified service in Washington shall be apportioned, as nearly as the conditions of good administration will warrant, among the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia upon the basis of population. The commission from the beginning has endeavored to carry out this requirement. Several methods of determining the relative standing of the States for appointments have been employed. During the decade in which the civil-service act was passed there were 332 Representatives in Congress. The number 332 was divided among the States and Territories according to their population and the commission made certifications as nearly as possible in such a manner that each State approached the fulfillment of its quota at the same rate. In less than two years 332 appointments had been made, and from that time to January 6, 1911, the practice has been followed of apportioning among the States, from time to time, according to the population of each, some arbitrary number, larger than the number of appointments, and endeavoring so to certify that each State should approach its quota of the arbitrary number at the same rate.

This method was defective because the quota thus assigned each State was its true quota only on the day when the total number of appointments reached the arbitrary number. The method was misleading, and at times made it appear that a State had received more or less than its due share of appointments, when the opposite was true. On January 6, 1911, the commission adopted a method based upon the fact that each State is entitled to the same per cent of each appointment as its population is of the total population. The method is perfectly accurate and expresses exactly at all times the condition of each State with relation to the apportionment. An historical sketch will be found in the appendix of the report.1

A list in the office of the commission contains the names of the States and Territories in the order of their relative standing each day, beginning with Alaska and ending with the District of Columbia. Although in theory the next appointment should go to the State which has received the smallest per cent of its share, this is not always practicable, because the State may lack suitable eligibles or for some other reason. For example, in certifying for technical and scientific positions, having in mind both the apportionment provision of the law and the needs of the service, certification is first made from the entire group of States and Territories which have not received their full share and is continued until all eligibles with averages of 75 per

1 See p. 135.

cent or more have been certified. Then the States which have received an excessive number of appointments are taken, each in its order, the eligibles of each State rated as high as 75 per cent being certified, excluding Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, which are most in excess of all. Reverting to the first group of States, the process is repeated, certifying all eligibles rated at 73 per cent or more. Finally the remaining eligibles for the States which have not received their full share are certified, after which the States which have received more than their share are given certifications in their order under the apportionment.

No noticeable alteration has taken place in the relative position of the States with reference to the apportionment by reason of the change in method of certification outlined above, and it has undoubtedly resulted in the certification of a higher class of eligibles, it not infrequently occurring that the highest three names on an entire register go to a department on the first certification.

WIDENING OF TRANSFER RULE.

Civil-service rule X formerly provided for the retransfer of any person to a position in which formerly employed, or to any position to which transfer could be made therefrom, if since his transfer he had been continuously in the executive or judicial civil service of the United States or of its insular possessions. By an order of April 21, 1911, the President extended the provisions of this rule to permit the retransfer of any person from the legislative service who entered the classified service through competitive examination.

POLITICAL ACTIVITY OF OFFICEHOLDERS AND POLITICAL ASSESSMENTS.

The number of complaints received during the past year of political activity on the part of employees in the competitive class and of solicitation or receipt of political assessments was comparatively small, and with one or two exceptions the cases resulting have been of only ordinary importance. This condition is noteworthy in view of the political campaign in the fall of 1910. The reason for this apparent decrease in political activity and political solicitation is undoubtedly that employees and the public generally are becoming better informed of the civil service act and rules and of the resolute stand of the President in support of the same. There have been no convictions since the last report for violations of the statutes relating to the solicitation and receipt of political assessments, and but few prosecutions are now pending.

Many of the complaints received were against assistant postmasters in first and second class offices, formerly excepted, whose positions were made competitive on December 1, 1910, and thus became sub

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ject to all the restrictions affecting competitive employees. Some were active political leaders, holding important offices on political committees, and some were apparently unable to separate themselves from active participation in politics or did not realize the gravity of its continuance. As a result of the cooperation of the Post Office Department a satisfactory remedy was applied in every case brought to the attention of the commission.

During the year it was found that appointments to the Federal service at New Orleans were dependent to a large degree upon the recommendations of certain political leaders, who sought to secure political contributions in exchange for influence in appointment. The testimony taken was laid before the President, and this action was followed by the resignation of the postmaster and the collector of internal revenue, against whom the principal charges had been made.

During the campaign of 1910 a State executive committee of Ohio issued letters soliciting political contributions. These letters contained the names of three postmasters and one collector of internal revenue as committeemen, and were directed in some cases to Federal employees and officials. The Attorney General has ruled that such action constitutes a solicitation in violation of section 11 of the civilservice act (sec. 118, Criminal Code). The collector of internal revenue, who had been appointed to the committee and whose name had been used without his knowledge or consent, resigned from the committee when he learned the facts, as did two of the postmasters after they had learned of the impropriety of their action. The third postmaster, however, exhibited such indifference as made it necessary for the commission to request action by the Post Office Department, which replied that the postmaster had been requested to relinquish his place on the committee.

The holding of municipal or State offices by persons in the Federal service, besides involving possible political activity, is, with certain express exceptions, prohibited by an Executive order of January 17, 1873. In September, 1910, the President granted an employee of the Department of Agriculture permission to be a candidate for mayor of a small town in Virginia adjacent to Washington, where a considerable number of the voters were in the Federal service, and where it seemed that the interests of the town might suffer by a strict enforcement of the order. Under this precedent the commission has permitted Federal employees in municipalities suburban to Washington to hold offices purely municipal in character and in no way connected with county, State, or national politics. On the other hand, the commission has refused to permit competitive employees to be candidates for such offices as constable and sheriff. The mere desire to run for local office or to take an active part in a local campaign upon personal

grounds has not been gratified. The commission derives its jurisdiction in such cases from section 1, Rule I, prohibiting political activity on the part of persons in the competitive classified service.

Action in the above cases was analogous to that authorized by the President in an order of May 14, 1909, in towns at which navy yards are situated. Since the promulgation of the latter order the commission, upon recommendation of the Secretary of the Navy, has investigated several requests of navy-yard employees to take active part in local politics, and whenever it has appeared that the interests of the towns affected were seriously prejudiced by a strict compliance with the rule against political activity it has granted to subordinates authority to take an active part in municipal politics, but has refused it to foremen of whatever designation, as they might be tempted to use their official positions in political campaigns. Even persons to whom permission under the order is given to take part in local campaigns are forbidden to neglect their official duties or cause public scandal by their activity.

Generally speaking, the commission has received from the departments the most willing cooperation in enforcing the provisions of the act and rules relating to political activity and political assessments. Prompt compliance with its recommendations has been the rule. But in some cases there has been long and, in the commission's view, unnecessary delay in taking action. Allowing a year or two to pass before action is taken upon a distinct offense is manifestly inimical to good administration and destructive of the benefits which the civil-service act was intended to confer upon Government employees and the service generally.

In the appendix of this report will be found a digest of the principal cases of political activity and political assessments which have been investigated since the last report.

INCREASED EFFICIENCY FROM THE MERIT SYSTEM.

The large amount of work done in the Government service during the past year is not reflected in the statistics of the commission. It has been a year of retrenchment and of improvement in methods, rather than one of reduction in the volume of transactions as the decrease in the number appointed might indicate. One striking effect of the merit system has been an increase in the amount of work performed, with a relatively smaller number of employees. Thus, while there has been a growth in public business and in its complexity during the year there has been a decrease in the number of appointments. For example, while there were 2,194 fewer appointments in the Post Office service there was an increase in postal facilities and in the number of pieces of mail handled. Within the executive departments also more and better work is being done, with no increase in the number of employees.

Each year there is an increase in the proportion of employees who have entered the service through competitive examination. This constant addition of men and women appointed solely upon their merits, proved character, and capacity results in a higher degree of efficiency. This is accompanied by a gradual weeding out of the unfit and a lessening of political influences. A public service is thus being built up which is mentally and physically better able to meet the increasing demands of official life and to work out the complex problems in the widening fields provided by new legislation. The recruiting of the service with the most capable who are willing to work for the salaries paid is accompanied by improved discipline and efficiency of those already in the service.

In the New York customs service political considerations and influences have been practically eliminated and a great gain made in the efficient collection of the revenues. The improvements effected are an illustration of the good that can be accomplished by an appointing officer who is sustained by his official superiors in taking the positions under his control out of politics and reforming the business methods of his office.

While much has been done under the merit system toward improving the clerical grades of the service, there is need of increasing the compensation of the higher-grade positions and of opening administrative positions to the promotion of trained and wellequipped subordinates. The failure to afford opportunities of such promotion to able men results in constant loss of this type of men by resignation. The pay in these higher grades is too small and the opportunities of advancement too restricted to offer an attractive career to well-trained and educated men, and many who do accept appointment resign after a brief period of service. There is thus a loss in stability and efficiency and too much time is consumed in training new recruits.

The commission renews its recommendation for legislation for a reclassification of salaries on the basis of work performed. As previously stated, it is believed that such a reclassification is the first essential step in any effective forward movement toward improving the personnel of the departments and thus bringing about greater efficiency and economy. It is also believed to be prerequisite to any scheme for retirement and essential to any further satisfactory and effective reform in the civil service.

PROPOSED EXTENSIONS OF CLASSIFICATION.

LOCAL PRESIDENTIAL OFFICERS.

The commission believes that a wider application of the principle of filling the higher administrative positions now unclassified by the promotion of classified employees would be distinctly in the interest

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