from compulsory examination for promotion. They are not, under this provision, excluded from the examinations; they are simply not com. pelled to enter them. It is wholly a matter of choice with them; but there can be no promotion without examination, so that if any person excepted from compulsory examination under this rule desires promotion he must enter the competition.

The results of the examinations for promotion in the War Department have been satisfactory, and have confirmed the commission in the view which it has entertained from the outset, of the practicability and utility of competitive examinations as a means of testing fitness for promotion and of preventing the promotion of the incompetent and unworthy. There is no reason why promotion-examination rules should not now be applied to the other classified departments, except the difficulty of handling the work involved therein, owing to the limited clerical force of the commission. Should Congress allow the increase of force which has been estimated for, the work can be undertaken.

CUSTOMS SERVICE.

Examinations were held during the year in all of the classified customs districts except Detroit and Port Huron. None were held in these districts for the reason that under the amended civil-service rules, which were in force until March 1, 1888, all the positions in both districts, with two or three exceptions, were either below the classified service, the compensation paid being less than $900 per annum, or were excepted from examination because they carried the title of deputy collector in connection with some other title, as "clerk," "inspector," etc. Under the revised rules which went into effect March 1, 1888, positions of this character are not among the excepted places; consequently the bulk of the force at these ports is now classified and subject to examination.

The present regulations require two examinations a year to be held in each classified customs district, commencing on the first Tuesday of April and of October.

The whole number of persons examined for admission to the customs service during the year was 2,479, the number that passed 1,500, and the number that failed 979.

The number examined for promotion was 301, all but 4 of them at the port of New York, of whom 162 passed and 139 failed.

The following tables show the totals by districts, and the tables in the appendix the full details of these examinations:

TABLE 9.-Showing number of examinations held for the customs service, the number of competitors who passed, who failed, and the per cent. of failures, by districts, July 1, 1887, to June 30, 1888, both inclusive.

Examined.

Passed.

Failed.

Per cent. of fail

ures.

Male. Fem. Total. Male. Fem. Total. Male. Fem. Total. Male. Fem. Total

Chicago, Ill

29 43

43-

Detroit, Mich

....

TABLE 10.-Showing the education of persons examined for the several grades of the customs service for which examinations were held July 1, 1887, to June 30, 188, both inclusive.

18

5

5

22-...

22

1

133 47

47

26+

26+

70 1,500 954

25 979

40 26+ 39+

TABLE 11.-Showing the number of persons examined for promotion in the New York custom-house, and the grades for which the examinations were held, July 1, 1887, to June 30, 1888, both inclusive.

TABLE 12.-Showing the number of persons examined for promotion in the San Francisco custom-house, and the grades for which the examinations were held, July 1, 1887, to June 30, 1888, both inclusive.

On the 30th of June, 1887, the number of classified post-offices was twenty-nine. During the year covered by this report eight other offices reached the limit of fifty employés and were classified as follows: Columbus, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Hartford, Conn.; Los Angeles, Cal.; Omaha, Nebr.; Richmond, Va.; Syracuse, N. Y.; Troy, N. Y.; making the whole number classified on the 30th of June, 1888, thirty-seven.*

Under the regulations now in force two examinations a year are required to be held at each classified post-office, one beginning on the first Tuesday in February and the other on the first Tuesday in August.

The whole number examined for the postal service during the year (Cleveland, Ohio, not included) was 6,103, as follows: For clerk, 2,230; for letter-carrier, 3,514; for messenger, stamper, and junior clerk, 359. The average age of those that passed the clerk examination was 24, and

*Six offices, viz, Atlanta, Ga.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Nashville, Tenn.; Oakland, Cal.; Portland, Me.; and Worcester, Mass., have become classified offices since June 30, 1888.

of those that failed 24.8. The average age of those that failed in the carrier examination was 26.6, and of those that passed that examination 26.8.

The following table shows by sexes the number examined at each post office, the number that passed, the number that failed, and the per cent. of failures:

TABLE 13.-Showing the number of examinations held at each post-office, the number of competitors of each sex examined, the number who passed, the number who failed, and the per cent. of failures, July 1, 1887, to June 30, 1888, both inclusive.

Examined.

Passed.

Per cent. of fail

Failed.

ures.

Male. Fem. Total. Male. Fem. Total. Male. Fem. Total Male. Fem. Total.

The following table shows the number of each sex and the whole number examined for all branches of the classified service, the number

that passed, and that failed, and the per cent. of failures for each branch during the period covered by this report:

TABLE 14.—Showing by sex the number of competitors who were examined, who passed, who failed, and the per cent. of failure in examinations for the classified service in all its branches, July 1, 1887, to June 30, 1888, both inclusive.

Branch of service.

Examined.

Passed.

Failed.

Percent. of failure.

Male. Fem. Total. Male. Fem. Total Male. Fem. Total Male. Fem. Total

The average age of those that passed and of those that failed in the various kinds of examinations for the different branches of the classified service is shown in the following table:

TABLE 15.-Showing average age of competitors in examinations for the classified service in all its branches, July 1, 1887, to June 30, 1888, both inclusive.