of the Government at much less expense than would be incurred by investigations undertaken independently.

PANAMA CANAL SERVICE.

The only classes of employees in the Panama Canal Service upon the Isthmus of Panama to which examinations have been applied under the civil-service rules are clerks, bookkeepers, stenographers, typewriters, surgeons, physicians, trained nurses, and draftsmen. Artisans, engineers, and others have been appointed by the Panama Canal authorities upon a system of their own. With the completion of the canal a permanent organization has been effected, and it is possible to utilize in the classified service in the United States the services of some of these trained and experienced men whose ability and good conduct have been demonstrated on the Panama canal. Most of these men have been tried out under conditions which demanded the best class of service that could be rendered. A method has been adopted under which a rating in conduct and workmanship is considered, and only those are eligible for transfer who have received satisfactory ratings and who are recommended for transfer by the Panama Canal authorities. It seems desirable that men who have been long absent from the United States and out of touch with commercial life here should be aided in securing employment, and the Government will gain in being able to avail itself of their services.

PHILIPPINE SERVICE.

In the Philippines retrenchment necessitated by a decrease in the revenues of the Insular Government resulted in a considerable reduction of force, accomplished in the main by leaving vacant the positions of those who voluntarily resigned. In pursuance of the policy to increase gradually the proportion of Filipinos in the service, this reduction in force was confined principally to positions held by Americans. Employees appointed in the United States under contract for a term of years who were dropped on account of reduction in force before the expiration of their contract period or who desired to be released therefrom were given all the allowances to which they would have been entitled had they completed three years' service. Every effort was made to place elsewhere those who had to be dropped. Many were transferred to positions in the Federal service in the islands or to positions in the United States. The transfer rule, which required a minimum period of three years of service in the Philippines prior to transfer to the Federal service, was amended to give the commission power to authorize the transfer of those who have served two years therein and who have been separated by necessary reduction in force or by displacement by a Filipino, if espe

cially recommended by the War Department because of efficiency and good character.

The proportion of Filipinos in the service has steadily increased from 48 per cent in 1902, the year after civil government was established, to 89 per cent. Stenographers were formerly appointed from the United States in large numbers, but the director of civil service in his fourteenth report states that with rare exceptions it will hereafter be possible to fill all stenographic positions in the islands by the appointment of Filipinos.

POLITICAL ACTIVITY.

The civil-service rules provide that

Persons who, by the provisions of these rules, are in the competitive classified service, while retaining the right to vote as they please and to express privately their opinions upon all political subjects, shall take no active part in political management or in political campaigns.

The effect of this provision of the rule is to charge the commission with the duty of securing the enforcement of the restrictions so far as they apply to persons in the competitive service, and to give the commission the same authority to investigate infractions of them that it has with respect to other provisions of the civil-service law and rules. The result has been an impartial application of the restrictions and a better enforcement, more uniform punishments, and a marked diminution of political activitiy on the part of competitive employees.

By agreement with heads of departments unclassified laborers have been treated as subject to the same restrictions imposed on classified employees.

Under this provision of the rules administrative punishment has been imposed during the past year upon violators of the law or rules as follows: Removal or other involuntary separation, 24; reduction, 3; suspension without pay, 5; reprimand, admonition, or warning, 27. Reports of these cases may be found in the appendix.

By executive order certain restrictions have been placed upon the political activity of officers appointed by the President. The enforcement of these restrictions has been left to the heads of departments. On July 2, 1913, however, the Postmaster General, in transmitting to the commission the report of two post-office inspectors recommending the removal for pernicious political activity of a postmaster at an office of the first class, and requesting any suggestions which the commission might see fit to give, said:

It is my intention in all cases where offensive partisanship is the sole reason upon which the recommendation for removal is based to refer the same to you for suggestion.

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The commission has carefully considered 24 of such cases. number of them, where the report of the inspectors was not of sufficient detail to warrant the commission in reaching a decision, it was ordered that an independent investigation by a member of its own force be made. In each of 6 cases the postmaster was removed in accordance with its recommendation. In the other 18 cases the commission was of the opinion that the evidence of violation of the restrictions was insufficient to warrant it in recommending removal, and so reported to the department, which accepted its findings save in 1

case.

The commission believes that the time has now come when uniform and definite restrictions should be placed upon the political activity of unclassified officers and that a civil-service rule to this effect should be promulgated in accordance with its recommendations made in the Thirtieth Report. Such forms of political activity as have been shown by experience to be productive of public scandal or neglect of duty should be defined and effectively prohibited.

The commission has no real power in securing the imposition of penalties for political activity determined by it as appropriate to the offense committed except in the case of rural carriers and fourthclass postmasters. With reference to these employees executive orders and regulations require that any such employee taking an active part in politics" shall be removed from the service or otherwise disciplined, recommendation as to the penalty to be imposed in each case to be made by the Civil Service Commission." The commission is of the opinion that its ruling in all such matters should be final, subject only to review by the President, since it is only by a central body that the enforcement of the law and rules and the imposition of penalties for their violation may be made uniform and impartial.

JURISDICTION OF THE COMMISSION.

There is widespread misapprehension in the public mind as to the limits of the commission's authority and jurisdiction under the law and rules in the matter of appointments, transfers, and promotions. For this reason it seems appropriate to set forth briefly the limitations of the commission's jurisdiction in such matters.

APPOINTMENTS.

The commission makes no appointments except in its own force. All appointments to positions in the competitive service are made by the head of the department or independent establishment in which the vacancy occurs upon the certification by the commission of the names of persons entitled by their standing on the appropriate eligible register to be given consideration for appointment.

TRANSFERS.

Neither does the commission initiate transfers. The commission can only act after receipt of request for its authority for a transfer, and then only upon the question of the eligibility for transfer of the person nominated.

PROMOTIONS.

Until a system of efficiency ratings is established in a department or office under the provisions of the act of August 23, 1912, the commission has no authority to initiate action looking to the promotion or increase of compensation of any employee except those on its own force; it can act only after receipt of request for authority for promotion upon the question of the eligibility of the person nominated. The commission has no jurisdiction to investigate alleged discrimination in the matter of promotion in a department or office in which a system of efficiency ratings has not been established under the act referred to unless it is alleged that such discrimination was based upon political or religious considerations.

OPINIONS OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

REQUIREMENT OF EXAMINATION IN STATE OF RESIDENCE OF APPLICANTS FOR NONASSEMBLED EXAMINATIONS.

An act of Congress of July 2, 1909, requires that examinations shall be had in the State or Territory in which the applicant resides, and that no person shall be eligible for examination or for appointment unless he or she shall have been actually domiciled in such State or Territory for at least one year previous to the examination.

One of the two forms of examination used by the commission requires the assembling of competitors in examination rooms for the purpose of answering questions on scholastic or other subjects relating to the duties of the positions to be filled.

The other form of examination, adopted for the higher technical positions and for testing trade qualifications, does not necessitate the assembling of the competitors for the purpose of undergoing any of the tests. This form consists of an inquiry into the applicant's history, education, experience, and where necessary his physical condition. In addition to information on these subjects, the competitor is sometimes called upon to furnish a thesis upon a subject connected with the duties of the position for which the examination is held or copies of original published works. The evidence furnished by the applicant respecting his qualifications is supplemented by corroborative evidence obtained directly by the commission from vouchers, and upon this data his rating is made.

65826°-15-2

Since the act of Congress referred to, applicants for the apportioned service have been required in the assembled examinations to appear at designated places and take the examinations in their respective States, but in the case of nonassembled examinations, competitors have only been required to show that they have been actually domiciled in the State for at least one year previous to the examination, and where a competitor was temporarily absent from the State at the time of filing his application he has not been required to return to the State for the purpose of either filling out his application and making oath to it or furnishing other data or information required in connection with his examination. On this point the Attorney General, in an opinion of July 22, 1913, held that the meaning of the statute in question is not entirely clear, the ambiguity arising from the fact that while it refers to all examinations of applicants it proceeds to say that they shall be had in the State in which an applicant resides.

Nonassembled examinations are not had-that is, held-at any particular place. The Attorney General concludes that it would seem, from the use of the word "had," that Congress had in mind. the examinations referred to in section 3 of the civil-service act, but that in view of the practical construction which has been placed upon the statute for some years by the commission, which is charged with its administration, he does not feel warranted in holding the construction incorrect.

AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION TO ASSIGN LOCAL EXAMINERS.

The civil-service act provides for the selection of members of boards of examiners to perform such duties as the commission may direct in connection with the execution of the act and rules, and that in the performance of such duties they shall be under the direct and sole control of the commission. A question having arisen respecting the authority of the commission to assign an examiner to duty away from his headquarters, the Attorney General under date of June 13, 1914, held that the commission had authority to assign the examiner to such appropriate duties as it might find necessary in connection with the execution of the act and rules, and that such assignment may be for duty at his headquarters or temporarily away from his headquarters, subject to the proviso that the phraseology of section 3 of the civil-service act does not seem to contemplate the assigning of an examiner to duty outside the State or Territory in which he resides.

RETIREMENT.

In the establishment of improved administrative methods serious difficulty has been found in dealing with superannuated employees. The improvement of methods and the proper adjustment of pay can