Rule VI was amended by striking out after “Internal-Revenue Service" the words "One cashier in each internal-revenue district," and inserting in lieu thereof: "One employee in each internal-revenue district who shall act as cashier or chief deputy or assistant collector, as may be determined by the Treasury Department."

The Secretary of the Treasury reported that there were no places treated as excepted under the provision of the rules excepting one cashier in each internalrevenue district, as "cashiers" were not provided for in the law. The rule was therefore changed to allow one excepted place in each district, to be designated by the Treasury Department.

Rule VIII, section 3, was stricken out.

Rule IX was amended by striking out in the seventh line the word "classified," and inserting in lieu thereof, after the word "position," in the same line, the following: "included within the classified service;" so that as amended the line will read: "misconduct, been separated from a position included within the classified service at the."

Rule XI, section 2, was amended by striking out in line one the words "The details regulating," and inserting in their stead the words "Regulations to govern," so that as amended the section reads:

"2. Regulations to govern promotions shall be formulated by the Commission after consultation with the heads of the several departments, bureaus, or offices. It shall be the duty of the head of each department, bureau, or office, when such regulations have been formulated, to promulgate the same, and any amendments or revocations thereof shall be approved by the Commission before going into effect."

In Rule XI, section 3, the word "examiners," in line seven, was changed to "promotion," making the section read:

"3. The Commission shall, upon the nomination of the head of each department, bureau, or office, designate and select a suitable number of persons, not less than three, in said department, bureau, or office, to be members of a board of promotion. In the departments, bureaus, or offices in Washington, and in all other offices, the members of any board of promotion shall not all be adherents of one political party, when persons of other political parties are available and competent to serve upon said board."

The following order was also made by the President:

"The regulations of the Navy Department governing the employment of labor at navy-yards having been adopted by the Civil Service Commission as a regulation of the Commission July 29, 1896, under the authority conferred by clause 1, Rule I, of the Revised Civil Service Rules of May 6, 1896, it is hereby ordered that no modification of the existing regulations shall be made without the approval of the Civil Service Commission."

This amendment had the effect of giving stability independent of changes of administration to the excellent system instituted by Secretary Tracy for the appointment of employees at navy-yards.

December 23, 1896.

Rule III, clause 2 (b), was amended by adding the following:

"And all officers and employees in the penitentiary service who are by law subject to classification."

January 2, 1897.

Rule V, section 4, was amended by striking out the table of age limitations and substituting the following:

Internes and hospital stewards in the Marine Hospital Service and acting second assistant engineer in the Revenue-Cutter Service.

21

18

18

45

Cadet in the Revenue-Cutter Service and aid in the Coast and Geodetic Survey.
Surfman in the Life-Saving Service

Superintendent, physician, supervisor, day school inspector, and diciplinarian
in the Indian service; inspector and assistant inspector of hulls and inspector
and assistant inspector of boilers in the Steamboat-Inspection Service
All other positions.

(The age limitation shall not apply in the case of the wife of the superintendent
of an Indian school who applies for examination for the position of teacher
or matron.)

Rule VIII was amended by striking out section 12 and substituting the following: "12. Whenever there are no names of eligibles upon a register for any grade in which a vacancy exists and the public interest requires that it must be filled before eligibles can be provided by the Commission, such vacancy may, subject to the approval of the Commission, be filled by appointment without examination and certification for such part of three months as will enable the Commission to provide eligibles. Such temporary appointment shall expire by limitation as soon as an eligible shall be provided, and no person shall serve longer than three months in any one year under such temporary appointment or appointments, unless by special authority of the Commission previously obtained. Said year limitation shall commence from the date of such first appointment: Provided, That whenever an emergency shall arise requiring that a vacancy shall be filled before a certification can be issued and an appointment made thereto in the manner provided in these rules, such vacancy may be filled, without regard to the provisions of these rules, for such part of thirty days as may be required for the issuance of a certificate and the execution of the necessary details of an appointment thereto in accordance with said provisions. Such appointment shall in no case continue longer than thirty days."

January 27, 1897.

Rule VI was amended by adding to the exceptions from examination in the departmental service a new clause, to read as follows:

"(d) Assistant Secretary Smithsonian Institution, in charge of United States National Museum."

April 24, 1897.

A new rule was promulgated, which reads as follows:

"The appointment of a successor to the present incumbent of the position of Assistant Attorney-General for the Post-Office Department may be made without examination under the civil-service rules."

The exception of the position of the Assistant Attorney-General was made in order that it might be treated similarly to the other positions of assistant attorneys-general, of which there are four, three employed in the Department of Justice and one in the Interior Department. By an act of Congress approved in 1870 all of these assistants are classed as officers of the Department of Justice. The PostmasterGeneral, in requesting that the assistant be excepted, stated that he is like in rank

to the other assistants; that he differs from them in no material respect, except that he derives his official existence from the Postmaster-General instead of from the President and the Senate. In submitting the rule to the President the Commission stated that had it been possessed of the information then before it it would have recommended that this exception appear in the rules as promulgated May 6, 1896. May 24, 1897.

A new rule was promulgated, to read as follows:

"The appointment of a successor to the present incumbent of the position of law clerk for the Post-Office Department, who shall act for the Assistant Attorney-General in his absence, may be made without examination under the civil-service rules." The position of law clerk was excepted for reasons stated by the Postmaster-General in a letter dated May 20, 1897, as follows:

"The title to this office is misleading, as its duties in reality make the incumbent of it an assistant to the Assistant Attorney-General for the Post-Office Department, and in the absence of the latter the law clerk is required to act in his place, and becomes the sole legal adviser of this Department, there being but two law officers assigned to it. Since the creation of this office it has been filled by men specially learned in the law, one of them having been an ex-chief justice of the supreme court of the State of Indiana, and all of them having been men of solid legal attainments. The citation of these facts will distinguish this position from a mere clerkship, and it will be apparent that the position of law clerk of the Post-Office Department is really analogous to that of an assistant attorney-general in the Department of Justice, which latter is, as the Commission is aware, in the excepted class, and is not covered by the classified service. The ordinary duties of the law clerk, even when the Attorney-General for the Post-Office Department is present, are rather those of an assistant than those of a subordinate. Of the many delicate and difficult questions which arise here and must be intrusted to the law officers for decision, a part are assigned by the Attorney-General to the law clerk for investigation. Every reason, therefore, which justifies the exception of the place of Assistant Attorney-General from the classified service seems to justify the making of a similar exception in the place known as law clerk. Both of these officers bear a distinctly confidential relation to the head of this Department, who is forced to rely absolutely upon their judgment, and must have complete confidence in their discretion and loyalty."

July 9, 1897.

Rule IX was amended by inserting in the second proviso, after the word "person," where it occurs the second time, the words "or an army nurse of said war." As amended, the proviso reads:

"And provided further, That, subject to the other conditions of these rules, any person who served in the military or naval service of the United States in the late war of the rebellion and was honorably discharged therefrom, or the widow of any such person, or an army nurse of said war, may be reinstated without regard to the length of time he or she has been separated from the service."

July 27, 1897.

Rule II was amended by adding a new section, which reads:

"8. No removal shall be made from any position subject to competitive examination except for just cause and upon written charges filed with the head of the Department or other appointing officer, and of which the accused shall have full notice and an opportunity to make defense."

Rule III, section 3, was amended by striking out all that followed the word "district," in the third line-excepting from classification customs ports having less than five employees-so that the section reads:

"3. The custom-house service shall include such officers and employees as have been or may hereafter be classified under the civil-service act who are serving in any customs district."

Rule VI was amended to except from competition certain employees in the customs service and in the Internal-Revenue Service. The language omitted is given below in brackets and the new language in italics:

"The following-named employees or positions which have been, or may hereafter be, classified under the civil-service act shall be excepted from the requirements of examination or registration before the Commission, except as herein prescribed:

DEPARTMENTAL SERVICE:

(a) Private secretaries or confidential clerks (not exceeding two) to the President or to the head of each of the eight Executive Departments.

(b) Indians employed in the Indian service at large, except those employed as superintendents, teachers, teachers of industries, kindergartners, and physicians. (c) Attorneys or assistant attorneys in any department whose main duties are connected with the management of cases in court.

CUSTOM-HOUSE SERVICE:

(a) One cashier in each customs district.

(b) One chief or principal deputy or assistant collector in each customs district [whose employees number as many as 150].

(c) One principal deputy collector at each subport or station.

POST-OFFICE SERVICE:

(a) One assistant postmaster, or chief assistant to the postmaster, of whatever designation, at each post-office.

(b) One cashier of each first-class post-office when employed under the roster title of cashier only.

INTERNAL-REVENUE SERVICE:

(a) One employee in each internal-revenue district, who shall act as cashier or chief deputy or assistant collector, as may be determined by the Treasury Department. (b) One deputy collector in each internal-revenue district where the number of employees in the office of the collector exceeds four.

(c) One deputy collector in each stamp (or branch) office.

Appointments to the positions named in this rule in the custom-house service and in the Internal-Revenue Service shall be subject to an examination to be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treasury, not disapproved by the Commission, equal to the examination held by the Commission for positions of like grade. Such examination shall be conducted by the Commission in accordance with its regulations."

The places withdrawn from competition as the result of these additional exceptions included one principal deputy at each customs port, instead of one at each of the six principal ports as theretofore; and one deputy at each subport. In the Internal-Revenue Service the exceptions included one additional deputy in each district where the number of employees in the office of the collector exceeds four, and one deputy in each stamp or branch office. The principal positions affected are 87 principal deputies at customs ports, and about 63 in the Internal-Revenue Service. The deputyships at subports and at stamp offices, numbering 288, are of less importance. Many of the latter are bank clerks, or persons who perform their official duties in connection with some other private business.

The addition to the classification of the minor customs ports is of relatively small consequence. There are fifty-seven such ports, having altogether 75 classified employees, and at six of these ports the collector or surveyor is the sole officer in the district. Of the 75 classified employees 60 are excepted under the provisions of Rule VI and 15 are subject to competitive examination.

The reasons for the exception of the principal deputy collectors at subports or stations in the customs service were stated in a letter of the Secretary of the Treasury, dated July 3, to be as follows:

"I am of the opinion that the principal deputy collectors at the various subports or stations should also be of the excepted class. These deputies are charged with duties of an administrative and executive character, often involving important

questions of law and large sums of money. In some districts the greater portion of the duties received are collected through the subports or stations. The collector is responsible under bond for the faithful accounting for these collections as well as for the other official acts of such deputies. He should therefore have the power of selecting for these positions persons in whom he has the fullest confidence, provided they are otherwise duly qualified to perform the duties required. In order to determine their qualifications the persons selected by the collector should be required to pass a noncompetitive examination before the local board of civil-service examiners for the customs service, the standard of such examination to be the same as that prescribed for competitive examinations for collector.

"I recommend that the civil-service rules be amended in accordance with the above suggestions."

In a letter dated July 21, giving reasons for the exceptions in the Internal-Revenue Service, the Secretary of the Treasury said that the deputies proposed to be excepted under clause (b) are charged with duties of a confidential character as well as administrative functions, and that those proposed to be excepted under clause (c) are responsible for stamps of large value and the daily receipts resulting from the sale of stamps, and that in each of these cases the collector should be able to select persons who are known to him and whose reputation for integrity is well established to fill those offices.

May 13, 1898.

Rule VII, clause 4, was amended suspending the period of eligibility in the case of persons enlisting in the Army or Navy.

REMOVALS, ETC., FROM MARCH 4, 1893, TO MAY 6, 1896 (3 YEARS), IN SOME OF THE BRANCHES OF THE SERVICE CLASSIFIED ON THE LATTER DATE.

[Compiled from reports by heads of departments to Hon. M. Brosius, chairman of the Committee on Reform in the Civil Service, House of Representatives. Letters were written to all the heads of departments requesting this information. The following table includes all the replies received giving statistics. Some of the replies stated that it was impracticable to give the information desired, owing to the labor involved. This was especially true of those parts of the service in which the employees consisted chiefly of skilled laborers and minor employees.]

'Chiefly skilled laborers, watchmen, firemen, engineers, and janitors.