tion of all the people, is responsible in large part for the confidence imposed by the public in the competitive examination system. Another gratifying example of public confidence in the examinations is the absence of criticism of the examinations given for mechanical trades positions, to which thousands of appointments are made annually throughout the country. If the ratings given applicants by the commission's examiners were not reasonably accurate, it is safe to assume that the work would be severely criticised. It has been the commission's experience, however, that among competitors for this class of positions there is a marked spirit of acquiescence in the fairness of the examinations. Moreover, appointing and supervising officers have uniformly remarked the excellent results of the examinations as now given for this kind of positions. NONASSEMBLED EXAMINATIONS. With the increase in the number of calls upon the commission to hold examinations for responsible positions of a high grade requiring men of experience and attainments in special lines, particularly of a scientific, technical, or professional character, the nonassembled type of examination has been more frequently used, and its nature, merits, and advantages are being better understood by the appointing officers and by the public as well. That this type of examination is practical and that it is the best so far devised for the mɔre responsible high-grade positions in the classified service, have been fully demonstrated. The nonassembled examination consists of a thorough investigation of the experience, training, education, and fitness of all the applicants, sometimes combined with a consideration of a thesis or their published works, and the competitive rating upon all these elements by examiners trained in the weighing of evidence of qualifications, usually assisted by an expert in the kind of work or field of knowledge with which the prospective appointee will be required to deal. One of the chief difficulties in the application of this type of examination has been to make clear to those interested that it is a thorough examination and a competitive examination. Because frequently nothing is required of an applicant but the filing of an application giving a history of his education, training, and experience, with a list of references able to corroborate his statements, those unfamiliar with the methods employed in investigating the fitness of applicants and grading their papers have been inclined to the view that the nonassembled examination is not an examination at all, or that it is not competitive. Of course, quite the contrary is true. At the close of the year covered by this report the commission is preparing to hold nonassembled examinations for a very large number of responsible technical positions created in connection with the valuation of the property of common carriers, a work about to be begun under the supervision of the Interstate Commerce Commission. As it is estimated that there will be many thousands of applicants for these positions, the nonassembled type of examination will be subjected to a most severe test. It is planned to make the confidential inquiries in connection with these examinations very thorough, to have the rating done in a most careful and systematic manner, and to employ as expert examiners to assist the commission in the rating a number of the most eminent authorities in engineering. EXAMINATIONS FOR FOURTH-CLASS POSTMASTER UNDER THE EXECUTIVE ORDER OF MAY 7, 1913. The Executive order of May 7, 1913, required that the commission hold competitive examinations for fourth-class postmaster for all offices where the compensation is $180 a year or more and where the present incumbent was not appointed as a result of open competitive examination or under the regulations of November 25, 1912, or of January 20, 1909. The number of such offices is approximately 21,000. The commission realized when this order was promulgated that it could not undertake any of the work of holding these examinations until a special appropriation should be made for the purpose. At the close of the fiscal year this appropriation had not been made and accordingly none of the examinations were held within the period covered by this report. However, some study and analysis of the undertaking have been made preliminary to the actual commencement of the work. This order placed upon the commission a piece of work for which there has been no precedent or parallel-that of holding a large number of competitive examinations within a comparatively short time for positions at small towns and hamlets scattered over the entire country. It is believed, however, that with adequate provision for its expense the work can be satisfactorily and expeditiously accomplished. PRINTING OF ANNOUNCEMENTS AND EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. Since the branch printing office in the Department of the Interior was abolished on October 1, 1909, all announcements of examinations and all examination questions have been printed in the main office of the Government Printing Office. The change has proven to be unsatisfactory in several respects. There has been a delay in printing the announcements of from 5 to 12 days over the time required when they were printed in the branch printing office. This makes it necessary to set the dates of examinations that amount of time farther ahead, and the result is a corresponding delay in the time required to provide eligibles for certification to the departments. The distance of the Government Printing Office from the office of the commission results in much loss of time of messengers and clerks in carrying copy and proof. The cost of printing the announcements and questions at the Government Printing Office has been much greater in proportion to the amount done than it was when this printing was done in the branch office. In order to safeguard the confidential character of the examination questions, it is necessary that the number of persons who handle them be restricted to the extreme limit. When the papers were printed in the branch printing office this could be done and it was possible for the commission to know which employees had any opportunity to see the questions while being printed. Since October, 1909, however, this has not been possible because of the very much larger number of employees into whose hands the questions must pass. In the interest of expediting the Government business and of safeguarding the integrity of the examinations, it is recommended that the commission obtain authority and appropriation from Congress for the establishment of a printing plant under its own supervision and control, where announcements of examinations and the questions to be used may be printed. There is the fullest justification for the establishment of such a plant, and there are precedents for an exception from the general rule of having all printing done by the Government Printing Office, notably in the Weather Bureau and the Post Office Department, where small plants have been maintained for many years for printing announcements which do not admit of delay in their issuance. There are other plants in several of the large post-offices as well as in one or more other departments. A PROPOSED METHOD OF KEEPING IN CLOSER TOUCH WITH QUALIFIED APPLICANTS. The classified service is so great in extent and the positions represent so wide a variety of qualifications that one of the most difficult problems of the commission is to reach at the proper time those persons who are best qualified to fill the various kinds of positions. Moreover, it is a part of the duty of the commission to inform persons seeking employment in the public service of the means whereby they may become eligible for such employment. When the service was smaller it was possible to cover in a semiannual publication nearly all of the examinations likely to be held during a period of six months, to describe the scope and character of such examinations, and to give a schedule of the dates and places of holding them. Now, however, in addition to the semiannual edition of the Manual of Examinations, there are published separate pamphlets of instructions for each of the 12 civil-service districts covering the general examinations for the field services, besides pamphlets of instructions to applicants for railway mail clerk, stenographer and typewriter, rural carrier, fourth-class postmaster, mechanics in the navy-yard service, and numerous other announcements, including hundreds of special announcements of examinations for all sorts of positions, the need for which examinations could not be anticipated at the time of the publication of the Manual of Examinations. A mailing list is also kept containing the names and addresses of persons who desire to apply for examinations not included in any of the regular schedules, whenever the needs of the service require such examinations to be announced and held. The special announcements when issued, in addition to being sent to the persons whose names appear on the mailing list as interested in them, are given publicity by posting them in public buildings and in institutions and by publication in the daily press and in professional, scientific, trades, and other periodicals as items of news. By these various methods the commission obtains very wide publicity for all its examinations. It is, however, believed that improvement may be made in more directly reaching persons having the best qualifications needed by the Government. Many persons who might be well qualified for some position in the classified service are not sufficiently familiar with the organization of the departments, the places of employment, and the qualifications needed in the different offices or establishments, to enable them to decide for which position their experience, training, and education best fit them to compete. For example, because of lack of knowledge where to obtain the information or because of failure to see in a newspaper or to observe elsewhere the announcement of some examination exactly fitting his qualifications, a person may apply for an examination for a position for which he is not fitted, whereupon he fails to pass, or, if he passes, his rating is too low to bring him within reach of certification for appointment. If he had known of the examination for the position which actually fitted his qualifications, he would have had an excellent prospect of appointment and the Government would have been in position to avail itself of his services. It is suggested that the commission might well supplement its present means of communication with intending applicants by incorporating in the Manual of Examinations a blank form on which an intending applicant may set forth a statement of his age, experience, and education, the places where, and the salary at which he would accept employment, and file it with the commission. The commission would then be in position to call to his special attention any examinations pending or announced in future which seemed most closely to fit his qualifications. The qualifications needed in the public service cover a field so wide that, unless an applicant's demands as to salary or place of employment are such as to make it impossible for him to secure Government employment, the commission would be able to advise him, when in possession of data in regard to his experience, education, etc., of examinations for positions for which he would be best fitted and which might not otherwise come to his attention. Such a plan could not, however, be carried out unless additional employees were provided, but it is believed that the benefits to the service which would result would amply justify the necessary additional expense for clerical assistance. Respectfully submitted. G. R. WALES, Chief Examiner. CIVIL-SERVICE ACT.1 AN ACT To regulate and improve the civil service of the United of commissioners. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the President is authorized to appoint, by and with Appointment the advice and consent of the Senate, three persons, not more than two of whom shall be adherents of the same party, as Civil Service Commissioners, and said three commissioners shall constitute the United States Civil Service Commission. Said commissioners shall hold no other official place under the United States. The President may remove any commissioner; and any vacancy in the position of commissioner shall be so filled by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, as to conform to said conditions for the first. selection of commissioners. Removal of commissioners, and traveling ex The commissioners shall each receive a salary of three Salaries, thousand five hundred dollars a year. And each of said penses. commissioners shall be paid his necessary traveling expenses incurred in the discharge of his duty as a commissioner. * * "By the executive departments, when that term is used in the Federal Statutes, is properly understood only those departments specified in section 158 of the Revised Statutes, to which has since been added by subsequent legislation the Department of Agriculture [and the Departments of Commerce and Labor]. The Civil Service Commission * is not attached in anywise to any of the executive departments, nor is it subject in anywise to the control of any of * * * * (Opin the heads of those departments. There missioners. SEC. 2. That it shall be the duty of said commissioners: Duties of comFirst, To aid the President, as he may request, in preparing suitable rules for carrying this act into effect, and when said rules shall have been promulgated it shall be the duty of all officers of the United States in the departments and offices to which any such rules may relate to 1 Definition.-Civil service is defined as the executive branch of the public service as distinguished from military, naval, legislative, and judicial.—(Century Dictionary.) 45976°-14—3 333 |