(Witnesses: Burch, Zappone.)

Mr. BURCH. In the various Executive Departments.

Mr. SAMUEL. You don't get that $500 additional as custodian of buildings?

Mr. BURCH. I do not.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you have a custodian of your buildings?

Mr. BURCH. I am the custodian; made so by act of Congress. Mr. SAMUEL. How many buildings are you custodian of, approximately?

Mr. BURCH. We have something like twenty-five buildings which we rent and which I have to look after.

The CHAIRMAN. Does this term, "Chief clerk," which you use, apply to the chief clerks in the various Departments, such as the State, Treasury, War, Navy, Post-Office, Interior, and Department of Justice?

Mr. ZAPPONE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And they each have one chief clerk?

Mr. ZAPPONE. One chief clerk for each Department.

The CHAIRMAN. Who relatively occupies the same position which you occupy?

Mr. BURCH. Yes, sir.

Mr. SAMUEL. Did any former chief clerk in the Department receive additional salary as custodian of buildings?

Mr. BURCH. None in the Agricultural Department.

The CHAIRMAN. Have these other chief clerks been receiving $3,000 per annum right along?

Mr. ZAPPONE. For some years. In nearly every case the salary of the chief clerk is $2,500, and $500 additional compensation for looking after the buildings-that is, for acting as custodian. The chief clerk of each Department is also required to be the custodian of its buildings. Colonel Burch has filled the position of custodian for a number of years, but has never received any additional compensation. His regular salary is $2,500. Last year the Secretary had me prepare a statement of the salaries received by the chief clerks of the various Departments. It was found that our Department was the only one where the salary was not $3,000—that is, $2,500 for service as chief clerk and $500 for service as custodian of buildings. I believe, however, there is one exception, and that is in the Department of Justice, where the chief clerk also acts as custodian. I know the Secretary thought seriously of making an estimate in the appropriations for this year for the additional $500 for the chief clerk's duties as custodian. But he wanted to keep down his expenditures, and in fact recommended very few promotions.

The CHAIRMAN. What are the duties of a custodian?

Mr. ZAPPONE. He has charge of all the buildings and looks after their preservation and repair.

The CHAIRMAN. What does he have to do; what work does he have to do that involves his time?

Mr. BURCH. He has charge of the property of the different bureaus. He is custodian of the property of the Secretary's office, including the horses and carriages. If any of the bureau chiefs want additional office space he comes to me, and I have to arrange for it.

Mr. SAMUEL. That work, then, as I understand it, is in addition to your work as chief clerk.

(Witnesses: Zappone, Burch.)

Mr. ZAPPONE. He has also to pass upon the necessity of all expenditures for repair work.

The CHAIRMAN. Where is the statute that describes those duties? Mr. ZAPPONE. I think it is a general statute.

The CHAIRMAN. I wish you would give those statutes, and we will have them inserted in the record.

Mr. ZAPPONE. I will do so, if practicable.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, the hours in the Department are from 9 to 4. Mr. BURCH. No; 9 to 4.30.

The CHAIRMAN. Are there any of the employees who do any other work out of hours?

Mr. BURCH. Not that I know of. They may, some of them, do some work outside, but not that I know of.

The CHAIRMAN. Do you have any knowledge of any who do any work of any consequence or importance outside of hours?

Mr. BURCH. I have not.

Mr. ZAPPONE. There is a general order of the Secretary which prohibits outside work except in such cases as he personally passes upon and approves.

The CHAIRMAN. I wish you would put that order in as a part of the record.

Mr. ZAPPONE. I will do so. It follows:

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D. C., September 25, 1905.

To Officers and Employees of the Department of Agriculture: The following regulations are promulgated for your guidance: REGULATION I. No officer or employee of the Department who is in a position, either to influence the award of a contract with the Department, or to cause purchases of supplies to be made for the Department, shall be interested in any firm, company, or corporation doing business with the Department.

REGULATION II. Officers or employees who are engaged upon investigations of special industries for the Department shall not be connected with, or interested in, any firm, company, or corporation whose scope of business includes the industry which the officer or employee is investigating for the Department; and an officer or employee engaged upon the above-described work shall in no case allow his name, his work, or his connection with the Department to be used in promoting, or exploiting, or selling stock in, any firm, company, or corporation, the scope of whose business includes the special industry which such officer or employee is investigating for the Department.

REGULATION III. No officer or employee shall perform or be engaged upon work for private firms, companies, corporations, or institutions without the written consent of the Secretary, first had and obtained through the chief of the bureau, office, or division in which said officer or employee serves.

The purpose of this regulation is not to prevent officers and employees of the Department from performing proper work, outside of office hours, which does not interfere with or hamper work for the Department, but is designed to afford the Secretary an opportunity to pass upon the kind and quantity of outside work which may be permitted in order that such work shall not impair the usefulness of such officers or employees to the Government.

JAMES WILSON, Secretary.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D. C., October 20, 1905.

To Chiefs of Bureaus, Offices, and Divisions:

Regulation III of Department Circular No. 4 prescribes that

"No officer or employee shall perform or be engaged upon work for private firms, companies, corporations, or institutions without the written consent of the

(Witnesses: Burch, Zappone.)

Secretary first had and obtained through the chief of the bureau, office, or division in which said officer or employee serves."

It is hereby ordered that before transmitting to the Secretary for his consideration the written application of an employee or officer for permission to engage in or continue any nonofficial occupation, the chief of the bureau, division, or office shall indorse upon said application his recommendation in the premises, whether of approval or disapproval.

JAMES WILSON, Secretary.

The CHAIRMAN. I find that there are four classes of clerks referred to-classes of $900, $1,000, and $1,100, and $1,200 to $1,800, being classes 1, 2, 3, and 4. Please explain what the duties of those clerks are, what they do, giving a differentiation between the work of the four classes, if there is any.

Mr. BURCH. Oh, yes; there is a vast difference in the work of the different classes.

The CHAIRMAN. Now begin with class 4, for instance.

Mr. BURCH. Well, he receives $1,800, and he must be a man who is very proficient in the duties in which he is engaged. He may be a supervising man of an office-have charge of an office.

The CHAIRMAN. Now we will take one specific case here, Mr. Roberts. What duties does this particular clerk happen to be engaged in? He is of class 4.

Mr. BURCH. He is with the appointment clerk, and acts as appointment officer when the appointment clerk is absent. When Mr. Bennett is absent he takes his place and is really the assistant appointment clerk. It is necessary for him to know the civil-service laws in regard to all appointments and to take charge of the entire work in the absence of Mr. Bennett.

The CHAIRMAN. What do the clerks in class 3 do?

Mr. BURCH. One of them is my assistant, assistant chief clerk, Mr. Frickey; and another one of them is in Mr. Bennett's room.

The CHAIRMAN. What does he do, or, I might put it this way, what do they do?

Mr. BURCH. My assistant takes my chair in my absence, and looks after the filing of all the mail, makes jackets for certain important letters, such as are sent to the chief of a bureau for action, and they note the same on this jacket and return the papers. It is then filed in the file room where the letter and the papers can be found at any time.

Mr. FLOOD. What salary do clerks of class 3 get? Mr. BURCH. One thousand six hundred dollars. The CHAIRMAN. What do the other clerks do? You have given the duties of the clerks who work with you, now what do the other clerks do?

Mr. BURCH. Well, one is Mr. C. C. Carroll, who is a file clerk, and has charge of the file room. He comes under that class. Miss Housman does also.

The CHAIRMAN. He only worked part of the time, I see.

Mr. BURCH. Yes; and was transferred to another salary in another bureau.

Mr. ZAPPONE. The three named above Mr. Frickey filled one statutory position during the year, and the $1,600 was divided among the three.

Mr. BURCH. Mr. Pennybacker is with the appointment clerk making out appointments.

(Witness: Burch.)

The CHAIRMAN. I thought Mr. Roberts was the acting appointment clerk.

Mr. BURCH. Yes; but he has eight or ten clerks in his office.

The CHAIRMAN. In what way are the duties discharged by Mr. Pennybacker different from those discharged by Mr. Roberts?

Mr. BURCH. When the appointment clerk is absent, of course, he would take Mr. Roberts's place.

The CHAIRMAN. But that can not be a great length of time, because it is the appointment clerk's business to be there all the time. Mr. BURCH. Of course they are not there always.

The CHAIRMAN. He is not away days at a time, is he?

Mr. BURCH. He has been away three or four weeks broken down in health, just recently.

The CHAIRMAN. That, of course, is an exception, but ordinarily, if he is well, he is there substantially all the time.

Mr. BURCH. Yes; most of the time; certainly.

The CHAIRMAN. Is he not there all the time?

Mr. BURCH. He has thirty days' leave.

The CHAIRMAN. Oh, yes, they all have thirty days' leave.

Mr. BURCH. There are some nine or ten clerks in the office, and some of the clerks are more responsible than others.

The CHAIRMAN. What makes them more responsible? That is what I wanted to know, providing you can put it in concrete form.

Mr. BURCH. I don't know that I could explain it so you could understand it fully. The appointment clerk looks after the clerks and directs certain things to be done. Certain clerks make out appointments and keep track of them and see that they are made properly and recorded and kept in proper shape.

The CHAIRMAN. How many clerks does the appointment clerk have in his office?

Mr. BURCH. I think nine or ten.

The CHAIRMAN. Is there business enough in the office to keep nine or ten men continuously occupied?

Mr. BURCH. Yes, certainly. That is as busy an office as you will find anywhere.

The CHAIRMAN. How about the clerks of class 2; what do they do?

Mr. BURCH. Mr. Clark-he aids the property clerk, receives express, ships and sends out express and freight, and keeps track of it. The CHAIRMAN. What is the property clerk's name?

Mr. BURCH. C. B. Lower.

The CHAIRMAN. C. B. Lower, chief of the supply division. In other words, you call him property clerk, or chief of the supply division?

Mr. BURCH. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Now, I will ask what Miss Moore does, for instance. What I want to get at is the distinction between the duties that these men discharge for the purpose of getting an idea of the basis upon which there is a difference in compensation.

Mr. BURCH. She is our file clerk. After a clerk has been in the Department for several years and becomes proficient in his work and duties he is eligible for transfer. Each clerk has different duties to

23848-07- -7

(Witness: Burch.)

perform, and those who are getting higher salaries and are supposed to do the work requiring greater proficiency and which will be of more value to the office

The CHAIRMAN. Do we understand from that that when a clerk has been there a number of years and becomes proficient that he succeeds in doing more work, or is qualified to do a higher grade of work, and is then assigned to that work?

Mr. BURCH. Both. He is qualified to do a higher grade of work, which is generally assigned to him, and if there are vacancies in salary they are promoted to higher positions.

The CHAIRMAN. As you understand it, a promotion or an increase in salary indicates a difference in the kind of work done, but not exactly so much the capacity to do that particular work, or is it that? Mr. BURCH. When they have been in the service a long time they frequently receive promotion and probably do not change the character of work done, but frequently the work is also changed.

The CHAIRMAN. Is that what you call promotion, or is it simply an increase in salary? They call them classes, because the classes are different mainly upon the basis that they have one salary attached to one class and one to another; but while a man is doing a certain amount of work and by long experience he can turn off more of that same kind of work, and therefore becomes very proficient in that particular class of work, then you promote him to a higher class, which gives him higher pay?

Mr. BURCH. Yes; because of efficiency-that is, long-service men are more proficient."

The CHAIRMAN. If the efficient men turn off more work they get better results, do they not?

Mr. FLOOD. Isn't that the case in all the Departments of the Gov

ernment?

Mr. BURCH. Yes; long service entitles them to promotion when there is a vacancy for promotion. They are not made unless there is

a vacancy.

The CHAIRMAN. What kind of work do the clerks of class 1 do? Mr. BURCH. Similar work to the others, but probably in a lower degree.

The CHAIRMAN. That is to say, less efficient; they are not capable of accomplishing so much.

Mr. BURCH. It might not be less efficient. If they had opportunity for promotion they might fill a position in a higher grade if there was an opening for them.

The CHAIRMAN. Is the service so arranged that men receiving $1,000 succeed in accomplishing as much as those receiving $1,600? Mr. BURCH. It so happens in some instances.

The CHAIRMAN. Perhaps it might be put the other way, the men getting $1,600 do not do so much as those receiving $1,000.

Mr. BURCH. It frequently happens that a man who has only been on the roll a short time may be just as efficient to fill a vacancy as a man who receives $1,400.

The CHAIRMAN. Are these men promoted on the basis of the records that they have made?

Mr. BURCH. They are.

The CHAIRMAN. What sort of records do you keep?