Butler, Pa. Total pay for 1 messenger for quarter ending Sept. 30, 1936_ Average pay for 1 messenger, per month, for quarter ending Dec. Total pay for 1 messenger for quarter ending Dec. 31, 1936_. $490.00 550. 65 490.00 550. 65 163. 33 183.55 550.65 The CHAIRMAN. The chairman has received letters from the War Department and the National Association of Manufacturers, New York City, concerning the pending bill, and, without objection, they will be made a part of the record. They read as follows: Hon. ROBERT RAMSPECK, WAR DEPARTMENT, Washington, February 18, 1937. Chairman, Committee on the Civil Service, House of Representatives. DEAR MR. RAM SPECK: The Department received your letter of the 9th instant with relation to H. R. 2700 which is to be the basis of hearings before your committee on the question of extending the classified civil service. With relation to the provision contained in section I of the bill you are advised that the only statutes which are directly pertinent to the exemption of positions in the War Department service are the following: "The Chief of Engineers is authorized to engage under agreement, when deemed necessary, expert assistance in the various arts and sciences, including expert stenographic assistance for reporting the proceedings of public hearings held in connection with preliminary examinations, surveys, or improvements of rivers and harbors, upon terms and rates of compensation for services and incidental expenses in excess of the maximum of the salaries authorized by chapter 13 of title 5; and all agreements entered into for such purposes prior to July 3, 1930, are validated to the amount of the current rates charged for such services. (July 3, 1930, c. 847, par. 6, 46 Stat. 948)." "Civilians employed in the hostess and library services and paid from the appropriation for military post exchanges may be appointed by the Secretary of War without reference to civil-service rules and regulations. (Mar. 2, 1923, c. 178, title I, 42 Stat. 1380)." "The superintendents of the national cemeteries shall be selected from meritorious and trustworthy soldiers, either commissioned officers or enlisted men of the Volunteer or Regular Army, who have been honorably mustered out or discharged from the service of the United States, and who may have been disabled for active field service in the line of duty. (R. S. par. 4874)." With relation to exempted positions in the Engineer Department governed by the first-quoted statute you are advised that the views of the Chief of Engineers are as follows: "The expert assistance which the Chief of Engineers is authorized to employ by the River and Harbor Act of July 3, 1930, is employed for brief periods only, from time to time and is made up of consulting engineers, geologists, other scientific experts and expert stenographers for public hearings. Being selected for their personal attainments, those persons are appointed without competitive examinations, but all engagements under this authority are reported semiannually to the Civil Service Commission with a statement of the qualifications of each expert. Following consideration of the report and accompanying statements these temporary engagements are formally approved by the Commission. "It is the view of the Office of the Chief of Engineers that the experts hired under this authority do not occupy 'positions' within the meaning of the proposed H. R. 2700 and that the passage of the proposed bill would not adversely affect present procedure under the act of July 3, 1930." With respect to the statute exempting hostesses and librarians you are advised that The Adjutant General of the Army, who has administrative charge of those positions, has reported as follows: "There are at present 11 hostesses and 2 librarians in this service. The salaries of the hostesses range from $1,200 to $1,980 per annum, and those of the librarians from $2,300 to $2,800. All persons now employed in the hostess and library service are performing their duties satisfactorily and there is no objection to conferring a civil-service status upon them. "However, in view of the peculiar qualifications desired with respect to hostesses, it is not deemed advisable to make any change in the present method of their appointment, although no new appointments are at present contemplated, in accordance with an understanding reached with the Subcommittee on Appropriations, House of Representatives. When vacancies occur they will not be filled under the arrangements mentioned. Under the law as it exists at present (sec. 663, ch. 24, title 10, U. S. C.), the Secretary of War may choose, as hostesses, persons who, by reason of experience in their contacts with Army life, are especially qualified for the positions. It is not deemed desirable to select hostesses from a civil-service eligible list, as such a list would ordinarily contain the names of those who have no understanding of the needs of military personnel as respects recreation and welfare." The Quartermaster General, who has administrative charge of the national cemeteries, reports as follows: "This office does not favor bringing into the classified civil service the superintendents and assistant superintendents of national cemeteries who are now appointed under a special act of Congress, which provides that only honorably discharged soldiers, either commissioned or enlisted, who may have been disabled for active field service in line of duty are eligible for appointment, such appointments being made by the Secretary of War." Section II of the bill affects one corporation with which the War Department is concerned, namely, the Inland Waterways Corporation. The head of that Corporation reports that the provision of the bill which would have the effect of placing the Corporation entirely under the requirements of the Civil Service Act is extremely objectionable. He further says that: "It is an independent corporated and by virtue of its functions is directly comparable to the rail transportation organizations of the country, and in order to carry out the mandates of Congress should be as free in its conduct with respect to personnel as are such rail transportation companies. "It would not be feasible nor practical to attempt to handle the large proportion of common labor which we employ under the restrictions of civil service. "The provisions of the law with respect to the sale or lease of the properties of the Corporation to private interests, under certain prescribed conditions, would preclude a continuation of the civil-service status by its employees, should such sale or lease eventuate. "For these reasons it would appear that every effort should be made to have the Inland Waterways Corporation exempted from the provisions of the abovementioned bill." I now advise you with respect to "emergency" positions. These, of course, are positions which under the "emergency" appropriations have been filled outside the competitive requirements of the Civil Service Act. They embrace professional, subprofessional, as well as clerical and other occupations. In most cases they will cease with the completion of the projects or functions the "emergency" programs contemplate. The passage of the bill in question would not give a civil-service status to these employees, many of whom have gained valuable experience for several branches of the War Department, and they could only be transferred to regular projects (that is other than those provided for by "emergency" appropriations) after they securied eligibility in competition with others of unknown capabilities, as the passage of this bill would require the separation of these employees, or most of them, before the completion of the projects or the winding up of the functions on which they are engaged. Important work would be disorganized and the interests of the service would suffer. Moreover, some employees have been appointed to positions under "emergency" funds but on work which now seems to be of a permanent nature, and for which regular appropriations have been made. Their appointments were made at a time when the expansion of the work was so rapid that it would be impracticable to secure sufficient civil-service eligibles to fill all available positions. These employees are experienced and their permanent retention would be in the interest of the service, but under the bill in question the chance that they would be retained is lessened by their being placed in competition with other examination entrants. The Department recommends that in general the retention of such of the "emergency" employees as will be indefinitely needed be based upon passing the appropriate examination noncompetitively. It is noted of course that the objective the Department desires in the above presentation could be obtained by presidential action, but it is thought that the reasons for its recommendations for maintenance of the status quo should be presented to your committee. The above presentation embodies the information and the Department's views which it is believed your committee desires for its hearings, but these views do not, of course, become a commitment as to the relation of the proposed legislation to the program of the President with regard to general legislation looking to the improvement of existing personnel conditions in the Federal service. Sincerely yours, JOHN W. MARTIN, Administrative Assistant. Hon. ROBERT RAMSPECK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS, House of Representatives, House Office Building, Washington, D. C. MY DEAR MR. RAMSPECK: We have noted with considerable interest that your committee is to begin hearings February 10 on the bill to extend the civil service to Government agencies not now covered by civil service, requiring, however, a competitive examination for inclusion. Will you please record our association as supporting the general principles embodied in your bill? I may state that our association is thoroughly in favor of civil-service examinations for all regular nonmilitary employees of the Federal Government with the exception of those who must formulate policies. We believe, of course, that the civil-service statute should not be construed as meaning permanent retention of employees in a particular Government branch when Congress deems it advisable in the public interest to discontinue certain functions or activities of the Federal Government. We believe further that it is inadvisable to have Federal Government employees originally employed without reference to any competitive examinations transferred to civil service without being required to take such examination. Very truly yours, W. B. WARNER, President. The CHAIRMAN. If there are no further questions, we thank you for your statement, Mr. Middendorf. It is now about 12 o'clock, and the committee will recess until 10:30 o'clock next Tuesday, when we hope to conclude our hearings. (Thereupon, at 11:55 a. m., Friday, Feb. 19, 1937, the committee adjourned, to met at 10:30 a. m., Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1937.) TO EXTEND THE CLASSIFIED CIVIL SERVICE TO POSITIONS IN EMERGENCY AGENCIES AND EXCEPTED POSITIONS IN OLDER BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 1937 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Washington, D. C'. The committee this day met at 10:30 a. m., Hon. Robert Ramspeck (chairman) presiding, for further consideration of H. R. 2700. CHARLES E. GIBSON, NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POST OFFICE AND RAILWAY MAIL SERVICE LABORERS The CHAIRMAN. The committee will please come to order. The first witness this morning is Mr. Charles E. Gibson, president of the National Association of Post Office and Railway Mail Service Laborers. Mr. GIBSON. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, our group very strongly went on record at our last convention and has gone on record in previous conventions for the extension of the civil-service merit system and the strengthening of it. In 1916 or 1918 we had about 500 or 600 laborers in the service under a non-civil-service status. The Post Office Department at that time asked President Wilson to blanket them into the civil service by Executive order, which he did. After that a number of the boys in our service took an examination in order to acquire a classified civil-service status. Some of them who did not take a civil-service examination have been retired. We believe that it would not harm, and perhaps it would be cheaper for the department today, if we would take every man who has been in the service 2 or 3 years and blanket him into the civil service by Executive order, for the simple reason that those men all know the duties devolving upon them in their different work. It costs a great deal of money to break in a new man on a job. Take, for instance, special-delivery messengers, few of whom have been in the service less than 5 years. I think the easiest way to deal with that group would be to cover it into the classified civil service by Executive order. If this committee will bring out an amendment to H. R. 2700, I think it would be well. As you gentlemen know, we have asked for a noncompetitive examination for laborers to be advanced to clerks and carriers. At 127412-37-11 159 present there is a departmental regulation making the granting of this examination something within the discretion of the local postmasters. Naturally some of the postmasters, and, I believe I might say, most of them, have looked at this matter from a political viewpoint, and unless a laborer has a good influential politician back of him, it is impossible to get a noncompetitive examination with a view to advancing to the grade of clerk or carrier. We are asking for a law that would give the right to take a civil-service examination after 3 years' satisfactory service, and for those who reach an eligible rating of 70 percent, we would place them at the bottom of the substitute list for carriers and clerks. They remain as laborers. When one gets to be no. 1 substitute, he would be made a regular substitute until he got his regular job. That would give these laborers a chance to make a steady salary, except for about 2 months' work, as substitute clerks or carriers. We believe that any man who has been in the service any length of time is more efficient and a better worker for the Government than one is when he first enters the service. Even though these men have come into the service during the last, say, 2 years, they know their work and it would be better to take them than to inject new men into the service to do that work. I think that would be the ideal solution of this problem-to permit these men to come in under noncompetitive examinations. The CHAIRMAN. If there are no questions, we thank you very much. for your statement, Mr. Gibson. STATEMENT OF KENNETH C. VIPOND, ASSISTANT CHIEF EXAMINER AND BUDGET OFFICER, UNITED STATES CIVIL SERVICE COMMISSION The CHAIRMAN. Mr. Vipond, will you take the stand again? The CHAIRMAN. I want to ask Mr. Vipond to explain for the record what the procedure would be under this bill as it is written, so that we may be able to compare the different suggestions. With the exception of President Mitchell and Mr. Babcock, I do not believe any witness has entirely understood that this bill, while it would place the positions in the civil service, it would not put the incumbents in the civil service nor require their discharge. I would like to have you, Mr. Vipond, explain for the record how it would operate without any amendment. Mr. VIPOND. May I make a preliminary statement concerning a statement made here last Friday in connection with blanketing into the classified service the emergency employees? The CHAIRMAN. Certainly. Mr. VIPOND. The statement made was correct up to July 6, 1936, but the rules were amended by the President at that time to change the procedure. The statement last Friday was to the effect that there are three ways by which an employee whose position is classified may himself acquire a classified status. The first is by winning in an open competitive examination; second, through passing a noncompetitive examination; third, by straight blanketing into the service without any examination whatsoever. The statement last Friday was to the effect that this third way would be operative if section 3 |