*

*

* Shortly after the four

was changed by the four-year tenure act of 1820. year tenure act had been passed, Jefferson said of it: "The late mischievous law, vacating every four years nearly all the executive offices of the Government, saps the Constitution and salutary functions of the President and introduces a principle of intrigue and corruption which will soon leaven the mass not only of Senators, but of citizens." The civil-service act was

* *

*

intended to cure in part the evils traceable to the spoils system which grew out of the four-year tenure of office act. Our administrative system now presents the anomaly of filling certain inferior positions by test of merit and changing every four years the higher positions, certain of which the President urges that he be given power to classify, such as those of collectors of customs, collectors of internal revenue, and postmasters, in which proven capacity and most thorough training are required in the interest of good administration.

These four-year term laws were passed about 1820. Since the passage of these statutes it has, however, seldom been the case that Congress has provided a fixed term of any length for officers in the field services or, indeed, for any of the officers of the Government. It is to be regretted that although Congress would seem to have become convinced of the undesirability of four-year terms, as is evidenced by its general abandonment of the four-year term for the offices most recently established, it permits the four-year term to remain for those offices for which it was provided by the legislation of the first quarter of the last century.

So long as the four-year term and appointment by the President by and with the advice and consent of the Senate are retained in combination for these classes of officers it is almost useless to hope that the most important positions in these local services of the Government will ever become permanent in character or that they will be filled by really qualified persons. Under present legal conditions they will always remain political in character, their incumbents will be frequently changed, and great loss both in economy and efficiency in administration will result to the Government. It is because of the general refusal of Congress to fix the term of the heads of bureaus at Washington that a long step has been taken in building up a permanent force in charge of the routine work of the departments.

The repeal of these four-year term of office acts, in so far as it would make possible greater permanency in tenure and greater length of term of actual incumbency of office would, in all probability, improve the quality of the service by keeping in office persons better qualified as a result of practical experience to discharge thei duties than is at present the case.

Respectfully submitted.

F. A. CLEVELAND,

Chairman. W. F. WILLOUGHBY. W. W. WARWICK. FRANK J. GOODNOW. HARVEY S. CHASE.

M. O. CHANCE,

Secretary.

EXHIBIT 1.

CONSULAR SERVICE-REGULATIONS GOVERNING APPOINTMENTS AND

PROMOTIONS.

Whereas the Congress, by section 1753 of the Revised Statutes of the United States, has provided as follows:

The President is authorized to prescribe such regulations for the admission of persons into the civil service of the United States as may best promote the efficiency thereof, and ascertain the fitness of each candidate in respect to age, health, character, knowledge, and ability for the branch of service into which he seeks to enter; and for this purpose he may employ suitable persons to conduct such inquiries, and may prescribe their duties, and establish regulations for the conduct of persons who may receive appointments in the civil service.

And whereas the Congress has classified and graded the consuls general and consuls of the United States by the act entitled "An act to provide for the reorganization of the Consular Service of the United States," approved April 5, 1906, and has thereby made it practicable to extend to that branch of the civil service the aforesaid provisions of the Revised Statutes and the principles embodied in the civil-service act of January 16, 1883:

Now, therefore, in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by the Constitution and laws of the United States, the President makes the following regulations to govern the selection of consuls general and consuls in the civil service of the United States, subject always to the advice and consent of the Senate:

1. Vacancies in the office of consul general and in the office of consuls above class 8 shall be filled by promotion from the lower grades of the Consular Service, based upon ability and efficiency as shown in the service.

2. Vacancies in the office of consul of class 8 and of consul of class 9 shall be filled:

(a) By promotion on the basis of ability and efficiency as shown in the service of consular clerks and of vice consuls, deputy consuls, and consular agents who shall have been appointed to such offices upon examination.

(b) By new appointments of candidates who have passed a satisfactory examination for appointment as consul as hereafter provided. 3. Persons in the service of the Department of State with salaries of $2,000 or upward shall be eligible for promotion, on the basis of ability and efficiency as shown in the service, to any grade of the Consular Service above class 8 of consuls.

4. The Secretary of State, or such officer of the Department of State as the President shall designate, the Chief of the Consular Bureau, and the chief examiner of the Civil Service Commission, or some person whom said commission shall designate, shall constitute a board of examiners for admission to the Consular Service.

5. It shall be the duty of the board of examiners to formulate rules for and hold examinations of applicants for admission to the Consular Service.

6. The scope and method of the examinations shall be determined by the board of examiners, but among the subjects shall be included

at least one modern language other than English; the natural, industrial, and commercial resources and the commerce of the United States, especially with reference to the possibilities of increasing and extending the trade of the United States with foreign countries; political economy; elements of international, commercial, and maritime law.

7. Examination papers shall be rated on a scale of 100, and no person rated at less than 80 shall be eligible for certification.

8. No one shall be examined who is under 21 or over 50 years of age, or who is not a citizen of the United States, or who is not of good character and habits and physically and mentally qualified for the proper performance of consular work, or who has not been specially designated by the President for appointment to the Consular Service, subject to examination.

9. Whenever a vacancy shall occur in the eighth or ninth class of consuls which the President may deem it expedient to fill, the Secretary of State shall inform the board of examiners, who shall certify to him the list of those persons eligible for appointment, accompanying the certificate with a detailed report showing the qualifications, as revealed by examination, of the persons so certified. If it be desired to fill a vacancy in a consulate in a country in which the United States exercises extraterritorial jurisdiction, the Secretary of State shall so inform the board of examiners, who shall include in the list of names certified by it only such persons as have passed an examination provided for in this order, and who also have passed an examination in the fundamental principles of the common law, the rules of evidence, and the trial of civil and criminal cases. The list of names which the board of examiners shall certify shall be sent to the President for his information.

10. No promotion shall be made except for efficiency, as shown by the work that the officer has accomplished, the ability, promptness, and diligence displayed by him in the performance of his official duties, his conduct, and his fitness for the Consular Service.

11. It shall be the duty of the board of examiners to formulate rules for and hold examinations of persons designated for appointment as consular clerk, and of such persons designated for appointment as vice consul, deputy consul, and consular agent, as shall desire to become eligible for promotion. The scope and method of such examination shall be determined by the board of examiners, but it shall include the same subjects herein before prescribed for the examination of consuls. Any vice consul, deputy consul, or consular agent now in the service, upon passing such an examination, shall become eligible for promotion as if appointed upon such examination. 12. In designations for appointment subject to examination and in appointments after examination, due regard will be had to the rule that as between candidates of equal merit appointments should be so made as to secure proportional representation of all the States and Territories in the Consular Service; and neither in the designation for examination or certification or appointment will the political affiliations of the candidate be considered. THEODORE ROOSEVELT.

THE WHITE HOUSE, June 27, 1906.

EXHIBIT 2.

EXTRACT FROM REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND MARINE-HOSPITAL SERVICE.

ARTICLE II.—EXAMINATIONS, APPOINTMENTS, AND PROMOTIONS OF

COMMISSIONED OFFICERS.

17. Medical officers of the Public Health and Marine-Hospital Service, required by law to be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall be known in these regulations as commissioned officers.

18. Graduates of medicine desirous of undergoing examination for the position of assistant surgeon in the Public Health and MarineHospital Service of the United States must make an application, addressed to the Surgeon General, in their own handwriting, requesting permission to appear before the board of examiners. Applicants for examination should state their age, date and place of birth, present legal residence, and whether they are citizens of the United States, and name of medical school and college of which they are graduates, and furnish testimonials from at least two persons as to their professional and moral character. Applicants of foreign birth must furnish proof of American citizenship.

19. Any applicant for appointment who shall submit false testimonials as to his character, or who shall give a false certificate of age, or make any false statement in his application, or to the board of examiners, shall be disqualified for appointment, or, if appointed before such false statement is discovered, shall be dismissed from the

service.

20. No applicant will be eligible to appear before a board of examiners whose age is less than 22 or more than 30 years, and, as a preliminary to a recommendation by the Surgeon General for appointment as assistant surgeon, the applicant must have been graduated in medicine at some respectable médical college, and must have passed a satisfactory physical, academic, and professional examination before a board of commissioned officers. The applicant must submit his diploma or a certified copy thereof to the board.

21. Commissioned officers will not be appointed to any particular station, but to the general service. They will be subject to change of station as the exigencies of the service may require, and shall serve in any part of the United States or wherever assigned to duty.

22. A board of commissioned officers will be convened from time to time by the Surgeon General for the purpose of examining applicants for appointment. This board shall consist of three or more commissioned officers, of whom the senior shall be chairman and the junior recorder of the board.

23. The board of examiners will make a true report on the merit roll of the actual and relative standing of applicants and transmit the examination papers, with their recommendations in each case, to the Surgeon General. The Surgeon General will submit the report of the board to the Secretary of the Treasury for his approval, and furnish a copy of the merit roll for the files of the department. The maximum mark in any one branch of the examination shall be 100, and no applicant will be recommended for appointment who fails to receive

an average grade of 80 in the ratings on the topics named in paragraphs 26, 28, and 29.

24. All academic and professional examinations for appointment shall be conducted by said board of medical officers, and the order of examinations shall be

1. Physical.

2. Academic.

3. Professional.

4. Clinical.

5. Personal (including general aptitude and moral fitness). 25. The physical examination will be made according to the rules elsewhere given. The examiners must pay special attention to conditions that may impair efficiency or cause early placing on "waiting orders," such as hereditary diseases, overstrain of nervous system, impaired vitality from excesses of any kind. Applicants should be required to give explicit statement of any severe illness or injury, and of the cause of death of near relatives, and certify that they believe themselves free from any ailment, mental and physical, or defect which would disqualify them for active service in any climate.

26. The board will examine the applicant orally as to his proficiency in general literature, language, history, and geography (of the United States in particular), and such branches of general science as they may in their discretion think pertinent.

27. The written examinations of applicants for appointment will begin with a short autobiography of applicant, in which he will concisely state: Whether married or single; the date and place of his birth; the school, institution, or college at which he received his general education; the several branches studied, including his knowledge of general literature and of the ancient and modern languages; the exact title of the medical school or schools at which he received instruction and the date of his graduation; the name and place of residence of his preceptor and the time when he commenced the study of medicine; also the titles of the textbooks studied on chemistry, anatomy, physiology, histology, materia medica, pharmacy, therapeutics, theory and practice of medicine, principles and practice of surgery, medical jurisprudence, toxicology, obstetrics, hygiene, biology, pathology, bacteriology, and physics; the opportunities he has had of engaging in the practice of medicine, surgery, and obstetrics or of receiving clinical instruction; and whether he has been a resident physician or interne in a civil or military hospital; and the number of cadavers or parts of cadavers he has dissected while at college or elsewhere. The candidate will append to this statement his name in full, post-office address, and his local address at the date

of the examination.

28. The remainder of the written examination of applicants for appointment will consist of questions on (1) anatomy, (2) physiology, (3) chemistry, (4) materia medica and therapeutics, (5) practice of medicine, (6) practice of surgery, (7) obstetrics and diseases of women, (8) hygiene, (9) pathology and bacteriology, (10) reports on selected cases at a hospital. These cases will be selected by the examiners so as to give at least two (one medical and one surgical case) to each applicant.

29. This examination will further consist of such inquiries as may tend to develop the general aptitude of the person for the special