SPECIAL ARCHITECTURAL AND TECHNICAL SERVICES IN

TREASURY DEPARTMENT.

SEC. 2. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby further authorized, without regard to civil-service laws, rules, or regulations, to obtain such special architectural Appointment. or other expert technical services as he may deem necessary and specially order in writing, and to pay for such services such prices or rates of compensation as he may consider just and reasonable from the appropriation for said building, any statute to the contrary notwithstanding. (40 Stat., 296, act of Sept. 27, 1917.)

BUREAU OF WAR-RISK INSURANCE, TREASURY DEPARTMENT.

With the exception of the director, the commissioners, and such special experts as the Secretary of the Treasury may from time to time find necessary for the conduct of the work of the bureau, all employees of the bureau shall be appointed from lists of eligibles to Appointment. be supplied by the Civil Service Commission and in accordance with the civil-service law. Such fees, allowances, and salaries shall be the same as are paid for similar services in other departments of the Government. (40 Stat., 400, act of Oct. 6, 1917, amending the act authorizing the establishment of the Bureau of WarRisk Insurance, Treasury Department, approved Sept. 2, 1914.)

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METHODS OF CERTIFICATION.

DEPARTMENTAL SERVICE IN WASHINGTON, D. C.

The civil-service act requires that so far as the interests of good administration will warrant appointments to the public service in the departments at Washington shall be apportioned among the several States, Territories, and the District of Columbia upon the basis of population as ascertained at the last preceding census, and that selections for appointment shall be made according to grade from among those graded highest as the results of open competitive examinations.

Experience has shown that it is not in the interests of good administration to undertake to certify in accordance with the apportionment in filling certain positions and classes of positions in Washington, D. C. The positions not so apportioned are named in section 2 of Civil Service Rule VII.

On account of the large amount of work made necessary by military preparations, there was need for the appointment of many thousands of clerical and other employees in the War and Navy Departments, and owing to the emergency, it was extremely important that these appointments be made with the least possible delay. The temporary appointment of a considerable number of local eligibles, particularly stenographers and typewriters and persons with other special qualifications, was unavoidable, because of the difficulty experienced in obtaining eligibles from the various States willing to accept immediate appointment, and under the rule requiring the apportionment of appointments among the States and Territories upon the basis of population, it would be necessary to separate these employees as soon as available eligibles were obtained from States and Territories which were more entitled to appointments. Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia would be last reached for certification, as each had already received a much larger number of appointments than it was entitled to under the apportionment. In this way the Government would lose the services of employees who were just becoming valuable on account of their training in the work upon which they were engaged. If it were not for the apportionment rule, they would in many cases be reached for permanent appointment during their temporary service, and their retention would be possible.

The enforcement of the apportionment rule also frequently results in the appointment of persons barely making a passing grade in the examination in preference to persons from States which have already received their share of appointments who obtained higher ratings. The waiver of the apportionment, which would permit the appointment of many local eligibles who would not otherwise have been reached, would not only result in a more expeditious filling of vacancies but would accomplish the appointment of persons familiar with local conditions who would be more content in their employment and more desirable in many ways, and the commission therefore waived the requirement of apportionment for certifications to the War and Navy Departments. This requirement was also waived for certifications to the Food Administration and the War Trade Board because of the emergency work on which they were engaged and the necessity for filling vacancies without delay, and also because of the uncertain tenure of appointments in many cases, and for the Treasury Department, conditioned upon the department stating the need for such waiver in each case. Certifications for these departments and offices are made in accordance with the ratings attained by eligibles in the examination.

Certifications.-Until requested to certify names for filling it, the commission has no information in regard to any vacancy which may exist in any branch of the service. Whenever an appointing officer desires to fill a vacancy by original appointment he makes requisition upon the commission for a certification of eligibles, specifying the kind of position, the sex desired, and the salary. Upon receipt of such requisition the commission takes from the proper register

of eligibles the names of the three persons standing highest of the sex called for, who indicate in their examination papers that they are willing to accept the salary of the position to be filled, and certifies them to the appointing officer who is required to make selection. The appointing officer may select any one of the three names. The two remaining names are returned to the register to await further certification.

The time of examination is not considered in making certifications, as the highest in average percentage on the register must be certified first, although they may not have been the first examined. As a result of one examination an eligible may be certified for appointment three times to each department or office if reached for such certifications during the period of eligibility. An eligible who has been certified three times to the same office or department may be subsequently selected, subject to the approval of the commission, from the certificate on which his name last appeared, if the condition of the register has not so changed as to place him in other respects beyond reach of certification. When the needs of the service require it, certification may be made from a higher-grade register for filling a lower-grade position.

Method of certification for nonapportioned positions in Washington, D. C.Certification is made from the appropriate register in order of average percentage without reference to the State residence of eligibles.

Method of certification for scientific or technical positions, and those of stenographer and typewriter at more than $900 a year; apportioned Departmental Service.-When requistion is received for certification from any register of a scientific or technical character, or for certification for filling a vacancy in the position of stenographer and typewriter at a salary of more than $900, in the apportioned departmental service, the following method is pursued:

1. Certification is made of the highest eligibles of the sex called for from the entire group of States and Territories that have not received their full share of the total number of appointments actually made, until all the eligibles from such States and Territories with average percentages as much as 75 have been certified.

2. After all the eligibles described in (1) above have thus been certified, than certification is made from the other States, in their order under the apportionment, of eligibles with average percentages of as much as 75, down to the two States having the largest excess of their share of appointments, and the District of Columbia.

3. After all the eligibles described in (2) above have thus been certified, then certification is made, in the order of percentage, of the highest remaining eligibles from the entire group of States in arrears of their share who have percentages of as much as 73.

4. After all eligibles described in (3) above have thus been certified, then certification is made as described in (2) above, down to and including eligibles with percentages of as much as 73.

5. After all eligibles with averages of as much as 73 have thus been certified down to the two States that have received the greatest excess of their share, and the District of Columbia, then certification is made of the highest remaining eligibles from the entire group of States and Territories in arrears of their share; and after all eligibles from such group of States have been certified, then certification is made from each other State in its order under the apportionment. Only the names of competitors who attain a rating of at least 85 per cent in the subject of stenography and who have had at least two years' practical office experience will be certified for filling vacancies in stenographer and typewriter positions in the departmental service paying $1,200 a year or more.

Method of certification for other positions in the apportioned Departmental Service. When requisition is received to fill a vacancy in any position in the apportioned Departmental Service not covered by the method outlined in the foregoing for certification for scientific or technical positions, and those of stenographer and typewriter at more than $900 a year, the following method is pursued:

1. Certification is made of the highest eligibles from one-half of the entire group of States and Territories that have not received their full share of the total number of appointments actually made (if the number of such States and Territories is uneven, the lesser number is taken) and this method is followed until all the eligibles from such States and Territories have been certified with average percentages of as much as 80.

2. After all the eligibles described in (1) above have thus been certified, then certification is made in the same manner from one-half of the remainder of such group of States and Territories.

3. After all the eligibles described in (2) above have thus been certified, then certification is made in the same manner from the remainder of such group of States and Territories.

4. After all the eligibles described in (3) above have thus been certified, then certification is made as described in (1) above, down to and including eligibles with percentages of as much as 75.

5. After all the eligibles described in (4) above have thus been certified, then certification is made as described in (2) above, down to and including eligibles with percentages of as much as 75.

6. After all the eligibles described in (5) above have thus been certified, then certification is made as described in (3) above, down to and including eligibles with percentages of as much as 75.

7. After all the eligibles described in (6) above have thus been certified, then certification is made from the other States, in their order under the apportionment, of eligibles with an average percentage of as much as 75, down to the two States having the largest excess of their share of appointments, and the District of Columbia.

8. After all the eligibles described in (7) above have thus been certified, then certification is made of the highest remaining eligibles, from the entire group of States in arrears of their share, in the order of percentage, who have percentages of as much as 73.

9. After all the eligibles described in (8) above have thus been certified, then certification is made as described in (7) above, down to and including eligibles with percentages of as much as 73.

10. After all the eligibles have thus been certified with averages of as much as 73, down to the two States that have received the greatest excess of their share, and the District of Columbia, then certification is made of the highest remaining eligibles from the entire group of States and Territories in arrears of their share; and after all eligibles from such group of States and Territories have been certified, then certification is made from each State and Territory in its order under the apportionment.

FIELD SERVICE.

In order to promote the administration of the civil-service rules in the field service and for convenience in holding examinations and making certifications for certain field positions, the commission established 12 civil-service districts with headquarters at advantageous points throughout the country. These districts are as follows:

First district.-Headquarters, Boston, Mass.: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut.

Second district.-Headquarters, New York, N. Y.: New York and the counties of Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Union in the State of New Jersey.

Third district.-Headquarters, Philadelphia, Pa.: Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the counties of Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester, Hunterdon, Mercer, Ocean, Salem, Somerset, and Warren in the State of New Jersey.

Fourth district.-Headquarters, Washington, D. C.: Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and the District of Columbia.

Fifth district.-Headquarters, Atlanta, Ga.: South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Sixth district.-Headquarters, Cincinnati, Ohio: Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.

Seventh district.-Headquarters, Chicago, Ill.: Wisconsin, Michigan, and the counties of Boone, Bureau, Carroll, Cook, Dekalb, Dupage, Ford, Grundy, Henderson, Henry, Iroquois, Jo Daviess, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, Knox, Lake, Lasalle, Lee, Livingston, McHenry, Marshall, Mercer, Ogle, Peoria, Putnam, Rock Island, Stark, Stephenson, Warren, Whiteside, Winnebago, and Woodford in the State of Illinois.

Eighth district.-Headquarters, St. Paul, Minn.: Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, and Iowa.

Ninth district.-Headquarters, St. Louis, Mo.: Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and the counties of Adams, Alexander, Bond, Brown, Calhoun, Cass,

Champaign, Christian, Clark, Clay, Clinton, Coles, Crawford, Cumberland, Dewitt, Douglas, Edgar, Edwards, Effingham, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Jackson, Jasper, Jefferson, Jersey, Johnson, Lawrence, Logan, McDonough, McLean, Macon, Macoupin, Madison, Marion, Mason, Massac, Menard, Monroe, Montgomery, Morgan, Moultrie, Perry, Piatt, Pike, Pope, Pulaski, Randolph, Richland, St. Clair, Saline, Sangamon, Schuyler, Scott, Shelby, Tazewell, Union, Vermilion, Wabash, Washington, Wayne, White, and Williamson in the State of Illinois.

Tenth district.-Headquarters, New Orleans, La.: Louisiana and Texas. Eleventh district.-Headquarters, Seattle, Wash.: Wyoming, Montana, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Alaska.

Twelfth district.-Headquarters, San Francisco, Cal.: California, Nevada, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.

The commission is represented in Alaska by the secretary, board of civilservice examiners, office of United States surveyor general, Juneau; in Hawaii, by the secretary, board of civil-service examiners, customhouse, Honolulu; in Porto Rico, by the chairman, Porto Rican civil-service commission, San Juan; in the Canal Zone, by the secretary, board of civil-service examiners, Balboa Heights; in the Philippine Islands, by the director of civil-service, Manila.

In the development of the district system it has been the effort of the commission, through its representatives in the field, to secure a more intimate knowledge of the service and by personal contact with appointing officers and employees to bring about a larger measure of cooperation in the application of the competitive system. It is the duty of the district secretary to keep in close touch with conditions in the various offices in his district and to study the needs of the servce with respect to personnel, in order that the commission may be enabled better to meet those needs. He is expected to be acquainted with the members of the various local boards, and, as far as possible, with the personnel of the service in general. He is expected also to familiarize himself with the methods of doing Government business in the offices within his district as well as the conditions of employment outside the Government service so far as they may be comparable with and may affect the personnel of the service. As personal representatives of the commission a large degree of responsibility Tests upon the district secretaries. They must establish cordial relations with appointing officers and secure their cooperation. Through the reports of the district secretaries the commission is better able to understand the nature of the problems confronting field services and to apply the principles of the competitive system more efficiently to peculiar local conditions and requirements. The problems vary radically in different sections and in different branches of the service, and it is essential that the commission should approach them from an intimate knowledge and a sympathetic point of view.

Examinations are held and certifications are made under the district system to fill vacancies in nearly all of the positions in the field service. There are some positions, however, which it has been found impracticable to include under the district system, and certifications for such positions are made from the office of this commission. The following statement indicates the method of certification for field positions:

For filling a vacancy in the Indian Service (except in clerical positions) certification is made of the highest three eligibles on the proper register who indicate a willingness to accept appointment in the State where the vacancy exists. Competitors are given opportunity at the time of their examination to state the locality in which they are willing to accept employment. They may mention the States in which they wish to be employed or state that they are willing to accept employment anywhere in the United States.

This method is also followed in making certifications for the position of lay inspector in the Bureau of Animal Industry of the Department of Agriculture.

For purposes of certification of eligibles for appointment to the positions of Chinese and immigrant inspector, the United States is divided into four districts, the Mississippi River being the dividing line north and south, and the northern boundaries of North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and California the dividing line east and west.

As a result of examinations for positions in the Canal Zone two lists of eligibles will be established, one containing the names of persons examined in the Canal Zone, the other containing the names of those examined at other places. Those examined in the Canal Zone will be preferred for appointments in the Panama Canal Service in the Canal Zone.