PROMOTIONS IN NEW YORK CUSTOMS DISTRICT.

REGULATIONS.*

[In force January 4, 1887.]

In the exercise of the power vested in the President by the Constitution, and by virtue of section 1753 of the Revised Statutes and of the civil-service act approved January 16, 1883, the following regulations governing promotions in the customs service at the city of New York are hereby approved and promulgated:

REGULATION 1. The board of examiners of the New York customs district may at any time, with the approval of the Civil Service Commission, order an examination for promotion, and at least five days before the examination is to take place shall cause a notice to be posted conspicuously in the office for which such examination is to be held, and shall state in said notice the class or classes to test fitness for promotion to which the examination is to be held, and the time and place of examination. Promotions shall be from class to class; and the examination of persons in one class shall be to test their fitness for promotion to the next higher class: Provided, however, That if in any examination for promotion the competitors in the next lower class shall not exceed three in number, the board may, at its discretion, open the competition to one or more of the classes below the class in which there are not more than three competitors. All clerks who shall have served in any grade for six months or more since their absolute appointment must enter the first examination held thereafter for promotion to the next higher class, but their attendance at other examinations for the same class shall be voluntary.

REGULATION 2. The examination must be held upon such subjects as in the opinion of the board of examiners, with the approval of the Commission, the general nature of the business of the office and the special nature of the positions to be filled may require. In grading the competitors due weight must be given to the efficiency with which the several competitors shall have performed their duties in the office; but none who shall fail to obtain a minimum standard of 75 per centum in the written examination shall be certified for promotion.

REGULATION 3. The whole list of eligibles from which the promotion is to be made shall be certified to the nominating officer, and shall expire when superseded by the register resulting from the next examination.

REGULATION 4. Any person employed in any of the offices to which these regulations apply may be transferred without examination after service of six months consecutively since January 16, 1883, from one office to a class no higher in another office, upon certification by the board of examiners that he has passed an examination for the class in which he is doing duty, and with the consent of the heads of the respective offices and the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury.

REGULATION 5. The Civil Service Commission may at any time amend these regulations or substitute other regulations therefor.

ADDITIONAL REGULATIONS GOVERNING PROMOTIONS IN THE NEW YORK CUSTOMS

DISTRICT.

[Promulgated February 24, 1887; amended January 26, 1888.]

The following examinations and promotions are included among those authorized by the "Regulations governing promotions in the customs service at the city of New York," approved January 4, 1887, viz:

1. Any person who has been absolutely appointed a night inspector may, npon passing a regular examination for promotion, to be approved by the Commission, be

*These regulations will be anvende in accordance with new General Rule III, clause 6 (page 36 ante), promulgated August 6, 1891

promoted to the grade of assistant weigher, or of inspector, or to the lowest class in the grade of clerk in the office of the collector or in the office of the surveyor. And a day inspector who has been absolutely appointed, upon passing the regular examination for promotion from class one to class two, clerk's grade in the surveyor's office may be promoted to class two, clerk's grade, in that office; any person who has been absolutely appointed a day inspector, may, upon passing the regular examination, from class one to class two, clerk's grade, in the collector's office, be promoted to class two, clerk's grade, in that office; and any person who has been absolutely appointed a day inspector or an assistant weigher, måy, upon passing the required examination, be promoted to the grade of weigher, and competition for that grade shall be limited to day inspectors and assistant weighers. And any person who has been absolutely appointed an assistant weigher may, upon passing a regular examination for promotion, to be approved by the Commission, be promoted to the grade of inspector, or to the lowest class in the grade of clerk in the office of the collector or in the office of the surveyor.

2. Any person in the office of the appraiser who has served not less than twelve consecutive months as opener-and-packer, or as sampler, may, upon passing an examination prepared by the board of examiners, under the direction of the Commission, be promoted to class one, clerk's grade, in that office; and any person who has been absolutely appointed as clerk in the office of the appraiser may, upon passing an examination prepared by the board of examiners, under the direction of the Commission, be promoted to the grade of examiner in that office: Provided, That if in any examination for promotion from the grade of clerk to that of examiner there are less than three competitors the competition shall be opened to the grade of sampler.

3. The examinations for promotion herein authorized shall be ordered as follows: When any notice is given of an examination for promotion from class one to class two, in the collector's or surveyor's office, under Promotion Regulation 1, it shall include a notice to all inspectors who desire to be examined for promotion to class two, clerk's grade; and the names of the inspectors who pass the examination shall be placed on the list of eligibles for promotion to class two in the office for which the examination was held. When the appraiser shall request the board of examiners to hold an examination for promotion in his office from the grade of opener-and-packer and from the grade of sampler to class one, clerk's grade, or for promotion from the grade of clerk to the grade of examiner, the board shall, with the approval of the Commission, order such examination; and the names of the openers-and-packers and of the samplers who pass the examination shall be placed on the list to be known as the "List of openers-andpackers and samplers eligible for promotion to class one, clerk's grade, appraiser's office;" and the names of the clerks who pass the examination shall be placed on a list to be known as the "List of clerks eligible for promotion to the grade of examiner in the appraiser's office." Certification shall be made from these lists under Promotion Regulation 3.

Notice of any promotion examination hereby authorized shall be given in the manner provided by Promotion Regulation 1; and it is expressly provided that no noncompetitive (or pass) examinations shall be held under the authority to hold promotion examinations hereby conferred.

THE CLASSIFIED SERVICE.

The Classified Service for which examinations are required is divided into five distinct branches: (1) The Departmental Service at Washington; (2) the Customs Service; (3) the Postal Service; (4) the Railway Mail Service, and (5) the Indian Service.

Certain of the places within the classified service are excepted from examination by the civil-service rules and may be filled, in the discretion of the appointing officers, without examination; a few other places may be filled by noncompetitive examina

tion, the appointing officer nominating the person to be examined, the Commission determining the character of and conducting the examination; but the great mass of the places are filled by competitive examination.

The Classified Departmental Service includes the eight Executive Departments, the Civil-Service Commission, the Department of Labor, and the Fish Commission, and embraces all the officers, clerks, and other employés in these departments, except those appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and those employed merely as messengers, watchmen, workmen, or laborers. The existing classification of each of the Departments was made on June 29, 1888, and is as follows:

By direction of the President of the United States, and in accordance with the third clause of section 6 of the act entitled "An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States," approved January 16, 1883.

It is ordered, That the officers, clerks, and other employés of this Department be, and they are hereby arranged, in the following classes, viz:

Class A, all persons receiving an annual salary of less than $720, or a compensation at the rate of less than $720 per annum.

Class B, all persons receiving an annual salary of $720 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $720 or more, but less than $840 per annum.

Class C, all persons receiving an annual salary of $840 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $840 or more, but less than $900 per annum.

Class D, all persons receiving an annual salary of $900 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $900 or more, but less than $1,000 per annum.

Class E, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,000 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $1,000 or more, but less than $1,200 per annum.

Class 1, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,200 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $1,200 or more, but less than $1,400 per annum.

Class 2, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,400 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $1,400 or more, but less than $1,600 per annum.

Class 3, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,600 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $1,600 or more, but less than $1,800 per annum.

Class 4, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,800 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $1,800 or more, but less than $2,000 per annum.

Class 5, all persons receiving an annual salary of $2,000 or more, or a compensation at the rate of $2,000 or more per annum.

It is provided, That no person who may be appointed to an office by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and that no person who may be employed merely as a messenger, laborer, workman, or watchman (not including any person designated as a skilled laborer or workman), shall be considered as within this classification, and no person so employed shall, without examination under the civil-service rules, be assigned to clerical duty.

It is also ordered, That no person shall be admitted into any place not excepted from examination by the civil-service rules, in any of the classes above designated, until he shall have passed an appropriate examination prepared by the United States Civil Service Commission and his eligibility has been certified to this Department by said Commission.

In the War Department, in the second paragraph, after the word "Department," are added the words, "including those employed in the offices of the several depot quartermasters," and in the post-office classification, in the same place, are added the words "including post-office inspectors and the agents and employés at postalnote, postage-stamp, postal-card, and envelope agencies."

In the Department of Agriculture, the order of classification was amended by the Secretary of Agriculture on January 4, 1893, by direction of the President, to take effect as soon as an eligible list can be procured from which to select, not later than February 1, 1893, by inserting after the word "Department" in the second clause

H. Ex. 1, pt. 8- -5

the words "including those of the Weather Bureau, employed elsewhere than at Washington."

The classified customs service embraces those customs districts in each of which there are as many as 50 employés, now the following: New York City, N. Y.; Boston, Mass.; Philadelphia, Pa.; San Francisco, Cal.; Baltimore, Md.; New Orleans, La.; Chicago, Ill.; Burlington, Vt.; Portland, Me.; Detroit, Mich.; and Port Huron, Mich.

As stated in the following classification of the customs service, all the officers, clerks, and employés in these several districts not appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, or not employed merely as workmen or laborers, whose compensation is $900 per annum or over, are in the classified customs service and subject to the provisions of the civil-service law and rules.

The existing classification of the customs service is that made by the Secretary of the Treasury under date of March 17, 1883, and is as follows:

Class A, all persons not employed merely as laborers or workmen, receiving a compensation amounting to $900 or more, but less than $1,200 per annum.

Class 1, all persons receiving a compensation amounting to $1,200 or more, but less than $1,400 per annum.

Class 2, all persons receiving a compensation amounting to $1,400 or more, but less than $1,600 per annum.

Class 3, all persons receiving a compensation amounting to $1,600 or more, but less than $1,800 per annum.

Class 4, all persons receiving a compensation amounting to $1,800 or more, but not including any officer confirmed by the Senate.

All these classifications, except that of the customs service, are based on designation and duty, and not on compensation. Class A, the lowest class in the departmental classification, embraces all persons receiving an annual salary of less than $720 or a compensation at the rate of $720. Class A of the Civil Service Commission classification embraces all receiving a compensation at a rate less than $1,000. Class 1 of the postal service embraces all receiving a compensation of less than $800 per annum, and class 1 of the railway mail service, all receiving an annual salary of $800 or less, or a compensation at the rate of $800 or less per annum. Class A, the lowest class in the customs classification, on the contrary, includes all persons not merely employed as laborers or workmen receiving a compensation amounting to $900 or more, but less than $1,000 per annum. This is a peculiarly unfortunate classification for the customs service since the line drawn on compensation at any point is a very uncertain line, owing to the fact that compensation in the customs service is fixed by the Secretary of the Treasury, and may be raised or lowered at will. The reclassification proposed below will not at all interfere with the discretion of the Secretary of the Treasury to change compensation whenever in his judgment the exigencies of the service require it, but will prevent the taking of a man or a place out of the classified service, or putting a man or a place into the classified service by a mere change of compensation. The Commission is unanimously and strongly of the opinion that the classified customs service should embrace all those in that service who are not presidential appointees on the one hand, and are not employed merely as workmen or laborers on the other hand, without regard to the compensation paid to them.

The following language, taken from the Fifth Report, and repeated in the eighth is again repeated, the conditions remaining the same:

"To this classification there are serious objections, among them the following: "The lower limit of the classification is determined by compensation and not by the character of the position or the duty performed, and the line is drawn arbitrarily at $900. All below this line are outside and all above it are inside the classified service, regardless of designation or duty. At one custom-house night inspectors are in the classified service, because they are compensated at the rate of $900 or over,

while at another custom-house they are outside, because compensated at a rate less than $900. The same is true with respect to certain other classes of employés besides night inspectors. But more than this. It may happen at any custom-house that employés in the same class are compensated at different rates, some at $900 or above, and others at less than $900. This is the case at the present time with respect to the grade of opener-and-packer at the port of New York. A certain number of the places in this grade must be filled by examination, and a certain number may be filled without examination, both classes performing the same duty and having the same designation. These facts, taken in connection with the further fact that the compensation of employés in the customs service is, as a rule, fixed, not by statute, but by the Secretary of the Treasury, who has an absolute discretion in the matter, furnish sufficient reasons for reclassifying this service on a different and more satisfactory basis."

The following has been suggested as a substitute for the present classification, and its adoption recommended:

By direction of the President of the United States, and in accordance with the provisions of section 6 of the act entitled "An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States," approved January 16, 1883,

It is ordered, That the officers, clerks, and other employés of the several classified customs districts be, and they are hereby, arranged in the following classes:

Class A, all persons receiving an annual salary of less than $1,000 or compensation at the rate of less than $1,000 per annum.

Class B, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,000 or more, but less than $1,200, or compensation at the rate of $1,000 or more, but less than $1,200 per annum. Class 1, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,200 or more, but less than $1,400, or compensation at the rate of $1,200 or more, but less than $1,400 per annum. Class 2, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,400 or more, but less than $1,600, or compensation at the rate of $1,400 or more, but less than $1,600 per annum. Class 3, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,600 or more, but less than $1,800, or compensation at the rate of $1,600 or more, but less than $1,800 per annum. Class 4, all persons receiving an annual salary of $1,800 or more, but less than $2,000, or compensation at the rate of $1,800 or more, but less than $2,000 per annum. Class 5, all persons receiving an annual salary of $2,000 or more, but less than $2,500, or compensation at the rate of $2,000 or more, but less than $2,500 per annum. Class 6, all persons receiving an annual salary of $2,500 or more, or compensation at the rate of $2,500 or more per annum.

It is provided, That no person who may be appointed to an office by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, and that no person who may be employed merely as a laborer or workman, shall be considered as within this classification, and no person so employed shall without examination and certification under the civil seryice rules be assigned to the duties of a classified place.

It is further provided, That no person shall be admitted into any place in any of the classes above designated except in accordance with the civil-service rules applicable to the customs service.

The classified Post-Office Service embraces all offices to which the free-delivery system has been applied, in all, 601.

The rules were at first applied to the following post-offices, taking effect July 16, 1883, being those post-offices at each of which there were as many as 50 employés: (1) Albany, N. Y.; (2) Baltimore, Md.; (3) Boston, Mass.; (4) Brooklyn, N. Y.; (5) Buffalo, N. Y.; (6) Chicago, Ill.; (7) Cincinnati, Ohio; (8) Cleveland, Ohio; (9) Detroit, Mich.; (10) Indianapolis, Ind.; (11) Kansas City, Mo.; (12) Louisville, Ky.; (13) Milwaukee, Wis.; (14) Newark, N. J.; (15) New Orleans, La.; (16) New York,