A Glance at Civil Service by Jerry Carlile Would you like to visit the Orient? Or perhaps you'd prefer Alaska's hardy clime, or the warm ocean breezes of the Mariannas Islands, or Panama, Europe, or Hawaii take your choice! Wherever you want to go, north, east, south or west, the Civil Service offers you the opportunity; and at a 25% increase over 'stateside' salaries. Since 1883, when the Civil Service Act was passed to combat Jackson's "Spoils System," the roster of government employees has grown until today some 2,300,000 Americans the world over, look to Uncle Sam for bread and board. And that grand old man is a prodigious provider. In 1943, when Federal employment reached an all-time peak, over 3,000,000 citizens received their biweekly salaries from the well-worn government wallet. Had Jackson's ideas still been the basis for choosing civil servants, this tremendous dollar parade would have rolled into the pockets of party politicians. But the two-fold purpose of the Civil Service Act, to provide a more efficient type of employee and to give every American who wanted it a share of the government 'gravy', effectively closed the coffin on this corrupt practice. To fulfill the first purpose, the bill incorporated a system of competitive examinations. Political preference died with this phrase: Any individual who is a citizen of or owes allegiance to the United States can apply for any examination he desires to take. The methods by which a higher type of individual could be obtained involved much more than a phrase, however. Not the least in importance of these methods was the list of disqualifications among which were physical and mental unfitness for the position desired, disgraceful conduct, intentional false statements or deception in applications or examinations, reasonable doubt of loyalty to the United States, and any legal disqualifications which might arise. In order to select personnel best equipped for the job, two types of boards were to be appointed the Expert Examiners, and the Boards of Examiners. The Expert Examiners are appointed to review exams for graded positions, that is those which are of a scientific, professional or technical nature. The Boards of Examiners review exams for laborers and mechanics, the ungraded positions. When the marks are arrived at, all those who came through with a 70-point score (scoring done on a scale of 100) are listed in order of their marks, and those with the highest scores are given employment as soon as openings occur until the list is exhausted. Then another examination for that position is conducted. However, preference points are added onto a veteran's score thus advancing his name on the list. By these methods qualified personnel are obtained, so now the problem is to keep these worthy people in civil service. The real need is for career workers, and methods of fulfilling this need have been accomplished. Most attractive of these is the retirement plan. Everyone realizes that, barring violent misfortune, the day will come when he can no longer earn his food but will still find it necessary to eat now and then. So the Civil Service Retirement Plan offers lifetime security. If 30 years of creditable service have been completed, the employee age 55 may be retired with a reduced annuity, or he may choose to retire at 60 with higher annuity. At 62 he may retire with only 15 years' service. At 70 retirement is mandatory. From the time an employee's first check is issued, he begins building his annuity. Five per cent of every check goes into his retirement fund. Eventually the day will arrive when he 'punches out' for good, and henceforth his bi-weekly budget must be planned to accord with a check, the amount of which is determined by three factors: (1) Number of years of service, (2) Amount of money in his retirement fund, (3) Amount of highest salary over a five-year period. However, the attractiveness of civil service as a career lies not alone in the retirement plan. The generous leave grants to employees ease the trials of the working years. Annual leave is accrued at the rate of one day every two weeks, thus giving the employee 26 days of paid vacation yearly. This leave may be allowed to accumulate until it exceeds 60 days, then must be taken. Sick leave, accrued at the rate of 1% days per month, may be taken only if necessary. Abuse of this privilege is adequate grounds for discharge, but Mr. Average Civil Servant, unfortunately unable to keep smiling year after year, may find time in a hospital bed to thank the Lord and Congress for the checks which still keep coming. The fact that today the civil service work week is only 40 hours, allowing two full days a week for other pursuits, also has a share in producing contented career workers. On the whole, the salaries offered by the government are adequate for the work done. Ungraded salaries may vary in different parts of the country. A local wage board studies union and industrial wage scales in their vicinity and reports their findings to the Labor Co-ordination Board in Washington, D.C. This board considers the report and wages are assigned accordingly. Every attempt is made to keep civil service wages on an equal with union and industrial wages. Civil service ratings or grades are assigned to those in clerical, custodial, semi-professional and professional fields, and the salary is in keeping with the rating or grade. There are three ways by which advancement in grade, and salary increase, can be brought about: First, if the job increases in responsibility; second, if the employee is reassigned to a higher grade; third, if the es-ployee's efficiency rating is good and his conduct satisfactory, he will get an automatic promotion every 12 months in the lower grades, every 18 months in the higher grades, until the top grade is reached. All in all, the Civil Service Act accomplished its purposes, and subsequent improvements have greatly enhanced its attractiveness. Today, a great number of Americans are taking advantage of the security it offers and the lists for Civil Service jobs are rarely empty. There is real pride in working for the greatest employer in history, the United States of America. Page Twenty Marianna Lee Ross Powell by West and Rabe The dance is over, malts and hamburgers have been consumed at some favorite drive-in, and the clock in the front room is striking its brief warning. It is late now and time for the whispering of reluctant good-nights. A parting kiss marks the end of a wonderful date. Page Twenty-one