ing arsenals of the Ordnance Department, which had heretofore followed the general methods in vogue at such establishments throughout the industrial world, and that it was considered that improvement might be effected both by the introduction of certain principles not then in practice and by changes in details, to which Mr. Barth had given special and laborious attention for many years. It was not deemed practicable to fill the position through competitive examination, and the Commission joined the department in recommending the issuance of the order.

June 19, 1909.

In view of the exceptional qualifications of Mr. George M. Wrattan, his experience of many years as interpreter for the Apache Indians, and the improbability that a competitive examination would result in obtaining eligibles equally qualified for the position, Mr. Wrattan may be reemployed as an interpreter without regard to the fact that he has been separated from the service for more than one year.

Mr. Wrattan had formerly served as an interpreter in the Quartermaster's Department at Large and was classified by the revision and extension of the rules on May 6, 1896. He resigned from the service on February 15, 1908, and inasmuch as he had been separated from the service for.more than one year was not eligible for reinstatement under the rules. The Secretary of War in recommending the issuance of this order stated that the position of interpreter for the Apache Indians at Fort Sill, Okla., had been vacant since Mr. Wrattan's resignation, and that the necessity for the employment of an interpreter was very urgent, that his qualifications for the position were well known, and that there was probably not another white man in the United States who could speak the Apache language as well as he and who was so skilled and experienced in managing Indians. The. Commission regarded the case as one in which an examination could not be expected to obtain the results usually obtained by examinations and concurred in the recommendation for the issuance of the above order.

June 15, 1909.

Miss Hattie M. Miller, of Pennsylvania, may be reinstated in the Patent Office as a classified laborer at $600, without regard to the length of time since her separation from the service, September 30, 1907.

June 21, 1909.

Miss Hattie M. Miller, having been formerly a skilled laborer in the Patent Office of the Interior Department with an excellent record, and having been voluntarily separated from the service for more than a year, may be reinstated as a skilled laborer in the Patent Office of the Interior Department without reference to the length of time she has been separated from the service. This order is made upon the recommendation of the Commissioner of Patents that it is in the interest of the efficiency of the service thus to restore Miss Miller.

Miss Miller was appointed as a laborer in the Patent Office on May 13, 1897, and was classified under an executive order of June 12, 1905, as a laborer at $600 per annum. The Commissioner of Patents stated that she was forced to resign for the reason that she was much reduced in physical strength owing to her work in the office and was affected with nervous prostration as a result thereof. Inasmuch as she had been separated from the service for more than one year her reinstatement was not permissible under the rules. Further reasons for the issuance of this order are set forth in the order itself, which is merely an amplification of the order of June 15, which stated no reasons for its issuance.

June 25, 1909.

Upon the recommendation of the Secretary of the Treasury and in view of his statement that it is in the interest of good administration to appoint a special representative of the Treasury Department to keep in touch with customs matters along the Pacific coast, and that Mr. Arthur F. Statter's experience in the Treasury Department as secretary to the Secretary of the Treasury and later as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury gives him special qualifications for this position and its duties, Mr. Statter may be appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury as a special employee of the Treasury

Department for the purpose mentioned, without regard to the civil-service rules and regulations.

June 28, 1909.

James M. Alexander, of Los Angeles, a colored man, may be appointed as cashier under the collector for the Sixth Internal-Revenue District of California, without respect to the civil-service regulations. This order is made because of the intention of President Roosevelt to make it at the time the district was created, but he was unable to carry out his intention because there was not sufficient money available until the beginning of the new fiscal year to organize the office. The ground upon which President Roosevelt intended to make the order was that Mr. Alexander was a colored man, that the colored population of California had not been properly recognized, and that the collector of the new district was greatly desirous of having a man appointed in whose fidelity and capacity for the discharge of the particular position he had great confidence by reason of a personal acquaintance.

June 28, 1909.

Mr. LeClaire Hoover may be appointed a special agent at $4,000 per annum in the Bureau of Corporations without examination under the civil-service rules, it appearing that Mr. Hoover's services are necessary for the prosecution of the work of the bureau in the investigation of the iron and steel industry, that the Commissioner of Corporations has made every reasonable effort, without success, to obtain a properly qualified man for this work from the civil-service eligible list, and that this order is requested by the Secretary of Commerce and Labor and is approved by the Civil Service Commission.

Mr. Hoover had served temporarily in the position of special agent in the Bureau of Corporations in connection with the investigation of the iron and steel industry in the United States from October 9, 1907, to April 8, 1909, his original appointment and its extension having been approved by the Commission because of the special character of the work upon which he was engaged and his peculiar qualifications for it as indicated by his training and experience. There were no eligibles on any register who appeared to have the necessary training and experience, and in view of the statements of the Commissioner of Corporations as set forth in the order itself, necessitating the employment of Mr. Hoover, the Commission concurred in the recommendation of the Secretary of Commerce and Labor for the issuance of the order.

June 29, 1909.

The Department of Agriculture having requested the appointment of John R. Bowie as publicity agent, and the United States Civil Service Commission being advised that the duties of the place are of such an exceptional nature that an examination by the Commission would not necessarily disclose the best qualified applicant, and the department having stated that after a year of service Mr. Bowie has discharged to the entire satisfaction of the department the duties of the position to which his appointment is asked; that the duties consist in the selection and synthesizing of the most valuable matter for public use from among all the researches and operations of the Bureau of Soils and preparing the result of such work in the most useful and attractive form, and securing its publication in the best organs for the dissemination of the information to the farming classes, which are the ones to be benefited; and upon the recommendation of the Civil Service Commission, concurring in the request of the department, Mr. John R. Bowie may be appointed as a publicity agent in the Bureau of Soils in the Department of Agriculture, but subject to the limitations of the civilservice rules as to transfer and promotion.

June 29, 1909.

Upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture and in view of his statement that an eligible from the editorial and proof-reading register would not be fitted to discharge the duties of an expert indexer and of the difficulty the department has had in finding a competent man, Mr. Edward S. Hoskins may be appointed as indexer in the Department of Agriculture without regard to the civil-service rules and regulations.

Mr. Hoskins was temporarily employed from December 19, 1907, to March 7, 1908, and from January 13 to April 29, 1909, in the Government Printing Office. He acquired no status for permanent appointment which could be recognized under the rules. In the view of the Commission the eligibles on the editing and proof-reading

register were tested in the qualifications desired in the position to which it was desired to appoint Mr. Hoskins and an executive order was not therefore recommended by it. The order was approved upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture.

July 19, 1909.

Upon the request of the War Department, approved by the Civil Service Commission, Mr. C. O. Kerr may be permanently appointed as confidential clerk to the Land Defense Board at Fort Wadsworth, N. Y., without reference to the civil-service rules, because of the highly confidential and important duties to be performed, with which Mr. Kerr is familiar.

Mr. Kerr was appointed to a temporary position with the Land Defense Board on December 1, 1908, without certification from the register of the Commission. A certificate of eligibles was issued to the Secretary of War for filling the position in the regular manner, but was returned with a recommendation for an executive order in view of the highly confidential character of the work upon which Mr. Kerr was engaged. Mr. Kerr was confidential clerk to the board and custodian of all plaps for the important defenses of the United States, which were of such a highly confidential nature that only specially designated officers of the United States Army were permitted to examine them. He was absolutely reliable and trustworthy, entirely familiar with the work, and should he be replaced by another clerk it would cause the plans mentioned to become known to one additional person. In view of these circumstances the Commission joined with the department in recommending the order. November 22, 1909.

Mr. Fred V. Murphy may be reinstated as an architectural draftsman in the office of the Supervising Architect of the Treasury, the time limit for reinstatement being hereby waived.

Mr. Murphy was employed continuously in the Supervising Architect's office from October 18, 1899, to June 30, 1905. He has since studied abroad, in the Ecole des Beaux Arts, Paris, at which institution he has completed the course in architecture. The Secretary of the Treasury believed that Mr. Murphy's six years' experience in the Supervising Architect's office and his four years' subsequent study and travel in Europe would render his services of unusual value. The Civil Service Commission recognized the validity of these reasons and joined the Secretary of the Treasury in his recommendation, and stated as an additional reason for the action proposed the depleted condition of the register for architectural draftsman, which contained an insufficient number of eligibles for a full certification.

December 6, 1909.

Mr. James B. Davies may be appointed a clerk in the Division of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State, without regard to the civil-service rules, as recommended by the Secretary of State with the concurrence of the Civil Service Commission, because of most efficient service for the past two years as a clerk in the American embassy at Tokyo, Japan, and the transfer being a matter of importance at this time, as Mr. Davies has come to possess much special knowledge of affairs in the Far East. He was formerly in the classified service, appointed through competitive examination, and has served both in this country and in the Canal Zone.

January 7, 1910.

Mrs. Hattie M. Hodes may be reinstated as a printer-operator in the Government Printing Office without respect to the civil-service regulations. This order is made in view of the statement of the Public Printer that her services can be utilized to advantage at the present time, that in his opinion her reinstatement would be a recognition of efficiency and would be in the interest of the service, and that he believes in efficiency Mrs. Hodes is the equal, and probably the superior, of any person whose name is now carried on the civil-service eligible list.

January 13, 1910.

Mr. Henry S. Graves may be reinstated in the classified service in the Department of Agriculture, without regard to the fact that he has been separated from the service more than one year, in order that he may be appointed Forester and Chief of the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. He was formerly in the classified service as Assistant Chief of the Division of Forestry, having been appointed as such through competitive examination.

EXTRACTS FROM THE PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE AND REPORTS OF HEADS OF DEPARTMENTS AND BUREAUS. PRESIDENT'S ANNUAL MESSAGE TO SIXTY-FIRST CONGRESS, SECOND SESSION, 1909.

REDUCTION IN THE COST OF GOVERNMENTAL ADMINISTRATION.

It has been impossible in the preparation of estimates greatly to reduce the cost of permanent administration. This can not be done without a thorough reorganization of bureaus, offices, and departments. For the purpose of securing information which may enable the executive and the legislative branches to unite in a plan for the permanent reduction of the cost of governmental administration, the Treasury Department has instituted an investigation by one of the most skilled expert accountants in the United States. The result of his work in two or three bureaus, which, if extended to the entire Government, must occupy two or more years, has been to show much room for improvement and opportunity for substantial reductions in the cost and increased efficiency of administration. The object of the investigation is to devise means to increase the average efficiency of each employee. There is great room for improvement toward this end, not only by the reorganization of bureaus and departments and in the avoidance of duplication, but also in the treatment of the individual employee.

Under the present system it constantly happens that two employees receive the same salary when the work of one is far more difficult and important and exacting than that of the other. Superior ability is not rewarded or encouraged. As the classification is now entirely by salary, an employee often rises to the highest class while doing the easiest work, for which alone he may be fitted. An investigation ordered by my predecessor resulted in the recommendation that the civil service be reclassified according to the kind of work, so that the work requiring most application and knowledge and ability shall receive most compensation. I believe such a change would be fairer to the whole force and would permanently improve the personnel of the service.

More than this, every reform directed toward improvement in the average efficiency of government employees must depend on the ability of the executive to eliminate from the government service those who are inefficient from any cause, and as the degree of efficiency in all the departments is much lessened by the retention of old employees who have outlived their energy and usefulness, it is indispensable to any proper system of economy that provision be made so that their separation from the service shall be easy and inevitable. It is impossible to make such provision unless there is adopted a plan of civil pensions.

Most of the great industrial organizations, and many of the well-conducted railways of this country, are coming to the conclusion that a system of pensions for old employees, and the substitution therefor of younger and more energetic servants, promotes both economy and efficiency of administration.

I am aware that there is a strong feeling in both Houses of Congress, and possibly in the country, against the establishment of civil pensions, and that this has naturally grown out of the heavy burden of military pensions, which it has always been the

policy of our Government to assume; but I am strongly convinced that no other practical solution of the difficulties presented by the superannuation of civil servants can be found than that of a system of civil pensions.

The business and expenditures of the Government have expanded enormously since the Spanish war, but as the revenues have increased in nearly the same proportion as the expenditures until recently, the attention of the public, and of those responsible for the Government, has not been fastened upon the question of reducing the cost of administration. We can not, in view of the advancing prices of living, hope to save money by a reduction in the standard of salaries paid. Indeed, if any change is made in that regard, an increase rather than a decrease will be necessary; and the only means of economy will be in reducing the number of employees and in obtaining a greater average of efficiency from those retained in the service.

Close investigation and study needed to make definite recommendations in this regard will consume at least two years. I note with much satisfaction the organization in the Senate of a Committee on Public Expenditures, charged with the duty of conducting such an investigation, and I tender to that committee all the assistance which the executive branch of the Government can possibly render.

The work of the United States Civil Service Commission has been performed to the general satisfaction of the executive officers with whom the Commission has been brought into official communication. The volume of that work and its variety and extent have under new laws, such as the census act, and the new executive orders, greatly increased. The activities of the Commission required by the statutes have reached to every portion of the public domain.

The accommodations of the Commission are most inadequate for its needs. I call your attention to its request for increase in those accommodations as will appear from the annual report for this year.

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE TREASURY, 1909.

INFLUENCE OF LOCAL POLITICS IN THE CUSTOMS FRAUDS.

The alarming revelations of the condition of the Customs Service at the port of New York, which resulted from investigations started during the last administration, confronted the Treasury Department in March last with the necessity for still further investigation and for a general overhauling and rehabilitation of the service at that port, and for a general inquiry into the condition of the Customs Service as a whole. The revelations of the sugar customs frauds of the American Sugar Refining Company showed a long-continuing system of corruption.

The study of the causes of the demoralization which has been revealed is still incomplete, but the main causes are evident. It is clear, for instance, that the influence of local politics and politicians upon the Customs Service has been most deleterious, and has promoted that laxity and low tone which prepare and furnish an inviting soil for dishonesty and fraud. Unless the Customs Service can be released from the payment of political debts and exactions, and from meeting the supposed exigencies of political organizations, big and little, it will be impossible to have an honest service for any length of time.

Any considerable share of the present cost of this demoralization to the public revenues, to the efficiency of the service, and to public and private morality is a tremendous amount to pay in mere liquidation of the small debts of political leaders.

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