application, examination, and notifi- 

 cation of appointment should, if pos- 

 sible, be reduced to a few days. 

 College seniors could be given ap- 

 pointments effective on the day of 

 their graduation. The necessary safe- 

 guards could be maintained by a 

 longer period of probationary employ- 

 ment and by the requirement of suit- 

 able examinations before promotion 

 to higher grades. Government bu- 

 reaus could further improve their 

 chances of successful recruitment 

 from the colleges by making wider 

 use of temporary student appoint- 

 ments during summer \'acations. 



c. Salary Scale 



The opportunitN' for full-time scien- 

 tific work, freedom to publish results, 

 and the satisfaction of serving the 

 national interest attract many able 

 scientists to the Government service. 

 But salary scales must be broadly 

 commensurate with those of private 

 institutions if these scientists are ex- 

 pected to remain in Government serv- 

 ice. Entrance salaries in Go\'ernment 

 scientific positions are usually slightly 

 above this competitive level. How- 

 ever, promotion is slow in Go\'ern- 

 ment service, and the higher positions 

 carry salaries much lower than those 

 offered in industry. The present sys- 

 tem of efficiency ratings and promo- 

 tion procedures is designed to assure 

 fair and uniform treatment for all 

 governmental positions. But this sys- 

 tem is so elaborate that it requires 

 handling by many persons of non- 

 technical training. Furthermore, in 

 most branches of Go\'ernment serv- 

 ice, the higher salaries are almost 

 solely for super\'isory positions. As 

 a result, the senior professional posi- 

 tion, with a salary range of $4,600 to 

 $5,400 a year, is the highest ordi- 

 narih' attained by Government scien- 

 tists in nonadministrative positions. 



Civil Service regulations should be 

 modified to permit exceptionally 

 qualified scientists to reach salaries 

 of $9,000 or more a year even though 

 thc\' ma\' not have important adminis- 

 trati\'e responsibilities. 



It is sometimes said that one of the 

 most serious limitations of scientific 

 work b\' the Government is the in- 

 ability to pay salaries large enough 

 to get outstanding directors for re- 

 search organizations. Although no 

 legal restrictions, except the neces- 

 sity for congressional appro\'al, pre- 

 vent the employment of a director of 

 a research bureau at whatever salary 

 is deemed necessary, practical con- 

 siderations — such as comparison with 

 the salaries of Department Secretaries 

 and members of Congress — ine\'itably 

 impose limitations. In actual practice, 

 few research directors ha\'e received 

 more than $9,000 a year. 



Under the stress of war needs, 

 when expert talent was urgently re- 

 quired, the departments of Govern- 

 ment, particularly the so-called "war 

 agencies," succeeded to some extent 

 in breaking down the tradition of low 

 Government salaries. Many technical 

 positions and salaries were, in effect, 

 up-graded; and this contributed sig- 

 nificantly to the flow of talent into 

 Go\'ernment ser\'ice during the war 

 emergency. A more general and per- 

 manent up-grading of positions and 

 salaries in the scientific services of 

 CTOvernment, accompanied by a care- 

 ful selection of new talent, would be 

 a major contribution to improvement 

 of the quality of research conducted 

 by the Government. 



d. Security of Tenure 



The security of tenure in Civil 

 Service is partial compensation for 

 the lower salaries in many types of 

 governmental employment, especially 

 during periods of depression. But if 



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