534 ROSA: REORGANIZED CIVIL SERVICE 



This paper is a discussion of the government's employment 

 poUcy from the administrative standpoint, but with careful 

 regard for the interests of employees. The cardinal principle 

 underlying this • discussion is that in the government ser^dce, 

 even more than in private business, administration should be 

 reasonable and just, and administrators competent and efficient. 

 Officers should be held responsible for results and should be 

 given sufficient authority and means to work with, so that there 

 can be no excuse for failure or for inefficiency. But autocracy, 

 irresponsibility, and selfish interest have no place in the public 

 service. The question, therefore, is — What changes in the em- 

 ployment policy of the government should be made in order that 

 the government service may be put on a very high plane, that 

 it shall offer so attractive a career that able men and women may 

 be secured and the best retained in the service, and that it shall 

 rank with the very best organizations anywhere in the integrity, 

 ability, and efficiency with which it is conducted? There is very 

 much in the government service now to be proud of, more than 

 many people think. But there are serious handicaps to efficiency 

 which can be removed, and the government's haphazard employ- 

 ment policy is one of them. 



2. NEED FOR IMPROVEMENT 



The administration of the Civil Service on the merit system, 

 free from patronage and politics, has been steadily extended until 

 it covers a very large part of the federal government. In this 

 extension the Civil Ser\dce Commission has been an effective 

 agency, in spite of a serious handicap arising from an insufficient 

 personnel. The Commission has ample authority as well as the 

 good- will of administrators and the moral support of the public, 

 and has done a work of immense importance. Nevertheless, it 

 cannot be denied that there are serious defects in the Civil Service. 

 Charges are sometimes made of favoritism in appointments and 

 promotions, and of too little consideration of the employee's 

 point of view. In many cases insufficient means are provided 

 for learning whether the employees are satisfied, and of answering 

 complaints. On the other hand, the standard of the personnel 



