694 



REFORM IN THE CIVIL SERVICE. 



be made or approved by the commission is 

 13,323, of whom 3,600 are in the service of the 

 State, 5,540 in the service of the city of New 

 York, 1,418 in the service of the city of Brook- 

 lyn, and 1,765 in the service of other cities. 

 The decisions of the courts that persons em- 

 ployed by the excise boards, the officers and 

 employes of the various courts, and health offi- 

 cers, are officers of the State, brought under 

 the civil-service regulations of the State a large 

 and important class of public officers, who were 

 at first supposed to be in the municipal or other 

 local service, and added largely to the duties 

 of the commission. 



One effect of the rules has been to arrest all 

 changes in the State civil service. From an 

 eligible list of candidates examined on April 

 24, 1884, for the higher grades of clerkships, 

 not a selection has yet been made. Though 

 there has been during the same period an ex- 

 cellent special list for the prison service, no 

 requisition has been made on the commission. 

 Many examinations have been held during the 

 year for professional places. 



The duties and responsibilities of the com- 

 mission were greatly increased by the pro- 

 vision of the amendatory acts requiring their 

 approval of the municipal regulations. All of 

 the cities in the State had complied with the 

 law at the date of the last report except Hud- 

 son, Watertown, Oswego, Rome, Elmira, Sche- 

 nectady, Newburg, and Lockport. The muni- 

 cipal regulations are in harmony with the State 

 rules in all essential matters. As the police and 

 fire departments have no equivalents in the 

 State service, special regulations were prepared 

 for them. 



In the City of New York. The Supervisory 

 Board of Commissioners appointed to assist 

 the Mayor of New York in carrying the civil- 

 service law into effect, consists of Everett P. 

 Wheeler, E. L. Godkin, and E. R. Robinson. 

 In accordance with a request from the State 

 Commission, a report was made to the mayor, 

 Dec. 10, 1884. The earlier regulations of 1883 

 were replaced on Aug. 29, 1884, by the pres- 

 ent regulations, sixty-six in number, under the 

 mandatory provisions of the amended act. The 

 city service is divided into seven schedules, as 

 follow : 



A. Deputies authorized to act for their principals, 

 and other persons necessarily occupying a strictly 

 confidential position. 



B. Clerks, copyists, recorders, book-keepers, and 

 others rendering clerical service. 



C. Policemen of the Police and Park Departments, 

 and the uniformed force of the Fire Department. 



D. Persons whose duties require expert knowledge, 

 not included in E. 



E. Physicians, chemists, nurses, orderlies, and at- 

 tendants in city hospitals and asylums. 



F. Persons not included in the above, and not la- 

 borers. 



G. Laborers. 



There are three boards of examiners, each 

 composed of two persons: one for positions 

 in Schedules B and C, one for positions in 

 Schedule D, and one for positions in Sched- 



ules E and F. There is also the Supervisory 

 Board above mentioned, to aid the mayor in 

 preparing civil-service regulations, to conduct 

 inquiries respecting the examinations, to con- 

 trol the examinations and the general adminis- 

 tration of the system, and to decide, subject to 

 the mayor's revision, all questions arising un- 

 der the regulations. Appointments to posi- 

 tions in Schedule A may be made without ex- 

 amination, but the appointing officer must file 

 with the secretary of the boards, within five 

 days, a notification giving full particulars con- 

 cerning the appointee. Vacancies in Schedules 

 B, C, D, E, and F, not filled by promotion, 

 are filled by selection from those who have 

 passed highest in open competitive examina- 

 tions. Applications for positions in Schedules 

 B, D, E, and F, must be accompanied by the 

 affidavit of the applicant, showing that he is 

 eighteen years of age and a citizen of the United 

 States, giving his residence, education, business- 

 training, and experience, and saying whether 

 he has ever been in the civil service of the city 

 or in the military or naval service of the United 

 States. It must also be accompanied by the 

 certificate of not less than three or more than 

 five reputable citizens of the city, as to his good 

 moral character, sobriety, industry, and fit- 

 ness. Candidates for professional, technical, 

 or expert positions must show the training and 

 education they have undergone to qualify them 

 for such situations. The general examination 

 for places in Schedule B embraces handwrit- 

 ing, writing from dictation, spelling, addition, 

 subtraction, multiplication, and division of 

 whole numbers and fractions, condensing a 

 document, and information relating to the city 

 of New York and its government. There are 

 also seven optional subjects, including stenog- 

 raphy, type-writing, and book-keeping. All 

 examinations must relate to such matters as 

 will fairly test relative capacity and fitness. 

 No person whose general rating is less than 

 seventy can be placed on the eligible list. For 

 vacancies in places in the above schedules, 

 w Licit it is desired to fill but which can not 

 be filled by promotion, the highest three names 

 on the appropriate eligible list are certified, 

 one of which must be selected. 



Applicants for places in Schedule D, in addi- 

 tion to furnishing evidence in regard to age, 

 health, and character, must undergo an exami- 

 nation in reference to the special qualifications, 

 expert or otherwise, required. Applicants for 

 places as nurses, matrons, etc., are examined 

 as to age, health, moral character, sobriety, 

 personal habits, temper and temperament, and 

 ability to read, write legibly, and work simple 

 problems in addition and subtraction. For the 

 posts of physicians, surgeons, etc., the Super- 

 visory Board may institute non-competitive 

 examinations. All appointments except in 

 Schedule G are for a probation of six months, 

 and are published in the " City Record," with 

 the names of the persons that have certified 

 the character of the appointees. 



