OPJECTIV*S IN CIVIL SERVICE 
 
 
             (Prepared by Paul L. Errington, with the 
         assistance of, and endorsed by, the other mem- 
         bers of the Committee on Professional Stan- 
         dards, 1940 1) 
 
     The accepted purpose of a civil service system is, in brief, to 
insure an optimum combination of advantages for the public and the 
public's employees. Civil service attemipts to safeguard the inter- 
ests of the public through selection of employees on a merit basis 
and to safeguard in turn the interests of the employers through pro- 
visions concerning salaries, tenure, promotion, retirement, etc., 
and by protection against political or other interference or ex- 
ploitation. 
 
     There is naturally less disagreement with the principles govern- 
ing civil service than with the translation of those principles into 
practice -- especially as relates to specific cases where decisions 
may not always be disinterested. Nevertheless, enough confusion re- 
sults from honest divergence in viewpoints and the complexity inher- 
ent in big programs to make the need of criteria for Judging current 
or proposed systems all the greater. Civil service is neither the 
only nor, being a product of fallible human effort, conceivably the 
best means of working for the common ends of the public and its em- 
ployees, but it appears to be more worthy of consideration than any 
other medium now in sight.2 
 
                             A Qpoin tmnen t 
 
     Under civil service, government (including federal, state, and 
local) positions are filled chiefly through examinations. The ade- 
quacy of this method is conditioned by how frequently the examin- 
ations are given and by how well they reveal an applicant's qualif- 
ications for the respective openings that may exist. The latter 
leads to questions as to the qualifications of the persons preparing 
and grading the questions and the money and facilities available for 
such purposes. Obviously, the more mechanical the methods of handling 
examinations become, the less suitable It will be for choosing per- 
sonnel for positions requiring special training or aptitude. 
 
     The examination of Junior Biologist has been singlpd out for 
attention by this Committee. Not only is it widely givcn, but the 
Society of American Foresters has also made a valuable study of the 
 
N Rudolf BennItt, University of Miissouri, Chairman; Paul L. F'ring- 
ton, Iowa State College; Arthur S. Hawkins, Illinois Natural History 
Survey; Carl L. Hubbs, University of Michigan; Ralph T. King, Syracuse 
University; Aldo Leopold, University of Wisconsin; H. D. Ruhl, Mich- 
igan Department of Conservation; Herbert L. Stoddard, Cooperative 
Quail Study Association, Thovasville, Georgia; Walter P. Taylor, U. 
S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Texas A. and M. College. 
2 The Committee is especially appreciative of courtesies shown it 
by President Roosevelt's Committee on Civil Service Improvement.