Page:Speeches, correspondence and political papers of Carl Schurz, Volume 2.djvu/179

Rh then the person appointed to fill such vacancy shall be appointed to hold such office only during the balance of the term for which his predecessor was appointed.

The officers of the Government are divided into two classes: first, the subordinate officers, whose appointment is now by law vested in the heads of the different Departments, the routine men, the clerks; and secondly, the executive officers, who are now appointed by the President of the United States by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. The subordinate officers are to be appointed after competitive examination; and I desire the Secretary to read the third section of the substitute.

The Chief Clerk read as follows:

3. And be it further enacted, That all appointments of inferior officers whose appointment is or may hereafter be vested by law in the heads of Departments, except postmasters, shall be made from those who shall have passed the required examinations in the following manner: the applicants who stand highest in order of merit on the list of those who have passed the examination for any particular branch and grade of the civil service shall have the preference in appointment to that branch and grade, and no person now in office who shall hereafter be appointed under the provisions of this act shall be promoted or transferred from a lower to a higher grade unless he shall have passed in like manner the examination prescribed by the civil service board for such higher grade. All such examinations shall be open to all persons who shall make application therefor.

The fitness of candidates for Presidential appointments shall also be examined by the board. There are certain offices the discharge of the duties of which requires special knowledge, experience and skill; and candidates for such offices are fit subjects for regular