Government Service for College Men

FOR THE PAST three years the United States has been experiencing the application of a philosophy of government that embodies a greater interference by Government in the economic and social life of the nation than ever before in peace times. The expansion of governmental activities has been wide and far-reaching. Whether we adhere to this movement or not, it would be folly to assume that we are going to witness a complete retreat by the Government. We must'look forward to a continuation of a major portion of these regulatory policies.

In view of this prospect the traditional American lack of interest in the personnel of the federal government is rapidly being displaced by a keen interest in the affairs of the nation and the people who are closely connected with them. The importance of government service has loomed on the horizon in relatively significant proportions. If governmental activity is to expand in disguised or undisguised forms of regulation of our economic life, there must be capable administrators and advisers directing government work. Indeed, laws invading new fields have been passed that were hardly contemplated even a generation ago. Many of them are of the most complicated sort, involving astute interpretations and requiring the most efficient type of public administration to make them effective. The work of carrying out the will and intent of Congress has but begun when an act is passed; there remains the gigantic task of actually utilizing and enforcing the provisions on a large scale. Just as theoretically one gold dollar in our banks is the basis from which ten credit dollars spring, so one short and comparatively simple act of Congress may be the source of a veritable flood of executive orders, decrees, and other acts of administration.

The theory sponsoring a congressional act is often beset with difficulties when its practical application commences. The provisions and mandates of the act must be fitted into the realistic scene that is presented and into the conceded limitations of human beings. We assail bureaucracy along with antagonistic political orators, and quite justly when that bureaucracy reaches such ponderous proportions that it is in danger of falling of its own weight. But bureaucracy in itself does not imply this. Bureaucracy is inevitable in modern government; some of the evils that have become associated with it in this country because, inter alia, the action of those who assail gets little farther than the movement of their jaws, are not inevitable. The German Empire before the War had a bureaucracy, and few public administrations have been as efficient. The broad liberal education required of all candidates for the Administration tive Class of the British Civil Service is a helpful deterrent to the evils of narrow vision and lack of coordination that imperil many governments today. The college generation of today is definitely concerned with government administration; from that incipient concern we may hope soon for even greater interest and activity in government service. Only through such a trend can some of the admitted evils of our government administration be eradicated. The United States is no longer a predominantly rural community; a bustling, fast-moving industrial United States, if it must submit to interference by the government, demands precise, rapid action by that government. Government regulation implies capable public servants.

There are over 800,000 employees in the federal executive civil service, o£ whom approximately 60 per cent are in the classified civil service operating under the Civil Service Commission. The classified service includes five classes or groups which embody at the top many of the bureau heads and professional advisers, scientists, technicians, etc., and which extend through the maze of assistants, junior assistants, clerks, and stenographers to the lowest messenger boy. The college graduate's interest turns quite naturally to the professionally specialized and higher administrative fields where authority and prestige are greater than anywhere else in the Service. (I am exempting from consideration many of the posts in Washington and "in the field" that are not in the classified service but which parallel it and, it is hoped, will eventually be in it. The positions in most of the New Deal agencies are in this category, and the opportunities there are numerous.) These include the scientific groups, the so-called "expert" groups in the fields of economics, sociology, labor, etc., the lawyers (who are generally exempt from examinations, al- though not always), and those who are primarily concerned with public policy and the planning of public programs, essentially long-range in scope. We may call the last the administrative class, consisting of perhaps two thousand men in Washington today, uncoordinated but possibly the most valuable adjunct of the entire Service.

Summing up, Commissioner Leonard D. White, Dartmouth '14, of the Civil Service Commission has said, "The quality of government depends very largely upon the professional, supervisory, and planning groups, which comprise roughly ten per cent of the total executive service. Their importance is out of all proportion to their numbers. It is with reference to them that planning and reconstruction are in order. Excluding the scientific staff, they comprise the so-called administrative class, which has been the backbone of the British Service for three generations and which had led to the world renown of this famous service."

Entrance into the Civil Service may be made at a number of different levels, depending on the number of years, if any, of graduate work or experience a candidate has had in the selected field. There are examinations ranging from the commonly called "Junior" grade for those with a college degree and with or without particular specialization, through the Assistant, Associate, Full, and Senior grades requiring further education or experience, to the Principal grade which heads the list and is open only to top-flight, experienced men. Age-limits vary according to the particular position, those lower in the scale admitting younger men and those higher raising the minimum age requirement. Service in the lower administrative positions, if put to advantage, will almost inevitably lead to larger and more responsible offices. There is a real demand for capable men of the administrative class in Washington today. Government departments are actually

competing with each other for the services of these individuals. Recently Commissioner White said to me, "It is amazing the number of demands I get for this type of men." A good example is that of a man who was originally employed by the Civil Service Commission as an economist from the Associate Economist register at $3200 per annum for six months, when he was called to the Securities and Exchange Commission at $3800. He stayed there for five or six more months when he received an opportunity to join another agency at a compensation of $5400. With the sudden expansion of the activities of bureaus and departments in Washington the services of such men are held at a premium. The groundwork is being laid for the rise of an administrative corps in the Federal government that will do much to enhance the efficiency and attractions of government service.

We speak of capable administratorsrather general and vague terms. What are the essential characteristics of a first-rate administrator? Professor Harvey Walker of Ohio State University, an authority on public administration, has stated roughly the requirements of a successful administrator, He should, first of all, be able to analyze the complex problems which are presented to him, breaking them down into their component parts; from this analysis he should be able to build up a new synthesis in a clear and concise summary of the

significant portions. A competent administrator must be able to come to a firm decision within a reasonable time, one that will evidence mastery of detail, proper conclusions as to effect, and far-reaching imagination and foresight. There must be compelling initiative and energy, fully backed up by accurate and forceful expression.

Coordination is particularly the function of the administrator. He who cannot piece the picture together, who cannot pick up the loose threads and bind them into a workable instrument, who cannot see the scope of the problem as a whole and deal with it as such will not meet with success in the administrative field. In addition, Professor Walker includes as essential attributes: the maintenance of public confidence in his work through a tactful and sincere behavior and a recognition of the desires of the elected representatives of the people; an adequate technical knowledge of the social sciences and the principles of business administration: and a deep devotion to a high ethical code, inspired by a true professional attitude toward his work.

At present the Civil Service is suffering from several notable handicaps. There is no clear-cut system. It is relatively difficult for men to value highly a career in the government unless the road of advancement is clearly and unmistakably perceived. Of course, if he has the necessary ability, he should get to the top regardless of system. However, it is often true that some outsider may be brought in to fill a key job that per- haps another individual in the Service has been pointing toward and preparing for during the long preceding years. This prac- tice is destructive to morale.

Politics still throws a taint on public office. Job-seekers are plentiful, and the security of many of our elected representatives is dependent on satisfying them. This sort of activity is damaging to the group structure of the Service and imperils its zeal and efficiency. It has been an outstanding factor in holding back progressive reforms and a higher regard for government service by the nation as a whole. It is absolutely essential that the Service be bolstered from within by assuring those al- ready in the Government of the opportunity for advancement to important posts on the basis of efficiency and merit ratings alone.

Too often in the past government service has been a windfall to men who, having failed to achieve security in the business world, turn to the government for a job and a reasonable pension in old age. There can be little efficiency if such a situation exists, and it is encouraging to note that actual steps are being taken to erase this practice.

Government work has suffered in prestige value by comparison with business opportunities. Shifting administrations have meant shifting jobs and shifting armies of job-seekers. Business has offered greater monetary rewards and greater respect in the community. While it is not questioned that business will continue to pay larger salaries, it is certainly true that publicminded individuals who devote their lives to disinterested service in a Civil Service maintained with rigidly high standards and a national renown for unselfish and efficient work will be marked men. The Foreign Service of our own State Department has already achieved this reputation. Why? it is select, composed of men who can safely be called one in a thousand; and it has served amazingly well to elevate the general repute and effectiveness of the consular and diplomatic service till it has become the goal of thousands of earnest young Americans throughout the nation and the training ground of many of our present highly regarded diplomats such as Under- secretary to State William Phillips and Hugh Gibson. Scarcely in any other branch of the civil service can one point to such products. How can we run a Republic, any more than a corporation, unless we have a trained corps for efficient management? If government is to get into business, business must on that condition (and with far more likelihood of success) get into government.

Among the colleges of the country there has been a marked increase in interest in the government service. Curricula are being broadened to include courses of instruction. Graduate schools, such as the new Harvard School of Public Administration, are being founded and extended to train men specifically for a career in the government. Washington has become the center of numerous activities of representatives of the colleges and universities, anxious to learn more of career possibilities in the government. Scholarships and fellow- ships providing financial aid to those seriously concerned have become abundant. Colgate University sent to Washington a delegation of fifteen seniors with an in- structor for the first semester. It is under- stood that this group had two or three classes in the morning hours and then spent the rest of the time each day observing the government at work. Wesleyan sent down twenty men with two instructors for a week between semesters. Harvard already has five or six three-year fellowships for graduate study in government, the second year being used for intimate contact with governmental forces in Washington. The University of Chicago has three or four graduate scholarships available for government work. It has been said that student interest in this respect is lower at Dartmouth than elsewhere. It is time that a warning be sounded. Dartmouth cannot afford to ignore a definite movement that is displaying keener interest than ever, the country over, in government career possibilities.

The United States Civil Service has suffered by comparison with that of Britain, whose prestige and effectiveness are far more pronounced. The "caste" system plays a dominant part in the British Civil Service, which means literally that for the top grade .of the Service, the so-called Administrative Class, only graduates from the two old Universities can be considered candidates, although this has not been rigidly adhered to and today is quite frequently disregarded. But a man does stand a better chance of being admitted to this class with but a 2nd class (i.e. second honors) at Oxford than one who has been at the very top of his class at one of the other or Scottish universities. This is both its strength and its weakness. While admittedly this bids for a well-knit unit that ranks high in efficiency and devotion to the Service, there is a tendency for it to become too exclusive and aristocratic. Cries for "democratization of the Service" have not been unheard, and distrust of the Administrative Class as such today has been frequently expressed.

There are 1500 members roughly in the British Administrative Class, who hold sway in important capacities in the various offices of the Government, serving at home and abroad. When an Englishman speaks of the Civil Service, he invariably means this highly compact and competent administrative force. These men are career men—brilliant graduates of the Universities who enter the Service in their early twenties (one cannot enter later). They are picked men of a picked group each year, and to succeed into the Service they must pass a series of examinations that would make the American college man cringe. Chosen initially for no special proficiency in any administrative line, they must pass standards in their particular university work (generally the classics, mathematics, or history—although economics and the languages are rising in popularity) that will admit only the most outstanding minds. One doesn't stress administration or government in preparing for these tests; men are selected on the basis solely of their excellence in the liberal arts. Achievement in the old liberal arts, Lord Macaulay believed, was certain to indicate a man of superiority and broad vision; that was all that mattered. Even "if astrology were taught at our universities," said Macaulay, "the young man who cast his nativities best would generally turn out a superior man."

Once in the Service, the position of Assistant Principal is occupied for a term varying up to seven years, after which there are promotions according to ability until eventually one can reach a Permanent Secretary- ship of one of the Offices if capable enough. It is a definite hierarchy. It is a tribute to the intense education in the liberal arts these career men receive that they can so quickly and so completely master tasks requiring special knowledge. The Permanent Secretaries and the Undersecretaries run the various departments, and although they must subordinate their views to those of the Parliamentary Heads, they invariably have a prominent voice in the initial determination of policy.

The British Service has been so highly successful because it is open only to the Host qualified in the land. It is a lifework that commences soon after graduation from college. There is pride in the Service and a devotion to the public welfare of His Majesty's subjects. No successful candidate need fear that an outsider will be able to take an important post in the Service without entering early in life and working up through the grades. The top positions can be fed only from below. This particular set-up insures solidarity and a high morale throughout. Men will be attracted where prestige and the chance for distinction are greatest; if successful at the bar of admissions, they will gladly pay for this with a will to serve.

Any approach to an alleviation of the situation in the United States must, according to Commissioner White, involve the introduction of a separate administrative corps of 2500 men, designed after the famed British model to some extent. This corps would be selected after a series of rigorous examinations from only the most brilliant of those college graduates qualified, and would involve an intake of approximately 250 men each year. The group would be divided functionally, i.e. into divisions involving the same or related fields, thus permitting the widest possible opportunity for promotion of the younger aspirants and at-the same time introducing an element of system and coordination into the administration. The corps would include set lines of positions from the junior principal officers up through division and bureau chiefs to executive assistants and the permanent undersecretaries. No political appointments would be tolerated in any grade of the Service; all promotions would have to come from within to maintain morale and integrity. Any lead would obviously destroy confidence, hope, and industry.

Dr. White believes the normal age of entry should be 25 and the maximum around 30 years, after which one would not be eligible for the administrative corps. After selection there would be an intensive five-year training period, following which promotions would be in order for about 100 of the initial 250 selected. Thencefor- ward promotions would be offered, within reasonable limitations of age, as fast as one could show his ability to accept them. This procedure would elevate the prestige of the group and encourage serious consideration of career work in the government by our most intelligent college graduates.

Conceivably the difficulties are many to the realization of this plan, not the least of which are the traditional American antipathy toward any exclusive class or order in responsible positions and the potent force that sectionalism plays in American politics. It will be rather a task to convince the country in general of the need of just such a class, as it were; and the thorn of sectional interests will continue to pop up at most inconvenient moments to hamper the organization and demand consideration for qualities other than intelligence in the selection of candidates. We can face these problems squarely and sacrifice a little democracy for efficiency and good government, or we can continue with inefficiency and bad government.

THE AUTHOR of this principal articleof the annual "Undergraduate Issue" of the ALUMNI MAGAZINE is theson Of a Dartmouth man, Robert B.Keeler '11 of Lima, Ohio, and he is theholder of the first award of the Class of1926 Fellowship. Robert T. Keeler '36is spending the year in first-hand studyof public affairs in Washington underthe terms of the Fellowship, which provides $1500 to the recipient. An anonymous member of the class of 1926 conceived the idea of the Fellowship andis providing the funds for carryingthrough the unique project.

Mr. Keeler has spent most of the college year in Washington. He will returnto Hanover at the end of the spring recess. During his period of study and observation of government agencies in operation he has been in close touch withLeonard D. White '14, a member of theUnited States Civil Service Commission.The editors have asked Mr. Keeler togive his opinion of the opportunities forcollege men in government service, andthe thoughts which his year of Washington residence have given him in respect to ways and means of improvingthe "career" aspects of this problem ofpublic life.

The increased interest of Dartmouthundergraduates in public affairs isshown in the growth of the movementof "Dartmouth in Politics," which isbeing guided by two members of theteaching staff of the department ofPolitical Science, James P. Richardson'99, and Harold J. Tobin '17. Mr. Keeler's discussion is a valuable contributionto the pioneer work that Dartmouth anda few other colleges are doing in thisvery important field.

Robert T. Keeler '36