The Civil Service

NETV BITLES ADOPTED. Washington, Feb. 5.- The President has approved and promulga ted a revisión of the civil-service rules, which makes several very important changes in the system of appointinentsupon tests of fitness applied to applicants for places in the departments at Washington and in the classified customs offices and post-offlcea The commission has aleo revised the civii-service regulations to conform to the new ralea The new rules and regulations which were prepared by Commissioner Oberly and amended by the other commissioners will go into effect on March 1. In brief they are aa follows : The general rules are nine in number and are applicable, except in one or two particulars, to all parts ol the classified service, and to some parts of the service not yet classifled under the law or rules. By these rules it is made an oUense, punishable by dismissal, for any offlcer oí the executive civil service to use his official authority or infiuence for the purpose of interfering wlth an election, of controlling the results thereof, or to dismiss orto cause to be dismissed,or to use möuence of any kind to procure the dismissal of any person from any place in said service, because such person has refused to be coerced in his political action, or has refused to contribute money for any political purpose or to render political service. The rules provide for the dismissal of any offlcer, clerk or other employé who shall rece.ve or be in any manner concerned in soliciting or receiving any assessment, subscription or contribution for any political purpose whatever, from any employé of anv department of the public service; or who shall discharge or promote, or in any manner chance the official rank of any employé, or promise or tnreaten to do so, for giving or refusing or withholding or neglecting to make any contribution of money or other valuable thing for any political purpose: or who shall, directly or indirectly, hand over to any other person in said service, or to any Senator, or member of the House of Kepresentatives, or Territorial delégate, any money or othevaluable thing, on account of or to be applied to the promotion of any political purpose whatever. It is also provided that no question in any examination shall be so framed as to elicit the political or religious opinión or amliation of competitors for place, and that if any appointing or nominating offlcer shall make inquiry concerning, or in any other way attempt to ascertain, the politics or religión of any person who has passed an examination, or who shall discrimínate in favor of or against such person, he shall be dismissed from office. Another important feature of the general rules gives authority to an appointing or nominating offlcer, to whom the Commissioners mty send the names of persons declared by them to be eligible to a certain place, to object in writing to all or any one of the persons thus certifled, stating that for reasons to be particularly specifled such persons, or any of them, are not capable of performing the duties of the vacant place, and the Commissioners are directed to make certiflcation of other names if the objections are ascertained to be good and well founded. The general rules also provide that soldiers and sailors who have been honorably discharged because of sickness or wounds shall be certilied for appointment in preference to other persons of higher grade in the examinations, and that in making any reduction of force in any branch of the classi fled service honorably discharged soldiers and sailors, and also the widows and orphans of deceased soldiers and sailors, shall be retained in preference to others. The department rules authorize the classification of eommissions and independent bureaus, as well as the departments at Washington, and prescribes the examination that must be provided to test fitness for admission to this branch of the service. The maximum age limitation of forty-flve years is ïbrogated, and the minimum limitation is raised from eighteen to twenty years. Soldiers and sailors who have a claim of preference in civil and military appointmentc are let in at 65 per een turn, out in all other cases the mínimum grade of eligibility has been raised from 65 to 70 per centum. The number of names to be certified to an appointing offlcer from which to select for an appo ntment ha been reduced from four to three.