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Editorial
June 3, 1954
Montgomery County Sentinel
Rockville, Gaithersburg, Montgomery County, Maryland
What is this article about?
An editorial criticizes the excessive bureaucracy and red tape in the Civil Service Commission's hiring process for substitute postal carriers and clerks in Upper Montgomery County, highlighting absurd requirements, lengthy descriptions, and convoluted exam questions, and suggests simpler local hiring by postmasters.
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We'll Deliver This Ourselves
We hope some good men land those substitute carriers' and clerks' Post Office jobs which are open in Upper Montgomery County.
Our beef is with bureaucracy's red tape, Gobbledygook and big-time give-away show.
Along with the information that it wants a few subs, the Civil Service Commission in Washington floored us with eight single-spaced pages of words about the job.
Seems the employment pool is good, ranging all the way from half-pint, barefoot Samoans to old soldiers.
Using CSC's own words, here's proof:
Applicants must be citizens or "natives of American Samoa." They must be "at least 5 feet 4 inches in height without shoes."
Veterans who are "70 or older on the day they enter on duty will be given temporary appointments . . . such temporary appointments may be renewed."
Apparently. CSC doesn't expect oldsters to last on the job; that's why they insert the word "may."
A look at the clerk's duties tells why:
"Handling heavy sacks of letter mail . . . weighing in some instances 100 pounds or more; sorting and distributing . . . continuous standing, walking, throwing packages of mail, stretching to empty sacks . . . reaching . . .'
Seemingly enjoying itself by harping on the toughness of the job, CSC tells us a few lines further down:
"Substitute carriers . . . Handling heavy sacks of letter mail . . . weighing in some instances 100 pounds or more; sorting and distributing . . . continuous standing, walking, throwing packages of mail, stretching to empty sacks . . . reaching . . ."
All this takes four pages. The other four pages consist of sample questions from the aspirants' examination.
The questions (we recognize they're supposed to get at the applicant's aptitude) dig into the meaning of "one robin does not mean spring," and asks what drinking fountains in public schools are for.
One lulu is prefaced with the instruction, .select the word from among the last five words that goes with the third word in capital letters in most nearly the same way or ways that the second word in capital letters goes with the first."
Huh?
It goes on like that, and we have this suggestion:
Why can't the bureaucrats come down out of the mental stratosphere, save thousands of dollars and simply tell the Postmasters:
"Joe, you need a substitute clerk. Why don't you jot out a little note and put it on the bulletin board?"
We hope some good men land those substitute carriers' and clerks' Post Office jobs which are open in Upper Montgomery County.
Our beef is with bureaucracy's red tape, Gobbledygook and big-time give-away show.
Along with the information that it wants a few subs, the Civil Service Commission in Washington floored us with eight single-spaced pages of words about the job.
Seems the employment pool is good, ranging all the way from half-pint, barefoot Samoans to old soldiers.
Using CSC's own words, here's proof:
Applicants must be citizens or "natives of American Samoa." They must be "at least 5 feet 4 inches in height without shoes."
Veterans who are "70 or older on the day they enter on duty will be given temporary appointments . . . such temporary appointments may be renewed."
Apparently. CSC doesn't expect oldsters to last on the job; that's why they insert the word "may."
A look at the clerk's duties tells why:
"Handling heavy sacks of letter mail . . . weighing in some instances 100 pounds or more; sorting and distributing . . . continuous standing, walking, throwing packages of mail, stretching to empty sacks . . . reaching . . .'
Seemingly enjoying itself by harping on the toughness of the job, CSC tells us a few lines further down:
"Substitute carriers . . . Handling heavy sacks of letter mail . . . weighing in some instances 100 pounds or more; sorting and distributing . . . continuous standing, walking, throwing packages of mail, stretching to empty sacks . . . reaching . . ."
All this takes four pages. The other four pages consist of sample questions from the aspirants' examination.
The questions (we recognize they're supposed to get at the applicant's aptitude) dig into the meaning of "one robin does not mean spring," and asks what drinking fountains in public schools are for.
One lulu is prefaced with the instruction, .select the word from among the last five words that goes with the third word in capital letters in most nearly the same way or ways that the second word in capital letters goes with the first."
Huh?
It goes on like that, and we have this suggestion:
Why can't the bureaucrats come down out of the mental stratosphere, save thousands of dollars and simply tell the Postmasters:
"Joe, you need a substitute clerk. Why don't you jot out a little note and put it on the bulletin board?"
What sub-type of article is it?
Satire
What keywords are associated?
Post Office Jobs
Civil Service Commission
Bureaucracy
Red Tape
Substitute Carriers
Exam Questions
What entities or persons were involved?
Civil Service Commission
Postmasters
Bureaucrats
Editorial Details
Primary Topic
Criticism Of Civil Service Commission Bureaucracy In Postal Job Hiring
Stance / Tone
Satirical Criticism Of Red Tape And Inefficiency
Key Figures
Civil Service Commission
Postmasters
Bureaucrats
Key Arguments
Excessive Paperwork And Descriptions For Simple Jobs
Absurd Eligibility Requirements Like Height And Samoan Natives
Temporary Appointments For Elderly Veterans With Doubt On Longevity
Repetitive Emphasis On Physically Demanding Duties
Convoluted And Pointless Exam Questions
Suggestion For Simpler Local Hiring By Postmasters To Save Money