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list. (D ) A central Civil Service Board
becomes an auxiliary to each depart
ment and performs for each many per
sonnel functions, thus eliminating
much duplicate effort. As an example,
there is the expense and loss of time
incident to the interviewing of appli
cants by several departments. Courtesy
demands that each applicant be heard,
and an active applicant in Salem could
by contacting various departments ef
fectively consume the equivalent of the
entire day of a department director. A
single personnel department clerk could
receive many such applications at a
small percentage of the cost. The bene
fits incidental to the operation of the
personnel department are difficult to
evaluate, so also are the economies
which result from greater efficiency,
better morale, less turnover, etc. Yet
there are material savings of tax moneys
involved, despite the fact that the per
sonnel department appears to require a
new appropriation.
Third. The employees themselves
benefit from civil service, due to two
important assurances. (A ) That inter
ference from political influence or per
sonal spite will not be permitted and
that service will be uninterrupted as
long as honesty, effiicency, courtesy,
and morality are maintained. (B) That
advancement by merit will not be in
terfered with by favoritism. These two
assurances permit young employees to
enter state service in their chosen field
with the anticipation of making it a
life career. Most employees undertake
to improve themselves for advancement
and continued service.
The above are generalities based on
experience in other states. Let us look
at some specific experience in Oregon.
For the last 25 years the Oregon State
Highway Department, with very minor
exception, has offered its employees
continuity of tenure almost equal to
that offered by civil service. The em
ployees have had opportunity for pro
motion, a certain amount of in-service
training and during the last six years
have actually operated under a merit
system equivalent to a limited form of
civil service. And this has been the
result.
Oregon is recognized as a leader
in the entire highway field. Standards
of design, location, construction, main
tenance, and operation have been kept
high. Oregon led the nation in the de
velopment of the oiled road and the
penetration type bituminous macadam.
The portable pavement patching plant
developed in Oregon almost 20 years
ago is now being adopted by other
states and in foreign countries. Many
other highway fields were pioneered by
Oregon, including the field of highway
bridge design and of traffic line paint
ing. No state has yet equalled Oregon
in its smooth pavements, its neat road
sides, its trim traffic line, or its uni
form signing.
This outstanding reputation has been
attained through the activities of a
personnel with the highest morale.
Every employee has felt that the high
ways were his highways and the motto
of each has been "T raffic must go
through.” I have seen survey parties
work through the night to complete
plans urgently needed the next day. I
have seen men work straight through,
day and night, plowing snow to keep
the highways open to traffic. I have
seen bridge repair crews work day and
night to replace a fallen bridge. These
men were not concerned with hours or
overtime, they would not let their
highways remain plugged a moment
longer than they could help.