PUBLIC SERVICE OR WAR

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIII, Issue 10085, 25 September 1918, Page 10

PUBLIC SERVICE OR WAR

THE COMMISSIONERS’ APPEAL FOR EXEMPTION OF THEIR SECRETARY. The Public Service ‘ Commissioner appealed yesterday before the First Wellington Military Service Board—Mr D O. A, Cooper, S.M. (chairman) —for tho exemption of Paul Verschaffelt (secretary to the Commissioners), and the reservist also appealed on the ground of undue hardship. Air A’erschaffelt said the only reason for his appeal was a financial one, he being a married man with a wife and two children Air Thompson (Assistant Public Service Commissioner) said that .the re servist (aged 31) was at present the solo executive officer of tho department, and the appeal was lodged on the ground of the very great -inconvenience that would result not only to the department but io all Government departments and to the public generally if the secretary had to leave. The department had not appealed previously for its officers but was now- compelled to do so. The staff consisted of twenty officers, only two o< whom—Air \ T erschaffelt and Mr -Marks — were senior officers. Next . to them eame eighth cadets, .only two ,of whom had more than twelve months’ experience: and the remainder consisted of two female clerks, three female assistants, and five shorthand typists. The follow, ing senior officers had been lent for other work; —Alessrs Dixon and Guard as pri rate secretaries to the Alinister for Defence; Mr Adams, to tho'Department of Munitions and Supplies; Air Smith, to the Imperial Supplies Departments Mi Hull; for Appeal Board work; and Mr Hunter, as private secretary to anther Minister; wfiile five other officers of considerable experience had gone to the front. Mr A'erschaffelt had been in the department ever - since the beginning of its work in January, 1913, and was the only officer in that position. He had acquired a very considerable knowledge of tho staffs generally throughout; the Dominion, and had had great experience in.:" supplying the urgent calls for temporary assistance which the Commissioners were practically always receiving from Government departments. It would he impossible, the Commissioners felt, to supply his place with any degree of satisfaction, cither to the department, to the Government departments, or to the general public, at the present time. Tho only way to replace him would bp to take a permanent head or assistant permanent head from another department, which would disorganise the do partmentt, while the officer so italcen would not have the necessary experience for Air A’erschaffclt’s work. Further, tho reservist was the only accountant on the staff, and accountancy questions wbre -continually arising. They frequently had to use him as an inspector to go out and inspect departments where questions of tho sort had arisen. • Practically the work of the . departmerit hitherto had been that of-laying ■ down precedents for action in the various cases that arose from time to time; and an officer, to be of any use to the department, must be one who was acquainted with tho precedents and could act upon them. In reply to Air AtcLaren, the witness said that the Commissioners had considered a year or so ago the question as 6> whether they could train a man to take Air Verschaffelt’s place hut had considered it impossible to do so-satisfac-torily at' the present time. There was now" a very jp-eat shortage of senior officers in all the. departments, and it was extremely, difficult to meet all the various calls made upon tho Commissioners for officers. The Commissioners could furnish a list of all officers .so supplied, and of those who had left 1 public service to go into private employment and for other reasons. Practically only senior officers were now left. All the understudies had been taken. Mr McLaren : Do we take it that the burden of the war, in your opinion, should rset only on those who hold junior positions? 'Witness: No; I don’t hold that. If needs must, of course all must go. Atr Alcf-aren said that tho board had had evidence that owing to the infdasticity of tho regulations, several men had left one department recently because they could not got the recognition and the "salaries they conld command outside.

Air Thompson said, that such matters were not fixed by regulations, but by schedule in the statute, by which the Commissioners, like everyone else, were bound. ' Mr AlcLarcn: There is a very strong feeling that men are being protected by being in the public service, whereas they would not bo if employed in private concerns. , ~ The department, said Mr Thompson, had only Jhc two senior officers —Air Marks, who hud three children, and Air Verschaffelt, who had two Decision was reserved.