LES.

GENERAL RULE 1.

Any officer in the executive civil service who shall use his official
authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with an election
or controlling the result thereof; or who shall dismiss, or cause to
be dismissed, or use influence of any kind to procure the dismissal
of any person from any place in the said service because such person
has refused to be coerced in his political action, or has refused to
contribute money for political purposes, or has refused to render
political service; and any officer, clerk, or other employee in the
executive civil service who shall willfully violate any of these rules,
or any of the provisions of sections 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the act
entitled "An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United
States," approved January 16, 1883, shall be dismissed from office.

GENERAL RULE II.

There shall be three branches of the classified civil service, as
follows:

1. The classified departmental service.

2. The classified customs service.

3. The classified postal service.

GENERAL RULE III.

1. No person shall be appointed or employed to enter the civil service,
classified in accordance with section 163 of the Revised Statutes and
under the "Act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United
States," approved January 16, 1883, until he shall have passed an
examination or shall have been shown to be specially exempted therefrom
by said act or by an exception to this rule set forth in connection with
the rules regulating admission to the branch of the service he seeks to
enter.

2. No noncompetitive examination shall be held except under the
following conditions:

(_a_) The failure of competent persons to be, after due notice,
competitively examined, thus making it impracticable to supply to the
appointing officer in due time the names of persons who have passed a
competitive examination.

(_b_) That a person has been during one year or longer in a place
excepted from examination, and the appointing or nominating officer
desires the appointment of such person to a place not excepted.

(_c_) That a person has served two years continuously since July
16, 1883, in a place in the departmental service below or outside
the classified service, and the appointing officer desires, with the
approval of the President, upon the recommendation of the Com