Students Must Apply to White House For Summer Jobs in Washington

The White House has set up a "clearing system" for processing the applications of all students who apply for summer jobs in the Government, a Washington columnist reported last week.

In a front-page article for last Wednesday's Washington Evening Star, Joseph Young outlined how the application of each student applying for work in a government agency will be sent to the White House. Included in the information will be the name of his home state and the college he attends.

A White House staff assistant, Mrs. Dorothy Davies, told Young that the plan is an attempt to channel into each agency the students most qualified to help it. Such a coordinated placement system would also enable many students to find jobs in other agencies, if the agencies for which they applied are full.

Young noted, however, "The White House doesn't have the facilities to handle this. It's enormous job, and Mrs. Davies has only a couple of secretaries right now."

Mrs. Davies would not deny that the program might be used for patronage.

Young said that the "clearance system" proposal has aroused criticism by Republican members of Congress, and by Civil Service Commission members, who were not informed about the White House meeting which-set up the program.

Sen. Jack R. Miller (R-Iowa) has called for the White House to "swiftly make it clear that partisan political considerations will play absolutely no part in the consideration of the applications." "I do not know why it is that this administration feels such an irresistible urge to play politics with our civil service system," he said.

"It's no secret that a goodly portion of the summer student jobs are filled on a personal patronage basis each year," stated Young in his article. The White House may be trying to give more jobs to "sons and daughters of Democratic members of Congress and key Democratic supporters and contributors."