Civil-Service Rule VII, section 2, is hereby amended by (1) changing the colon after the word "apportionment" in the first sentence of the first paragraph to a comma, and adding the following clause: "and the appointments of persons covered into the classified service by Executive order or otherwise, or exempted from the restrictions of the quota provision in certification, shall be excluded from the apportionment figures:" and by (2) striking out the word "and" before the words "telephone operator," in the second paragraph of said section, changing the period at the end of said paragraph to a comma, and adding the following: "and mechanical trades and allied positions of the noneducational class, incumbents of which are retirable at not over 65 years of age." As amended, section 2 of Civil-Service Rule VII will read as follows: 2. Certification for appointment in the departments or independent offices at Washington shall be so made as to maintain, as nearly as the conditions of good administration will warrant, the apportionment of appointments among the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia upon the basis of population, but eligibles who have been granted military preference shall be certified without regard to apportionment, and the appointments of persons covered into the classified service by Executive order or otherwise, or exempted from the restrictions of the quota provision in certification, shall be excluded from the apportionment figures: Provided , that appointments to the following positions shall not be so apportioned: In all departments and offices: Apprentice, cabinet-maker, carpenter, electric lineman, electric wireman, engraver, gardener, helper (if approved by the commission), painter, plumber, skilled laborer (female), student, telephone operator, and mechanical trades and allied positions of the noneducational class, incumbents of which are retirable at not over 65 years of age. In the Government Printing Office, mail equipment shops, local offices in the District of Columbia, field service of the military staff departments, and at Army headquarters: All positions. In the Bureau of Engraving and Printing: Plate printer and skilled helper. HERBERT HOOVER The White House, December 7, 1931.
Executive Order 5753—Amendment of Civil-Service Rule VII in Relation to the Apportionment
Executive Brief • At a Glance
Civil-Service Rule VII, section 2, is hereby amended by (1) changing the colon after the word "apportionment" in the first sentence of the first paragraph to a comma, and adding the following clause: "and the appointments of persons covered into the classified service by Executive order or otherwise, or exempted from the restrictions of the quota provision in certification, shall be excluded from the apportionment figures:" and by (2) striking out the word "and" before the words "telephone operator," in the second paragraph of said section, changing the period at the end of said paragraph to a comma, and adding the following: "and mechanical trades and allied positions of the noneducational class, incumbents of which are retirable at not…
Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis
Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
Signed by President Herbert Hoover on December 7, 1931, this order concerns Amendment of Civil-Service Rule VII in Relation to the Apportionment. Civil-Service Rule VII, section 2, is hereby amended by (1) changing the colon after the word "apportionment" in the first sentence of the first paragraph to a comma, and adding the following clause: "and the appointments of persons covered into the classified service by Executive order or otherwise, or exempted from the restrictions of the quota provision in certification, shall be excluded from the apportionment…
Key Directives & Operative Actions
Civil-Service Rule VII, section 2, is hereby amended by (1) changing the colon after the word "apportionment" in the first sentence of the first paragraph to a comma, and adding the following clause: "and the appointments of persons covered into the classified service by Executive order or otherwise, or exempted from the restrictions of the quota provision in certification, shall be excluded from the apportionment figures:" and by (2) striking out the word "and" before the words "telephone operator," in the second paragraph of said section, changing the period at the end of said paragraph to a comma, and adding the following: "and mechanical trades and allied positions of the noneducational class, incumbents of which are retirable at not…
Certification for appointment in the departments or independent offices at Washington shall be so made as to maintain, as nearly as the conditions of good administration will warrant, the apportionment of appointments among the several States and Territories and the District of Columbia upon the basis of population, but eligibles who have been granted military preference shall be certified without regard to apportionment, and the appointments of persons covered into the classified service by Executive order or otherwise, or exempted from the restrictions of the quota provision in certification, shall be excluded from the apportionment figures: Provided , that appointments to the following positions shall not be so apportioned: In all…
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
Policy Areas & Topics
The Framers' Constitutional Council
1787 PrismEvaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.
"When the President acts in absence of either a congressional grant or denial of authority, he can only rely upon his own independent powers, but there is a zone of twilight in which he and Congress may have concurrent authority."
James Madison
Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy
"Power is of an encroaching nature, and it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it." — Federalist No. 48 (1788)
Madison would view this order with watchful scrutiny. Operating in the 'Zone of Twilight' where Congress is silent, each such directive establishes an administrative precedent that steadily expands the executive perimeter at the expense of legislative primacy.
Alexander Hamilton
The Energetic Executive & Unified Command
"The direction of war implies the direction of the common strength; and the power of directing and employing the common strength must be under the direction of the single hand of the Executive." — Federalist No. 74 (1788)
Hamilton would forcefully champion executive discretion here. For foreign entanglements, commerce defense, and national security, deliberative assemblies are too slow and faction-ridden. A unified, energetic Executive exercising swift command is precisely what the Philadelphia Convention intended for national preservation.
George Mason
Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment
"The president will be surrounded by flatterers and sycophants... and the great powers of the executive will gradually absorb the liberties of the people." — Cato IV (Anti-Federalist, 1787)
The Anti-Federalist prism advises continuous democratic vigilance. Even routine administrative directives aggregate centralized federal power away from town halls and state assemblies toward a distant executive apparatus.
Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions
An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.
Legislative Encroachment & Purse
Administers commerce or fiscal programs requiring ongoing statutory delegation and legislative oversight.
Executive Scope & Faithfulness
Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.
Federalism & State Sovereignty
Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.
Due Process & Individual Rights
Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.
Youngstown Jacksonian Tier
The order relies on inherent Article II executive discretion, civil service management, or foreign diplomacy where Congress has neither expressly approved nor prohibited action.
This order operates within Justice Jackson’s Zone of Twilight, resting upon concurrent presidential authority or congressional silence.
Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 5753 (Dec. 7, 1931), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-5753-amendment-civil-service-rule-vii-relation-the-apportionment.