ALBERT C. RITCHIE. GOVERNOR 1249

A Maryland, title "Merit System." as enacted by Chapter 41
of the Acts of 1920, be and it is hereby repealed and re-enacted
with amendments, to read as follows:

9. Examinations held by the Commissioner to establish lists
of persons eligible for appointment may be written or oral or
in the form of a demonstration of skill or any combination of
these and shall be of a character fairly to test and determine
the relative figures and ability of candidates actually to per-
form the duties of the class of positions to which they seek
to be appointed. Any investigation of training and experience-
and any test of technical knowledge, manual skill or physical
fitness that in the judgment of the Commissioner serves to
this end may be employed. Examination shall be competitive.
free and open to all persons who may be lawfully appointed to
any position within the class for which the examination is
held, with such limitations as may be specified in the rules by
the Commissioner as to age, sex, health, habits, moral char-
acter, physical condition, and other qualifications that are in
the judgment of the Commissioner prerequisite to the per-
formance of the duties of such positions; provided, however,
that the Commissioner may, from time to time, provide for gen-
eral rules exempting from competitive examinations positions
to be filled by unskilled manual laborers, including positions
for road patrolmen under the State Roads Commission, and
may, if he sees fit, provide in lieu of said competitive examina-
tions such system or systems of registration for said laborers
or otherwise as in its judgment will best provide for such
positions; and provided further as to all positions that the
Commissioner may by his rules give preference in competition
for higher classes of positions to classified service employees or
to classified service employees of a certain class or classes by
giving credit for experience and demonstrated efficiency (not
to exceed twenty per centum of all marks) in determining the
relative fitness for promotion of such employees. Honorably
discharged soldiers, sailors, marines and regularly enlisted
army and navy nurses engaged in the service of the United
States for a period of not less than sixty days, who were resi-
dents of this State at the time of their entry into such service,
shall be given special credit for such service in the experience
markings of examinations in which they may compete, which
shall be equivalent to not less than twenty points on a basis
of one hundred.