1248                             Laws of Maryland                      [Ch. 583

18.

(c) Examinations 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 Secretary as to age, sex, health,
habits, moral character, physical condition, and other qualifications,
except as hereinafter provided that are in the judgment of the
Secretary prerequisite to the performance of the duties of such
positions; provided, however, that the Secretary may, from time
to time, provide for general 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 compe-
titive examinations such system or systems of registration for
said laborers or otherwise as in its judgment will best provide for
such positions; and provide further as to all positions that the
Secretary 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. Veterans of the military and
naval services of the United States who served a minimum of ninety
(90) days or were released prior to that length of service due to
a service connected disability prior to January 31, 1955, [sometime
during the war with Spain (April 6, 1898, to July 2, 1902) or the
first World War (April 6, 1917 to November 11, 1918) or in the
second World War (September 16, 1940, the date on which the
Selective Service Act became effective, to December 31, 1946, or be-
tween June 1,1950 and June 1,1953) or who served sometime during
1965, 1966 and 1967 in a military area or zone wherein there is
conducted an active military policing operation undertaken by the
government of the United States in conjunction with a foreign
nation in combating an existing hostile force or element without
the continental limits of the United States, its territories or pos-
sessions, or who have received, or who are eligible to receive, any
of the following medals: (1) the armed forces expeditionary medal
established by executive order 10977; (2) the Vietnam service medal
established by executive order 11231; or any other service medal
established by the President of the United States and which he
finds by executive order to be comparable to either (1) or (2)
above,] or who served on or after January 31, 1955 for a minimum
of one hundred and eighty-one (181) days of continuous active
duty or were released prior to that length of time due to a service-
connected disability, who have either been honorably discharged
or who have received a certificate of satisfactory completion of
such service, and who have been bona fide residents of this State
for five years or more immediately prior to filing an application
[preceding the date on which such veteran takes any merit system
examination], shall be given special credit for such service [: pro-
vided, such veterans served a minimum of ninety days in the
service of the United States, as aforesaid, or were discharged
by reason of a disability incurred in line of duty]. Such war
veterans who are disabled as a result of their war service shall
be given a credit of ten points in all examinations for appointments.
Nondisabled veterans shall be given a credit of five points in all