Manuscript Collection Number: 108
Accessioned: Gift of Charles Polk Messick, 1971.
Extent: 12 linear ft.
Content: Correspondence, reports, manuscripts, and printed material.
Access: The collection is open for research.
Processed: 1990 by Kim Sebold; revised in June 1993 by Paul Dziewisz.
The relationship between Fred Telford and Charles Polk Messick began in 1917. The pair, relatively new to public administration, met while working for separate firms on a project in Canada. For the next 50 years, Telford and Messick collaborated on numerous occasions to help advance the theory and practice of public personnel administration.
Fred Telford, born in 1881, received a philosophy degree from the University of Chicago in 1918 and a Master of Arts from George Washington University in psychology and political science in 1925. While in school, Telford was beginning a distinguished career in the personnel profession. In 1913 he began a position with the Illinois State Civil Service Commission and, four years later, joined the staff of Griffenhagen and Associates, Ltd., where he met Charles Polk Messick. The meeting eventually led to a full-time position for Telford as a senior staff member with the Bureau of Public Personnel Administration.
Beginning with the Bureau in 1922, Telford encountered many opportunities to further his knowledge of the personnel field. He performed research work, advised both public and private organizations on how to improve their personnel systems, and edited the monthly magazine Public Personnel Studies. His work was well received and he was promoted to Director of the Bureau in 1924. Through this position, Telford continued his work with Messick, and became associated with William Gorham Rice and F. A. Moss. These men proved to be valuable colleagues and friends for the duration of Telford's career. The Bureau of Public Personnel Administration closed in 1932, a casualty of the Depression.
In May 1935, Telford received a job with the Works Progress Administration as a member of the headquarters staff. While there, his particular interests led him to focus on those procedures for personnel projects which were used to provide employment for white collar workers. He also focused on writing manuals for use in personnel records, classification, salary plans, some phases of recruiting, the collection and analysis of leave of absence data, and service ratings.
In 1936, Telford left the Works Progress Administration and began working as a consultant for public and private organizations. Telford provided consultation for the United States and Canadian governments and for the Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and California state governments. In addition he worked for the following municipalities: Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Toledo, Portland, Los Angeles, Columbus, and Minneapolis. Telford's consulting involved position classification, salary levels, recruiting in all its phases, employee ratings, and most other personnel operations, including personnel legislation and personnel regulations. As a consultant, Telford met another important connection, William Brownrigg, the executive officer of the State of California State Personnel Board. The two corresponded regularly throughout the rest of their careers.
In 1949, Telford took a position as Senior Associate on the staff of Charles P. Messick and Associates. Messick and Associates participated in consulting and advisory work for national, state, and municipal governments as well as private organizations. These included the state of Massachusetts, the cities of Newark and Cincinnati, the Delaware Commission for the Feeble Minded, the Masonic Home of Burlington, the Chrysler Corporation, Delaware Power and Light Company, and New Castle County Water Company, among others. The firm also enjoyed a close working relationship with McDowell-Mitchell Associates, management consultants in the area of public relations. The two organizations used their affiliate status in order to provide a new, more extensive and integrated service through the utilization of their experienced and competent personnel.
Charles P. Messick was born in Sussex County Delaware on June 1, 1882. He received his master's degree in 1909 at Delaware College (University of Delaware). In 1910 he earned another master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. That same year he moved to New Jersey and began teaching.
Messick began work with the New Jersey State Civil Service Commission as a special examiner in 1910 and served as assistant chief examiner of the Commission from 1915-1917. From 1917-1949, Messick served as the Commission's chief examiner and supervised some 75,000 positions in New Jersey's state and local government services. This position enabled Messick to influence the creation of many civil service administrations in the United States and Canada. His work encouraged many state and local governments to set up some form of a civil service system. Messick believed that public personnel systems should be used for reasons other than curbing the control of politicians over public offices. He thought that the public service offices could be professionalized and thus better serve the public.
While serving as the New Jersey Commission's chief examiner, Messick also organized and presided over the Board of Trustees of the Bureau of Public Personnel Administration that served as the headquarters staff of the Civil Service Assembly of the United States and Canada. He also held almost every office in the Assembly, including the offices of vice president, president, and member and chairman of the executive council. In addition, he served on every important committee created by the Civil Service Assembly. It was after his retirement from the New Jersey State Civil Service Commission that Messick began Charles P. Messick and Associations.
Telford remained with Messick and Associates until the 1960s. While working for Messick, Telford began to revise his old classification and pay manuals and wrote new treatises on personnel management during the 1950s and 1960s. He relied on the expertise of Charles Messick and William Brownrigg to help edit his works. Included in his published works are The Telford Classification Manual, published posthumously, Personnel Principles and Practices, The Principles of Public Personnel Administration, and various magazine articles.
It was Charles Messick, in the 1920s, who urged Fred Telford to begin writing a treatise on personnel administration. Upon his death in the early 1970s, the work was still not complete. Messick, however, was able to piece together the work into a finished product before his own death in 1978 as a tribute to the life work of Fred Telford.
The Fred Telford - Charles Polk Messick papers includes material generated during the careers of the two men and spans the dates 1913-1972. The 12 linear feet of material includes correspondence, reports, manuscripts, and printed material.
The materials of this collection are from the personal papers of Fred Telford. Telford was encouraged by Charles Messick in the late 1960s to donate the papers to the University and the acquisition was completed in 1971.
The collection surveys the history of public personnel administration through the personal writings and professional work of Telford and Messick. This collection provides valuable information about the evolution of public personnel administration. It features manuscripts on an assortment of personnel topics; correspondence with important figures in the field such as William Brownrigg, F.A. Moss, and William Gorham Rice; and recommendations on personnel problems in various areas of the country. Since both men began their careers during the founding of the civil service program, their thoughts chronicle the evolution of personnel administration. From the early writings of the 1920s, which attempted to define the field and the relationship of its actors, to the theoretical debates captured in Telford's exchange with William Brownrigg, to Telford's late publications on the science and art of personnel management, this collection provides a significant source for research on the history of public administration.
Specific topics discussed include classification systems and job definitions, pay scales, efficiency rating reports, and examinations for employment. Finally, the printed material adds insight into the other professional interests of Telford and Messick.
The collection is arranged into five series. Series I, Telford Correspondence, is highlighted by an ongoing dialog with William Brownrigg regarding Telford's public administration theories. The series also includes correspondence between Telford and various municipalities seeking both advice and his services.
The second series contains the product of Telford's many professional projects. Included are public administration proposals for many large cities and as well as several states.
Series III, Manuscripts, displays the formal writings of Telford, Messick, and others. The fourth series consists of material regarding job classification. It includes the various tests and evaluation methods used through the years in various regions with respect to many different jobs. Finally, series V is comprised of printed material collected by Telford throughout his lifetime.
I. Telford Correspondence, 1913-1972
1. General
2. Letter exchange with William Brownrigg
II. Personnel Administration Projects
1. State and local government
2. Federal bureaus and agencies
III. Manuscripts
1. Fred Telford
2. Charles P. Messick
3. Public Personnel Studies
4. Authored by others
IV. Classification Materials
1. General
2. Performance evaluations
3. Exams, tests, and questionnaires
4. Personnel Administration
V. Printed Material
1. Books, reports, and pamphlets
2. Periodicals
1 Series I. Telford correspondence, 1913-1965
This series contains letters, memoranda, and reports regarding the public
administration work of Fred Telford and the many agencies with which he
worked. It contains two subseries, one in chronological order and the
other an exchange of letters.
Series I.1. General, 1913-1965
This subseries traces the correspondence of Fred Telford through his many
years of employment. The content of the correspondence is consistent with
Telford's job transitions summarized in the biographical note. Among the
noteworthy subjects are the Griffenhagen Agency, the Oakland Free
Library, Charles P. Messick and Associates, the Bureau of Public Personnel
Administration, and several requests for both Telford's services and his
informal advice.
F1 1913 Oct 3
F2 1923 Aug-Sep
F3 1925 Jan
F4 Feb
F5 Mar
F6 Mar
F7 1926 Jun
F8 Jul-Oct
F9 1928 Jan
F10 Jun
F11 Jul
F12 1930
Civil Service Assembly of the US and Canada. "Report of Technical Committee
on Rules for the Installation and Administration of Classification and
Compensation Plans."
F13 1932 Mar-Apr
F14 Jul 8
Memorandum written by Telford suggesting improvements to the classification
plan of the Department of Civil Service.
F15 1932 Jul-Dec
F16 1933 Jan-Jun
Reports to the Committee on Finance-Printing
F17 Report #2, 1934 Sep 11
F18 Report #3, 1934 Sep 15
F19 Report #6, 1934 Sep 17
F20 Summary Report, 1934 Sep 21
F21 Report #7, 1934 Sep 22
F22 1935 Oct-Nov
F23 Dec
F24 1936 Jan-Feb
F25 May
F26 Sep-Dec
F27 1938 Apr-Jul
F28 Aug-Oct
F29 1939 Jan-Feb
F30 Mar-May
F31 Jun
F32 Jul
F33 Sep
F34 Oct-Dec
F35 1940 Jan-Feb
F36 Mar-Apr
F37 May
F38 Jun
F39 Jul
F40 Sep
F41 Oct-Nov
F42 Dec
F43 1941 Feb
F44 Apr
F45 1940 Dec - 1941 May
F46 1941 Jun-Jul
F47 1943 Jun
F48 1944 Sep
F49 Oct
F50 Nov
F51 1946 Feb-Oct
F52 1950 Aug
F53 1951 Aug-Nov
F54 1952 Jan-Nov
F55 1953
F56 1954 Oct
F57 1955
F58 1956 Jan-Mar
F59 Apr
F60 May
F61 Oct-Dec
F62 1957 Mar-Dec
F63 1958 Jan-Dec
F64 1961
F65 1962 Jan
F66 1963
2 F67 1964
F68 1965
F69 Undated
Series I.2. Telford-Brownrigg Correspondence, 1954, 1961-1964
The subseries is a theoretical exchange between Fred Telford and William
Brownrigg regarding the latter's notion of a "human enterprise process" in
public administration.
F70 Telford - Brownrigg correspondence
2 Series II. State and Local Projects, 1919-1963
This series contains the output from numerous projects with which Fred
Telford was involved. Clients include state and local governments as well
as federal agencies. The projects were undertaken during Telford's
employment with several agencies including Griffenhagen and Associates,
the Bureau of Public Personnel Administration, Works Progress
Administration, and Messick and Associates.
Series II.1. California
State Finance Board
F71 Reports, tests, and questionnaires
F72 Reports, tests, and questionnaires, 1932-1940
City of Los Angeles
F73 Civil Service Commission, 1950-1955
Los Angeles County
F74 Los Angeles County Bureau of Efficiency, 1929
City of San Diego
F75 Recommended pay scales for classes of positions in the classified service, 1932-1934
F76 An ordinance establishing a schedule of compensation for offices and employees,
1932-1933
F77 Installation of the adjusted schedule of compensation, 1933-1934
F78 News clippings, 1933
F79 San Diego Civil Service Commission, 1933
San Diego County
F80 Amended Compensation Plan, 1941-1942
F81 Article 17 County Charter on Civil Service
F82 Charter and Administrative Code, 1935 Jun
Series II.2. Connecticut
New Haven
F83 Personnel Study
F84 Classification of city positions and compensation schedules, 1938
Series II.3. Delaware
F85 State Draft of a Personnel Act, 1952
F86 Delaware Commission for the Feeble Minded, 1954
Series II.4. Indiana
F87 Indianapolis. Citizens Advisory Committee, 1944
Two reports and a speech apparently sent for Telford's review.
Series II.5. Maryland
F88 State Employment Commission, 1932 Mar 1
Series II.6. Massachusetts
F89 Miscellaneous pamphlets, 1953-1954
F90 Miscellaneous reports, 1953-1954
Series II.7. Michigan
F91 Civil Service Department, 1938-1941
F92 Civil Service Department, 1938 Aug
F93 Qualifying examination for personnel classification administrators, 1938 Jun
F94 State Personnel Director, 1938 Jul
F95 City of Hamtramck, 1957
Series II.8. New Jersey
Civil Service Commission
F96 Compensation Plan, 1956
F97 Constitution of the State of New Jersey, 1960
F98 State Chamber of Commerce report, 1934
F99 Regulations-Civil Service Department, 1944 May 5
F100 Schematic lists, 1947
F101 1919-1920
F102 1935
F103 Survey report of cartage allowances for milk subdealers, 1953
City of Burlington
F104 Report on the personnel program procedures and products of the Masonic Home
and Charity Foundation of New Jersey, 1956
City of Newark
F105 Newark Public Library, 1946
F106 Board of city commissions, 1950
3 F107 Classification and pay report, 1950
F108 Classification and pay plans
F109 Police and fire academy, 1950
F110 Standardization and classification, 1950
F111 Complete specifications for the classes covering the Newark City Service, 1951
F112 Complete specifications for the classes covering the Newark City Service, 1951
Telford's copy.
F113 The principal classification and pay procedures, 1950
City of Passaic
F114 Prepared classification and pay plans, 1950
City of Trenton
F115 Report on the New Jersey State Civil Service Commission by Theodore H. Smith,
president, 1947
Series II.9. New York
City of Binghamton
F116 Chamber of Commerce Reports of Bureau of Public Personnel, 1932
F117 Proposed pay plan, 1932
F118 Draft of personnel rules, 1933
F119 Service rating regulation suggested for the Binghamton City Hospital
West Chester County
F120 Miscellaneous reports, 1932-1940
F121 Miscellaneous reports, 1933-1941
3 Series II. State and Local (cont'd)
Series II.10. Ohio
F122 State Employment Service
City of Cincinnati
F123 Department of personnel wage data, 1931
F124 Public personnel administration, 1936
F125 Miscellaneous reports and questionnaires, 1938-1955
F126 Bureau of Government Research - position descriptions, 1939
F127 Suggested pay plan for nonprofessional positions, 1947
F128 Study of present salary schedule of the professional employees and analysis of
operations, 1950
F129 Department of Personnel wage and salary schedule, 1952
F130 Personnel classification and pay plan, vol. I - II, 1956
F131 Personnel classification and pay plan, vol. III, 1956
4 F132 Wage and salary schedules, 1956
F133 Waste collection, 1956
F134 Memorandum of suggested changes in civil service laws
F135 Miscellaneous government pamphlets, 1953-1956
F136 Job classifications
Series II.11. Pennsylvania
City of Philadelphia
F137 Suggested personnel program contained in the new charter for the city, 1951
Series II.12. Wisconsin
Bureau of Personnel
F138 Bureau of Personnel
F139 Examination for Personnel Director, 1939
City of Milwaukee
F140 Milwaukee government service, 1936
F141 Offices and positions
F142 Various state examinations
F143 Civil Service Commission exams
F144 Civil Service Commission exams (more)
Series II.13. Special Commission on the Structure of State Governments
F145 Pay report, 1954
F146 Reports, 1953
F147 Pay data, January 1, 1954
F148 Pay data, January 1, 1954 (copy of F 147)
F149 Pay data, March 15, 1954
Series II.14. Bureau of Public Personnel Administration, 1923-1929
F150 Annual report of the director, 1923 Jun 30
F151 Statements requested by G.A. Bowers, 1925 Mar 2
F152 Aptitude tests for elementary and high school teachers, 1929
F153 "The Present Status of Service Rating Systems," 1933
Series II.15. Department of Labor
F154 Outline, suggested course for personnel trainees, 1939
F155 "Position classification and pay plans-their development, installation, and
administration in the public service," 1939
F156 Directions for the use of fanfold personnel form (1939 Apr 6), Executive Orders
(1938 Jun 24), Stenographers Handbook (1942 Mar), and Occupational
Analysis Publications (1945 Nov)
F157 Survey of the motion picture industry, 1941
F158 Exemptions survey of the motion pictures industry, 1941
F159 Specifications for immigrations positions
F160 Synopsis of activities - border port or station, 1939
F161 Regulations covering the adoption and administration of classification, pay, and
efficiency rating plans for field positions in the immigration and
naturalization process, 1940 Apr 17
F162 Specifications for certain classes of positions in the field service of the Immigration
and Nationalization Service, 1940 Jun 13
4 Series II. State and Local (cont'd)
Series II.16. Works Progress Administration, 1935-1937
F163 Labor assignment organization and procedure, 1935 Sep 6, Oct 18, and Nov 6
F164 Labor employment procedure, Bulletin 7A, 1936 Jan 31
WPA Project Manual
F165 Classifications of positions, 1936 Jun
F166 Classifications of positions, 1936 Jun
F167 Classifications of positions, 1936 Jun
F168 pp. 70-105, 1936
F169 pp. 106-140, 1936 Jun
F170 pp. 141-185, 1936 Jun 5 F171 Manual for leaders of foremanship conferences, 1936 F172 Installation of comprehensive personnel service records, August 28, 1937 Series II.17. National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics F173 Manual of class specifications, 1948 Oct 15 F174 NACA administrative supplement to federal personnel manual, 1952 Jan 25 F175 Proposals and reports, 1958 Oct-1963 Nov Series II.18. Veterans Administration F176 Various class specifications, 1946-1947 Series II.19. United States miscellaneous government reports, (1951) F177 Report from the Council of Personnel Administration; Charles P. Messick and Assoc. report: "Essential steps involved in establishing a sound civilian personnel system for the national government of the U.S."
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