The astonishingly large number of Filipinos in the Chicago Post Office is partly explained by their preference for night work, which does not interfere with their studies at the local colleges. Nearly all of them are employed as distributors, but because of their lack of English a few take work, also under civil service rules, as laborers. While the examination ensures competency for the job, the Postmaster finds that the Filipions, because of a slight language handicap, are not quite as fast workers as are American distributors, Practically none of the Filipinos engaged in this work look upon it as a career; rather, it is a makeshift employment, especially for those who are preparing for professional careers or who at least hope for opportunities in business, either here or on their return to their homeland.

The Civil Service Commission has no information on the racial and national composition of the civil service personnel and, at the time of the present study, was asking for a special appropriation for a statistical analysis of its records from this point of view.