US Presidency
1910

Careful study of experiments made by foreign governments shows that three serious objections to the civil pension payable out of the public treasury may be brought against it by the taxpayer, the administrative officer, and the civil employee, respectively. A civil pension is bound to become an enormous, continuous, and increasing tax on the public exchequer; it is demoralizing to the service since it makes difficult the dismissal of incompetent employees after they have partly earned their pension; and it is disadvantageous to the main body of employees themselves since it is always taken into account in fixing salaries and only the few who survive and remain in the service until pensionable age receive the value of their deferred pay. For this reason, after a half century of experience under a most liberal pension system, the civil servants of England succeeded, about a year ago, in having the system so modified as to make it virtually a contributory plan with provision for refund of their theoretical contributions.