Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-05-23
NUMEROUS FIGURES ADDUCED
A Woman Gives Her Spicy CON-
ment on the Measure.
T II E r E ARE HER S
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:

| ethical questions involved.
"A. r. b. first denies that any statistics
| have ever been gathered, and Immediately
proceeds to quote from something very like
statistics to prove the point he has in view
Statistics or not. as the figures are good
| enough for his they are good enough
| for our:. Notwithstanding that, as he
| states, there is no connection between age
| and service in individual cases. there is an
| obvious relation between them in the ag-
| gregate that furnishes the best Of grounds
| for certain conclusions. Let us institute
| some comparisons and see IL this is not So
| A certain age and a cretain period of ser
vice are made concurrent conditions in
| every provision for retirement found in the
bill
In October, 1888 there were little over
1900 all told in the federal service at
| Washington.
| Fltty years old and over. $50
| With twenty years service and over. 9. u6O
| t1fty-ive years old ana over..........2 :, $50
| with twenty-five years service and
| over Il 900
| Sixty years old and over. ..............l, 4lU
with thirty years service and over
Notice the great disproportion between
! the number of any given term of service
| and the number of the corresponding age
! Of retirement.
OF those fifty and over, not quite four in
! nine had the requisite service of the num-
Der fifty-five and over, but about two in
| five; of the number sixty and over, but lit
| tie over one in five. These "a tics will be
| varied somewhat by the year 1900, as will
be shown later on.
| Retirement Analysed.
Before proceeding to further comparisons
we will notice the provisions for retirement.
1t is unnecessary to repeat them here in
fai
| distinct provisions, each one compelling re-
| tirement has one underlying 1t under which
| voluntary retirement of the same persons
| can take place.
In two of them disability is made a third
| lty is certainly intended to mean some
| thing distinct from mere failing of the
| physical powers tdecrepitudeD due to age;
| otherwise, considered in connection with
! the general scope and design of the bill
! its insertion were unnecessary. Hence re-
| trements under the disability clauses
would be comparatively lew. Whatever
| the number, however, they will simply
| serve to swell the number of beneficiaries
| and increase the demands upon the fund
| But We will ignore them for the present |
! cannot agree with "A. K. b." that there is
no better way than mere guesswork for
determining approximately the number of
| beneticiares in 1850. Of his estimate of
| Gn is based upon any recognized method
! or computation, he has failed to inform Us
| of the fact) ignoring the possible retire
4 mcnts under the disability provisions we
! Will take the siNty-year- thrty-year-
/ service class as a basis for our ca Icula-
| tons. 1t is obvious that all who had
| twenty-three years service in 1893 would
| II living and remaining in service, complete
the thirty years or over in 1900; and all of
| fifty-three years old and over in 1893 would
| under the same conditions, be sixty or over
| in 1900
Ffty-three and over in 1888 .a,47o
l n KIvofN fh,a.
| oNei '................. 400
| Average Age at Entrance,
These figures prove conclusively that the
| average age on entering service must have
been much more than thirty years. other
| wise the numbers would be spproximateI,,
| equal, for person entering at thirty
would complete thirty years service at
| sixty. 1t is safe to conclude then, that
| While a majority at any time would have
| the age without the service on the other
| hand very few would have the necessary
| service without the corresponding age
| Gcince the enactment of the civil service
| law the average age of appointees has
| been about thirty years0
before proceeding to calculate the prob
abe number eligible for retirement in 1870
permit me to show that the 1910 of "A.
! K. b. are not mostly men of advanced
! age. as he assumes, for out of the whole
| 1900 there We're in 1893 only 2Ss of
! seventy years old and over and but GA. all
told, of sixty-five and over. LESS than 4
| per cent?
The numbers l 400 and $40 are subject
| TO dlminution from several causes-death
| resignation and Dismissal The average
| yearly death rate would scarcely exceed 4
| per cent, that being the rate for people of
| siAty-two, and the number younger than
| siXty-two being so much greater than the
| number above that age, the average would
| certainly not exceed per cent Deaths
| would down oharr TO-.
| years by Is per cent. DISCHARGES would
| not exceed l per cent yearly, thus taking
| out per cent more in the same period
| And although designations are almost a
| thing unknown among clerks of over ffty
| we will allow IL of l per cent yearly or III
| per cent in all, and we still have over a.,
| per cent OF our AGO and $40 in service in
| 1900, or about SI5 with thirty years SER
| vice, and about 1850 of sixty years old and
| over.
Estimate of Elieibles.
| The S75 would be nearly all .elieibles. -
| for. as before shown, nearly all having the
| requisite service have the age Those lack
| ing the age would scarcely reduce the num-
Der below 800, and with that many out of
1900, We might reasonably count on five
times that many out of 5000. the number
now In the classified service, say about
| 1900 in all, in 1900.
Any one at all familiar with the subject
of annuities and the principles UNDERLYING
| all schemes of mutual benefit will tell a
| r. b. that the heaviest strain upon the
| fund will not be in the first few Years hut
| on the contrary, it will become hea
| year after year throughout a period of
! from twenty to twenty-five years accord
| ing to average age of retirement
| The most remarkable thing about "a
| B.'s' figures is his statement that a three
PER cent deduction from the annuity would
| leave the annuitant a sum equal to only
| sixty-two per cent of his salary On thai
| point it is not necessary to consult an ex
| pert. A school boy would fill the bill. The
| annuity would still be over sixty-three ner
| cent of salary.
| Some may take exceptions to nv method
| of figuring, but 1 am ready to back II
| against any system of guesswork that
| ever was devised; and, furthermore / chal
| lenge disproof of the statement that. to
pay annuities at the rate proposed and
keep up repayments as contemplated in the
| BILL three times. three per cent would be
| found insufficient before the year 1890 SO
| large would be the beneficiary roll and SO
| heavy the consequent demands upon the
| fund.
The Ethics of 1t.
So much for the arithmetic of the uues-
! ton. Now few words as to the ethics of
| it. 1t is claimed that the benefit proposed
Is but suitable and fitting reward for
| long and faithful service" Admitting the
| NJ - lit