Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-05-11
NAVY YARD EMPLOYEES
They are Entitled to Pay for the Recent
Half Holiday
EMPLOYEES
NAVY
Effect of the Presidents Order Clos
ing the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
dents Cited.

Colonel James e Boyd, assistant attorney
general in an opinion approved by Attorney
General Griggs, decides that the 300 en-
Moves of the Washington navy yard are
entitled to pay for the half holiday given
by the President on the occasion of the in
torment of the remains of American SOL
diers at Arlington. The opinion is directed
to Secretary Long and will be of general in
terest 1t is as follows
The facts disclosed in your communica-
ton are. that the day in question was that
on which the bodies of soldiers and sailors
who lost their lives in the war with Spain
were being inferred at Arlington. The
President on the Sd of April, 1899, in con-
nection with the ceremonies attending these
interments issued an executive order, ia
which, among other things, he directed
THAT at II O'Clock noon of said day all OF
the departments of the government at
Washington shall be closed" and on the
9Th day of April the President directed his
secretary to inform the Secretary of the
NAVY that the employees of the Washington
navy yard should be considered as com
ing within the scope ol the executive ofuer
of the Sd.
I'm obedience to the executive order and
the direction thereafter given. the Washing
ton navy yard was closed at noon on the
said 9th day of April. 1899. and work there
In was discontinued for the day
1.-The suggestion is made that the per
diem employees of the navy yard on that
dav are not entitled to wages for the en-
tire day but are restricted to compensation
for tho time they were actually engaged in
doing work The law cited in support of
this position is section 1o4a of the Revised
Statutes which reads as follows: Section
1545 Salaries shall not be paid to any en-
nloyes in any of the navy yards except
those who are designated in the estimates.
All other persons shall receive a per diem
conversation for the time during which
tbev may be actually employed The latter
clause of the act is that relied upon, 1t
being commended that after the closing of
the work at noon the persons who were
serving for a per diem We're not actually
employed by the government
II do not agree to this proposition.
Effect of tPresident's Order.
The President of the United States Ivy his
executive order directed that the work in
the navy yard for the day in question
should close at II o'clock noon. These en-
Moves did not cease work on their own
motion, nor were they discharged from the
government service for the remaining part
of the day; they had severaly begun a
DAVIS work under a contract with the gov
ernment and had continued to work until
the authorities of the United States closed
the navy yard. shut up the workshops and
arbitrarily required them to stop. Under
these circumstances, the employees We're not
in the position they would have occupied
had they taken a. holiday or been absent
voluntarily They were still actually in the
employment of the government, though. in
stead of laboring in the navy yard, they
were engaged by the direction of the Presi-
dent in doing honor to the heroes who gave
their lives for the country in foreign war.
1t is true that the statutes of the United
States provide that eight hours shall con-
stitute q days work for all laborers, work.
men and mechanics who may be employed
by or on behalf of the government of the
United States: but do not know any rule
of law which eXempts the government from
the same obligation to its employees as that
which rests upon a private individual. The
employees of the government in this in
stance were severaily under a contract to
do days work they were at the place
designated by the government for the per-