Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1899-02-03
NO PENSIONS FOR CLERKS
The So-Called "Ro1l of Honor, of
the Treasury Department
Wiped Ont.
PROHIBITED BY THE LEGISLATIVE BILL.
Representative rawnev Has 3 Bin Provid-
ing for an Allowance to Super .nnuated
Clerks by Making Fund OF Enforced
Contributions from Clerks In the De-
partments-

Washington, Jan. 51.-The so-called
s'roll of honor" of the treasury depart
ment, inaugurated some time ago by
Assistant Secretary Vander1ip, which
practically retired on pensions super
animated clerks, is wiped out by Sec
ton of the legislative appropriation
bill which prohi bits expenditures for
compensation of any persons perma-
nently incapacitated by age or other
wise, and declares that 1.-The esta lish-
ment of civil pension roll or an hon.
orable service roll or an exemption of
any OF the officers, clerks and persons
in the pu bile service from the existing
laws respecting employment in such
service is hereby prohibited"
There are said to be % clerks in the
treasury department who are on this
roll of superannuated employees and
the committee, having procured list
of the names of such and the divisions
where employed. have omitted from
the bill clerk or clerkships in all
such divisions. Tt has also prohi bited
the use of time recording clocks in the
department., a feature which has been
introduced by Assistant Secretary
VanderIip in the treasury in order to
prevent absence and loss of time on
the part of the clerks.
The action OF the committee in prac-
tically providing for the dismissal of
a numbe of superannuated employees
is due chiefly to repeated protests on
the part of senators and repreSent Ia
tives against the reten ton in Office of
clerks no longer able to perform their
du les, but whose long and faithful
service in the absence of a civil pension
system has operated to prevent their
displacement by younger and more ca
pable men. In consequence. the work
which, if physically competent. they
would be called upon to perform is
thrown upon other clerks, many of
whom draw less salaries than those
who practically do no work at all. As a
result those employees upon whom the
added clerical labor falls have been
protesting and insisting that the gov
eminent is entitled to full service for
the salary which it pays.
In all the departments there are aged
employees retained on the rolls who
endeavor to the best of their ability to
continue in the performance of duties
for which they are untitled by reason
of advanced age and physical infirm-
ity. Were civil pension law in force
several hundred would be placed upon
d EetIT0o lSCs UuG III lie absence
of such law they are retained on
the rolls out of pure charity. Assist
ant Secretary Vanderlip, however.
some time ago relieved a number of
clerks in the treasury department
from the performance of routine cler-
ical duty, making what was practical
ly a roll of superaunuated employees.
1t was against this roll that the Sec
ton in the pending legislative, exec
utive and Judicial appropriation bill
was aimed.
Representative Tawney, of Mime
sofa, has a bill pending providing for
uperannuated and disabled clerks, to
be drawn from fund made up of en-
forced contri buttons from the clerks
of the departments. This measure is
drafted on the lines of laws in opera
tion in Germany, by which insurance
is provided for the employees of corpora
tions through the aggregation of small
amounts deducted from the weekly
wages of such employees 1t is recog-
nized in Washington that no bill pro-
viding for civil pensions which will
be charge upon the revenues of the
government could receive favorable
consideration from congress.