The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-16
MORE CLERKs AND MORE PAY.

The tendency of legislative bodies seems
to be almost always in the direction Of in
crcasing expenses and thereby in
crcasing taxation. In the legislative, ex-
ecutive and judicial appropriation bill. now
pending in Congress, Il Is provided that
an additionl 200 government clerks shall
be employed, and that the salaries of GER
tain clerks shall be increased. And not
only that, but it is proposed by the bill
that there shan be created a civil pension
list, the fund for which shall be made up
from enforced contributions from the
clerks. Efforts have heretofore been made
to saddle a civil pension list upon the gov
eminent itself. direct; now il is proposed
that the government shall take the position
that if its clerks are so improvident that
they viii not of their own accord lay aside
a fund for their old age or inability, the
government shall step in and force them
to contribute to mutual annuity fund
becoming the banker and disburser of the
money. There IS a somewhat similar law
in Germany. It is believed in well inform
ed circles in Washington that the pension
fund feature of the bill will be eliminated
before the bill is passed.
There is but little probability. however
that the feature which provides for
great number of new clerks, and an in
crease in the salaries of Old ones, will he
eliminated. The chances are that it will so
through. thus adding to the budget which
must be met by the taxpayers. Year after
Of 4tA
governments civil pay rolls goes on, not
withstanding the fact that in some of the
departments and bureaus the number of
clerks is so great that they are actually in
each others way. When Sterling Morton
was Secretary of Agriculture, it will be Ie-
membered, he discharged a number of
clerks in order to facilitate the business of
the department. He said the clerks were
so thick in the rooms of the department
that they were in each others way, and
that a fewer number could transact the
public business with more ease and dis
patch. Now, however, all of>>the lists in
Washington are full to OVERLOOKING end
it is proposed that more places shall be
created.
Inc tendency TO 0lcTeSe expenses all Oh
the time, with additional clerks and other
WISE is not limited to Washington. 1t is
to be noticed in state and municipal gov
ernments in all parts of the country. We
have not, indeed, been without illustrations
| of it in this city, where budgets have been
increasing year after year, and new offices
have been created without any common
surate advantage accruing to the city.
In other cities the same sort of thing has
been going on, and as tax values and re-
ceipts have not kept pace with the increas-
| ed expenses, the cities have borrowed
money. Thus 1t occurs that in Boston the
net debt of the city amounts to over 500
per capita, and in New York the net debt
is SCI per capita.
The appropriation making bodies are
more intent upon spending money than
they are in devising ways and means by
which the taxes of the people may be le-
! duced. Sometimes, indeed ID almost seems
as if they made appropriations blindly, and
! trusted to luck for the money with which
/ to meet them. With constantly increas-
| ing expenditures 1t becomes necessary, of
/ course, for the tax payers to put their
/ hands deeper and deeper into their pockets