Evening star., 1900-01-30
RETIREMENT FUND FOUGHT
The Debate on the Proposed Weather Bureau
Reorganization.
Eject of n Temporary Failure of the
Fund to Furnish Sufficient Rexeuue
to Meet Requirements.

After The Stars report of the proceed
| ings in the House of Representatives closed
| yesterday debate continued upon the bill to
reorganize the weather bureau opposi-
| ton seemed confined to the section Of the
Dill creating retirement fund. Mr.. Finley
of South Carolina said:
i wish to ask this question: Section 10
OF thls Dill provides for a retiring board,
and also that all retirements, both COM
pulsory and voluntary, shall be made upon
the report Of said board, and so forth.
Then there is further provision that in
| no case shall a retirement be made unless
! the current revenues Of the retirement fund
| be sufficient to bear the additional expense
Now, 1 wish to ask the gentleman this
| question: What will be the practical ef-
| feet Of that last provision? In other words
! will it not continue on the pay rolls of the
| government all employees Of this bureau
| whether they are rendered inefficient by
| age, disease or other cause? In other
| words. will they not retain their places on
the pay rolls Of the government until the
| fund arising from this source is sufficient
to retire them? Is not that true?''
Mr. Wadsworth-"We put that proviso in
as an additional safeguard that the gov
| ernment should not be responsible in any
manner for the payment of this retirement
| fund"
Mr.. Finiey-"But in view of the fact that
| these employees cannot be retired, either
| voluntarily or compulsorily, under this bill,
| until the current revenues are sufficient to
| pension them, then will they not remain
| on the pay rolls of the government whether
| they are able to render any service or
| not?"
Mr.. Wadsworth-"Yes; that will be the
| practical effect OF it until there are suffi-
| cient current revenues In the fund.
| Mr.. Finley-"Does it not have the effect
Of pensioning in this way employees of the
| government in this service who no
| longer render service to the government
| Is not that the practical effect of it?''
| Mr.. Wadsworth-"On the face Of it that
| would appear to be the case, but it does
| not in effect. 1t simply would keep them
| in employment until the retirement fund
! reached the necessary amount. Then they
| would be retired
Mr.. Finley-"1s not this an innovation.
and a very important one?"
Mr.. Wadsworth-"I will say further to
| the gentleman that this can only be a tenn
| porary block, because the fund will quickly
reach an amount sufficient to allow Of their
| retirement"
! Mr. Finley-"Rut while this temporary
| condition lasts it will have the effect to
| pension this class of employees"
| Mr.. Wadsworth-"Why, no; not a bit OF
IT.
Mr.. williams Explains.
| Mr.. Williams of Mississippi-"I want to
| Interrupt the gentleman merely for a mo-
| ment to answer the suggestion made by
| the gentleman from South Carolina (Mr.
Finley). This does not mean, nor could 1t
mean, that anybody would be deprived OF
] his retirement and his right to share in
| this retirement fund. 1t simply means this
I will read the language:
THAT in no case shall a retirement be
| made unless the current revenues of the
| retirement fund be sufficient to bear the
additional expense
Now, let us say there are seven men
who are entitled to retirement, but the
current revenues are sufficient only to
/ bear the retirement in that year of five of
| those men. Then those five who are first
| entitled to their retirement take 1t, and
| the other two are merely delayed until
| the next years current fund comes in.
| when they will be the first to be retired
during that year, and In the meantime
| they pay nothing. They are still on the
| list of paid employees, and are not entitled
| to retirement for that current year, but
| are entitled to retirement as the first two
| men in the next current year, SO that
| their retirement is merely delayed.
| Now, that was put here for this purpose:
| We thought, perhaps, at some time in the
| future, Notwithstanding the fact that this
bill says that under no circumstances shall
| the government have anything to do with
| this, except to fix the regulations under
which the collections and payments shall
be made and to take the money on deposit
| in the treasury, that 1t might happen that
some retirement might be made when there
\ was not sufficient current revenue in the
| fund.
and then he would go to his senator
and all his congressman, and they would
| go to- work and make appeals to Congress
/ for the purpose of making a special fund
| for him. So that, in addition to the other,
/ we put this clause in here SO that he should
not only not become burden upon the
government, but that he should not be-
come a burden upon that retirement fund
| unless the current fund was sufficient for
his retirement.
Mr. Griggs-"You contemplate retiring an
| employe when he reaches that age at
which he is unfit for service?"
Mr. Williams of Mississippi-'Yes sir;
| and then he is compulsorily retired by this
| act"
Mr. Griggs-"If the employe reaches that
! period of incapacity, and there is not money
enough in the fund, you carry him at the
| full salary by the government for another
year?'
Eject of Existing Law.
Mr.. Williams OF Mississippi-"Yes, you
do; and the only difference is this: That as
now constituted We would be carrying two
men upon the government list for one
year, but should we go on under the law
and work as it stands now, we are carry
ing them on until they die; because Just
the minute that you discharge man from
| Georgia, man from South Carolina, a
man from Texas, or Nermonter, you do
not stop it, for both the senators and
nearly all the representatives from that
particular state will go bounding around
the executive departments of the govern
ment telling them they are relegating this
poor, old, wornout servant to obscurity and
to poverty, and there will be no way of
| getting rid of the superannuated people or
getting them retired until the act of God
relieves the people of the United States
| of the burden of supporting them"
| At this point in the proceedings con-
tention arose over the length of debate on
| the bill. 1t was being considered in COM
| mittee of the whole, and Mr.. Wadsworth
| moved that the committee rise. He then