The Globe-republican. [volume] (Dodge City, Kan.) 1889-1910, 1905-08-17
The Weather Bureau Is Free From All
Graft.
NO IRREGULARITIES ALLOWED.
Eight Hour Working Day Was Estab-
lIshed With Fair Wages ~ shot Is
Taken at Secret Service Men --
Statement in Fun.

WdSHlH6toH, Aug. ~, fTol6SSOr
Willis L. Moore. chief Of the United
States weather bureau. today issued
signed statement denying allega-
tions Of graft in the management Of
the weather station in the Blue Ridge
mountains near Blue Mont, Va, dis
claiming the existence Of any i~regu-
larities in the administration of his
office and offering full opportunity for
the investigation Of any specific
charges by any responsible person.
Professor Moore says that no secret
service men are at work in the bureau
and scores few incompetent or dis
honorable employees" dismissed from
the service and endeavoring to secret
ly reform the institution.
The statement says:
"A few days ago a statement was
published in Washington to the effect
that It was reported unofficially that
the secret service had dispatched
agents to the mountain station
Mount weather Of the United States
weather bureau) where the sleuths
for the past two days have been nos.
ing around.
According to the report these
sleuths discovered that the weather
bureau was paying SO per day for un-
skilled labor which is twice the
amount paid laborers in the city of
Washington and that there is COM
plant on the part Of employers ada
cent who only pay rs cents to $1.O0.
Nov. 1t is fact that the weather
bureau has never paid SO day to any
laborers employed at Mount Weather
or at any other place and II the re-
porter who wrote that statement had
taken the trouble to ask for the
privilege OF examining the pay rolls
of the weather bureau. which would
have been freely placed at his dis
posal. he would have saved his read
ers the opportunity of reading secret
ly secured scandal instead sof openly
procured news. ! would like to have
the entire pay roll of Mount Weather
or of any other portion Of the weather
bureau. published. SO that the public
may know whether there is an ex-
travagant management inside of the
bureau or malicious Justification on
the outside.
Il do not doubt that have disturb.
ed the labor market in the vicinity Of
Mount We-ther and am proud Of the
fact. for was told of men working
from sunrise to sunset for 30 cents
per day and board or rs cents per day
and they board themselves. believe
that such hours Of labor and such
wages do not contribute to the better
ment of American citizenship or the
welfare, Of the state and so far as
have the power as the chief Of large
government bureau I shall ever strive
to alter such conditions.
"Or the approval of Secretary Will
son. who believes in reasonable hours
of labor and fair wage scale, es-
tablished wage Of SO per day for
stone masons. $3.50 for carpenters
and s1.50 for day laborers. If the
sleuths. who are reported to have !
been nosing around Mount Weather,
had been little more vigilant they
would have discovered that had also |
with the sanction of the secretary Of |
agriculture established an eight hour
working day and that fifty to sixty
men had for some time been receiv-
ing the advantages Of such scale and
such hours of labor
These wages are not high. nor
equal to the prevailing rates in cities
and surely they are not extravagant.
Had we been employing these people
III pluCCS WuCIC LuO COpJ VI Afiuk
was some higher. their wages would
have been proportionately greater If
this is any evidence Of extravaganza
and bad management Ut may as well
be told now that the wage scale Of
each and every class Of skilled and
unskilled labor In the weather bureau
has been materially increaied during
the past eight years by Secretary VIII
son on my recommendation
II believe that where government
officials in any measure have been re-
creant to their trusts Their records
should be inquired into and they held
to a strict accountability; md also
believe that the greatest eNemies Of
graft are the representatives Of the
American press, who should be given
free access to the files and records
Of every public Office
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