The National tribune., 1906-04-05
THE AGED-cLERK BILL.

The amendment reducing the salaries
of clerks progressively as they grew
older and finally dismissing them at 20
was under fire in the House of Repre-
sentatives for some days, and was very
roughly handled in the Committee OF
the Whole. The effectual estoppel was
at last put upon it by the veteran Gen.
Keifer raising the point of order that
it was new legislation introduced into
the Appropriations bill. The Chairman
decided that the point of order was
we'll taken. and so the amendment was
killed. Gen. Keifer had been stren-
uously opposed to the amendment from
the first, and fought it bitterly in the
Committee on Appropriations and
afterwards on the floor of the House.
The discussion brought out the strong
est feeling among the Representatives
that veterans and their widows should
be retained in public employment. and
this was recognized by the managers,
who stood ready to add a clause ex-
empting veterans and their widows
from the operation of the amendment.
we hOpC bhG-t thC uSFSiOp-
ment of feeling in regard to the cruel
provision as affecting veterans and
their widows will be instrumental in
retaining in public employment other
veterans and their widows all over the
| country. There was not a dissent by
any one of prominence from the prop
| osition that veterans and their widows
| should be kept in public employment
as long as they live. If what was so
| freely said in the House of Representa-
tives shall be as carefully observed by
| the Representatives in their districts
and by the administrative officers of
| the Government. it will do great good
to the veterans and their widows every
where. 1t will secure them from ap-
prehension as to their future and pre-
| vent them, after years of faithful ser
vice, being deprived of their means of
livelihood and turned out to the cold
| world with no other refuge than
| the Soldiers Home or the poor-house.
| Certainly the men who fought for the
| Government during its day of crucial
| trial deserve this much and their
widows the same. Unless they had
done as they did there would be no
Government to-day and no offices for
any one to hold.
Since the question has been brought
so strongly before the public mind the
opportunity should be taken advantage
| of to make some form of a retirement
system by which all employees of the
Government who are getting old and
| feeble can be honorably retired upon
! three-fourths pay and have their fu-
| ture assured them. We are behind all
the rest of the world in making such a
| just provision. Every Government in
Europe provides for its aged and in
firm employees of every class, and does
not allow them to be turned out to
starve. This provision is the highest
! incentive that can be made for faithful
service, and sound public policy i'm
peratively requires that 1t be done In
| the United States. By adopting the
! Civil Service system in place of the old
rotation in Office the Government has
encouraged young zen and women to
make its service a life-profession. The
better they equip themselves for the
/ duties it requires the less fit they are
to take up other employment In theii
old age, and none of them should have
the poor-house staring him In the face
to distract him from the proper per-
formance of his duties.