Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-11-09
RETIREMENT OF THE CLERKS
OBJECTIONS OF CIVIL SERVICE
REFORMERS ANSWERED.
Action Taken in Conference by Sub
committee Of Keep Commission
in Charge of Bill.

|
Keep commission, which has had charge
OF the plans for pensioning the super
animated clerks, does not agree with the
views Of the approximation committee
OF the National Civil Service Reform
| League. which has been meeting at Buff
falo, N Y. The league committee re-
port favored the adoption Of the Austria
Han system in preference to the sugges-
| ton OF the Keep subcommittee. The
| members of the committee on superannu-
alton are Horace f. Deming. Richard
! Henry Dana, Henry W. Harden and Lu-
cius B. Swift
Cost of the Plan.
| Regard the plan of the subcommittee
of the Keep commission to withhold from
| the salaries of employees each month a
portion of their pay. which ultimately is
to be repaid with per cant interest COM
pounded annually, the report said:
| "To each employe already in the serv-
! ice when the plan goes into effect land
| whose salary up to that date will. O.
| course. have already been paid the gov
eminent will give as a pure gratuity ON
his attaining the retiring age In the gov
ernments service supplementary an
nuity a little larger than If the plan had
been in force when he entered the gov
ernment's employ. The total cost of these
supplementary annullle6, II Is eSIlndteQ,
will be In the end from S5O.OOOOOO to
$50 100000
Each employe hereafter separated from
the service for any cause, at any age.
and in case Of death his estate, Is to re-
cefve back the amount of his forced
monthly loans, with per cent compound
interest
The committee recommended that the
Australian system be adopted. under which
the government employees would be re-
M n toll 1Afn fInC
from insurance companies, payable at the
age of seventy. which is to be supple
mented by gift of annuities from those
already IN the service. The funds neces-
sary for the payment of the annuities
should be furnished by the employees
themselves without expense to the gov
eminent. other than the payment by the
government of reasonable rate of In
terest on the money held by 1t and the
payment Of salaries to the clerical force
required to keep the accounts and dis
tribute the fund
As to designations.
Regarding the claim that the proposed
plan would encourage designations by the
more efficient employees. Mr., Holcomba
offered the following resolution, which
was adopted:
That it is the belief Of this committee.
founded on long experience and an init
mate KNOW leuSe OF the government SerV-
ice, that the return of an employees ac-
cunEulation with interest upon his sepa-
ration from the service would not operate
except In a very limited way. as a premium
on designations. and would not give spe-
cial Inducements to the most efficient to
resign leaving the least efficient. not good
enough to be In demand outside. as the
only ones to remain in the service until
old age and that when an emplOye is
separated from the service for any cause
he Is justly entitled to his own accumula-
tlon with such increment Of interest as 1t
may have earned"
An objection of the Reform League that
the government would lose money by pay
ing per cent interest on the money with
| held for pension purposes had already
been met by the Keep commission, for
the subcommittee had proposed that tho
Secretary of the Interior be empowered
| to invest such funds In recognized bonds,
either municipal Industrial. and that
when payment is made to a government
employe only such interest shall be paid
| to him as the bonds representing his share
shall have earned.
Encouragement Of designations.
In touching upon the idea that this
pension scheme will force resig nations.
| the report said:
TT Is an integral part of the Keep
subcommittee scheme that whenever
| an employe Is separated from the gov
| eminent service for any reason he shall
be entitled to receive at once In cash
the entire amount Of his forced month
| ly loans to the government, with per
cent interest. compounded annually.
and II this should amount to as much
as 81 900 he has certain further options
| This is a direct inducement to and
premium upon resignation Of the