New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-05-19
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
FOR CIVIL PENSIONS.
THE PRESIDENTS PLAN.
Fauors Benefit Fund for Super
animated Government Employees.
LFrom The Tribune Bureau.I

/
IFroul The Tribune BursauI
/ Washington. May 1S.-The President after an
| exhaustive study Of the difficult problem pre-
| sented by the presence OF many worthy but
! superannuated employees In the executive de-
partments. and after receiving report on tn.
/ subject from the Keep Commission. has finally
/ determined to urge Congress to create civil
| pension list. and VIII deal with this subject In
his next annual message Congress VIII bs
asked to appropriate sum sufficient to permit
/ the retirement OF all employees who have served
1 the government for specified time and have
reached a given age on pension which win
save them from want. He will also urge legis-
lation by which. beginning with It's enactment.
percentage OF all salarie, viii be deducted
and devoted to the establishment OF bsnsas
fund. which after the first few years Will
amount 10 enough TO relieve the governments
from all further burden. other than the adnin~
istration OF the fund
KEEP COMMISSIONS FTNDINGa !
Ever since Mr.. Roosevelt became President
1t has been mis- aim 10 reorsanize the executive
departments on up-to-date business lines, but
the task proved so great and the obstacles SO
difficult that he finally created the Keep ooni.
mission. and to it delegated the task OF conducts
ing an exhaustive investigation of the various
departments with view TO determining on .
I
end This commission. early IN the course of It's
Investigations found that the greatest obstacle
to the reorganization OF the work OF the governs
ment on modern lines consisted OF the presence
of large numbers OF faithful enpIoyes~many OF
whom had served the government for years, but
had outlived their usefulness and could not learn
new methods or adapt themselves to modern
processes Many Of these employees women
Some OF them old soldiers. Some OF them
/ heer1 in he feSp ri Of rrv
years. To most of these. anything in the nature
of change is abhorrent and any radical change
is impossible
In some cases. for instance, 1t has been impos-
/ slble to introduce typewrfters without throwing
out of employment many clerks too old TO learn
TO the machines and whose presence cum
bered the department and hindered the prompt
and efficient transaction OF business Many OF
these venerable clerks OF former generation
/ are closely related 70 members OF Congress.
Others have held their places by merit, but that
does not now make them useful
/ 1t is fact, whatever may be the reasons for
| it. that federal employees In Washington do not
save. 1t is probable that the majority OF them
| are IN debt to the full amount Of their salary
when pay day arrives. Under these circum-
stances. TO throw these people out of employ
ment to make room for younger and more eff
| Client clerks must entail severe hardship. and.
even though It may be argued that It IS the duty
| of every chief 70 dismiss ernploye no longer
capable OF earning the salary he is drawing. the
| knowledge that dismissal would result in such
distress almost invariably leads the chief TO ex-
ert the utmost Ingenuity TO perform the duties
assigned to his division without taking dras-
| tic a step. The result has been seriously to
hinder the reorganization the President has
sought to effect
CREATION OF \ BENEFIT FUND.
! The Keep commission. after carefully consid-
ering the situation. decided that the rnoderniza-
/ ton Of the executive departments could best be
accomplished by the creation OF civil pension
list, which would be followed by the prompt
retirement OF employees no longer capable OF per-
forming the duties assigned 70 them. The prin-
ciple Of deducting from the salary OF each en-
pIoye a small percentage, sufficient IN the aggre-
gate to afford a pension fund for the superan-
nuated. appealed 10 the commission proper.
/ 1t admits that the plan is somewhat paternal.
but regards IL a smaller evil than dismissal
/ OF men and women who have passed the age OF
earning capacity and are destitute Of resources
| aside from their salaries. The chief difficulty
which presented itself. however. in the appiica-
tion of this principle 10 the immediate neeessi-
/ ties of the government was the fact that there
are already a large number OF employees who IN
/ the interest of efficiency and prompt perform
ance ST work. should be retired. while IL would
Z
I by reasonable deductions from the salaries pr
employees TO amount TO sufficient to pay the PEN
sions of those who should be pensioned at
To overcome this difficulty. the commission sus-
gested that Congress should appropriate
sufficient 10 make up the deficiency which. while
growing steadily less, must exist for number
of years.
The President has long regarded the creation
of a civil pension list as desirable. and the
port of the Keep Commission has confirmed his
belief The plan presented by the commission
tion on Congress in strong terms. arguing that
the improvement in the federal service which
viii result from relieving the departments OF
deadwood will far make for economy, eff
cheney and promptness more than 70 recon-
pense the taxpayers for the additional burden
placed on them.
Congress has for some time appreciated ths
with such u recommendation from the Execu-
tive and the question of a civil pension list has
been considered in committee. Some bills pro-
viding for ID pension list have been introduced.
although none has been adopted by either house.
There is reason TO believe. however. that when
the President places before Congress the rea-
sons which have led him 10 adoDt the recon-
n,endntions Of the Keep Commission such legiS-
lation 80 he asks will be PASSED at the next
session.
! GERONIMO SEEMS CRAZY.