The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1907-08-24
GOOD TO EMPLOYEES
UNCLE SAM TREATS HIS WORK.
ERs GENEROUSLY.
In Matters of Vacations and Sick
Leave He Might Be Termed
"Easy'-Policy Of Retrench-
ment a Failure.

It costs Uncle Sam in the neighbor-
hood of $6,000,000 annually for the
leisure Of his employees. Not many
employers treat their employees So
generously. In fact, not many could
afford to do So. There are on the gov
ernment payroll about $4,000 en-
ployes, and their annual salaries ap-
proximate about s60,000,000. Most of
these employees are entitled to 80 days
vacation annually. They are also al
lowed to take 80 days sick leave an
nually on full pay It is estimated
that Is per cent. of the employees take
their vacations regularly, and many
take their full 80 days sick leave.
A treasury official with whom sta
tistics are a hobby has made careful
computation, and says that more
than $6,000,000 of good government
funds go for "loafng spells" Of EN-.
ployes. AS he figures it, the govern
ment work could be done with one
twelfth less the present number of
employees easily. Or, taken in another
form, the present force can do all the
government work in 11months, prob
ably in ten, for which they now re-
receive the IL months pay He also
was done by contract it could be
done for three-fourths the present
cost.
There is one remarkable feature
about this vacation BUSINESS said
he, "and that is that the more salary
a man draws the longer vacation he.
takes. The ordinary employees get 30'
days annual and 80 days sick leave,
If they can supply a doctors certif-
cate. Many heads of departments
take from three to four months, and,
do not have to account to anybody:
It's a case where the little fish get
the worst, of it, as usual. But the sub
when compared to employees of rail-
roads and other concerns which are
large employers of labor
y A4NF1fen-eenfronted with the vast sum
paid out for leisure, government Of
| 1lclals say the payroll is just the same
whether the employees worked ten
months or IL; that there are just so
many people to do the work and just
so much work to be done; that if they
do it in ten months Uncle Sam is.
none the loser. Still, when a railroad:
or other big employer of labor finds.
that flve-sixths of its present force of
employees can do all the work it
doesn't hesitate to discharge the other
sixth. Uncle Sam is not so harsh. He
discharges an employe now and then
for 'unfaithfulness, but never simply
because the employe has nothing to.
do.
tSome time ago Secretary Garfield
began "retrenchment' policy in the
department of the interior He abol-
ished two or three divisions in his Of.
flee and sent the work to the Indians
bureau and general land office. But
many clerks in the division which he
abolished were transferred to the.
Indian bureau or land Office, and. sev-
eral OF them had their salaries in
creased.
Another illustration is given. At
the recent session of congress an eff.
fort was made, in the interests of
economy, to wipe out all the outside
pensioners from the Washington bu-
reau. When sifted down it was found
that the bureau intended to bring all
the clerks at the outside Offices to-
Washington at the same or increased
salaries. Figures were produced to
show that instead of being in the in
terests of economy it would really
cost the government more, so the sen
ate defeated the bill.
10 The Yellow Streak.
If there be one thing the normal
man despises it is the "streak of vel;
low," whether in brute or human.