The Washington herald., 1907-06-30
SUNDAY. JUNE 80. 1901
Pensions for Government Employees.

A subcommittee Of the Keep Commits
sion has devised a plan for the creation
Of a civil pension list which is said to have
the approval Of President Roosevelt. who
viii recommend It's adoption in his next
annual message. It is proposed TO create
an annuity fund by the deduction from
the salaries Of all Federal employees Of
fixed amount monthly, and 20 pay to
those retired for age an annuity of 10
per cent Of their pay for every year Of
service. In the case Of an employee retired
at seventy years of age after fifty years
Of service at an annual salary of I.219
the annuity would be 500 a year. To pro-
vide such an annuity il would be neces-
sary 20 deduct 1891 from a salary Of 500
a month. Pending the accumulation Of
a sufficient annuity fund from assess
ments on salaries. the government would
have TO bear the expense of annuities. 1t
is calculated that the cost Of the civil
pension list for the first year would be
S725,000, and that this expense would in
crease gradually. until. at the end Of
thirty years, it would be S1,7460oO. Suisse
quently. there would he a steady decline
until the assessments bore the entire ex-
pense OF the pensions.
The plan thus proposed for the retire
ment Of superannuated Federal employees
is defended on economical as we'll as hU-
name grounds a writer in the New
York Tribune gives the experience Of the
General Land Office in illustration Of this
argument.
Until the recent reorganization undertaken BY
Judge BaliinEeT 10 has been the custom to have an
land patents and their records prepared in long
hand The highest record Of efficiency was thirty
patents day. Judge Ballins-r recently dismissed
number Of the oldest employees and filed their places
with eZPsrt typcErters Now it is not uncommon
for single operator 20 write 70 patents in q day
together with an equal number Of records. 50 that
the efficiency of one Cf the new clerks is as 90
compared with the older smDWes."
To promote the efficiency Of the depart
ments in this way would mean the saving
Of a large sum annually TO the govern
ment and would in itself justify the ere
alton Of a pension fund partially at gov
eminent expense. But the humanitarian
aspect Of a Federal pension system is
after all, that which pleads most strongly
for its adoption.
The problem of approximation in the
government departments has become in
cTeasingly serious. and the civil pension
plan offers the only humane solution It's
opponents contend that government en-
ployes should make their own provision
for old age. and that they should be
dealt with just as workers for a wage
are treated in private life-that is, they
should be set adrift when they are too
old for efficient service. This sort Of
argument Is revolving 10 modern ideals
Of economic justice. which tend toward
the establishment Of systems Of pensions
for old age. either by private or public
agency. There are many railroad and
other corporations which maintain pen
sion systems for sUperannuated employees,
and Uncle sam ought surely TO do as much.
The national government, as President
Roosevelt has said, should be a model
employer. and in no way could it set a
better example than by the establishment
of civil pension list