Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-01-11
GOVERNMENT LOSES.
Does Not Pay Enough. So Good Work
 mon Go Elsewhere.

|. Washington, Jan l1.-High prices for labor and for commodities are be- ginning to be felt by the government in serious way. As already noted in these dispatches, the efficiency of the government service is menaced by the loss of valuable employees who constantly are being taken away from the government by private con- cerns which offer them far greater lcOmpensation than the government pays.
 Postmaster General Cortelyou points out that the efficiency of the postal service is being lowered by the resignation of experienced clerks who leave it to accept positions which offer better financial inducements and promises of pecuniary better ment. The postmaster general is urging upon congress the necessity of rate of wage that will enable the postal service to pay its employees sal aries that will approximate, in a measure, the way similar work is re- twarded in commercial and industrial pursuits. His plea is made particu- larly in behalf of clerks in post of- fees whose pay, in many instances, is so low as to render it practically im- possible for them to maintain them selves and their families.
 Every department of the govern ment has felt the effects of high prices. The cost of everything the government uses has advanced ma terially in the past two or three years. So marked has been the in crease in some instances that they have received the earnest consider ation of the president and his cabi- net. Just before he relinquished the portfolio of secretary of the navy, MT Bonaparte requested authority from congress to purchase ammunition and army plate for the navy abroad when ever. in the judgment of the presi- dent. the prices of the articles pro- duced in this country were exorbi- tant. No attention is likely to be paid to this suggestion by congress, because such articles are manufac- tured by American concerns almost exclusively for the government and l If their purchase were diverted to for eign concerns it would mean the shutting down of important Ameri- can industries. Armor plate, for in- stance, is manufactured solely for the government. There is no domestic market for it. The men employed to make it are skilled and high-priced mechanics, who would be thrown out of employment if the government should buy any quantity of the plate abroad. The wages paid these me- chanics reflect the cost of living. which has increased materially in few years.
 The army, the navy and marine corps are experiencing difficulty in securing desirable recruits. Young, vigorous men will not enlist in the service because they can make more money and have an easier time in in- dustrial pursuits, Secretary Taft is now considering seriously proposal that he urge congress to offer a bounty for re-enlistments in the reg ular army. Men who are serving in the army see opportunities for bet tering their condition in civil life and refuse to re-enlist at the expira- tion of their term.
 1 Every other department of the government is being affected similar " and the indications, according to the executive heads of all depart ments, are that the situation will be- come more and more serious with time. Paradoxical as it may seem. the government, to the extent indi- cated at least. has been put in a nole by the wave of prosperity and high wages and prices which is sweeping over the country.