The Washington times., 1910-12-08
Secretary, In Annual Report,
Comes Out Strongly for
Retirement Plan.
SAYS CONTRIBUTORY
SYSTEM is THE BEST
Further Economies Possible If
Some Customs and Assay Of
fees Are Eliminated.


shall give the Executive power to in
stltute q jTst method Of civil service
retirement
The ab5 e Is part of the emphatic
statement Of Secretary of the Treasury
MacYeaBh. regarding the pensioning Of
Government employees. in his annual re-
port 10 Congress, made public today.
In fOrceful terms. spoken straight
from the shoulder. the Secretary insists
that a retirement plan is a requisite and
a prerequisite, if the Government ser
vice is 10 be put on its feet
Also, h. blasts the prospects Of those
who have been clinging TO the hope OF
q straight pension system by declaring
that the cOntributory plan is not only
the only system which has any chance
OF being adopted. but Is best for the
men and women concerned
No Cost to Government
Such a system. by which ? portion of
each employees pay shall be set aside
each year. he declares, can be installed
without the expenditure OF an extra
penny By the Government. This il CO.
incident with the view Of the President,
who, in his message. advocated a pen
sion system BY compulsory savings.
Four hun0-ed positions have been
abolished in 5he Treasury Department
the Secretary reports. IN the interest OF
economy and efficiency. Practically al
Of the employees displaced have been put
in other positions. but he doubts
whether he viii be able 10 continue this
policy in the future The end Is not
yet in the abolition Of sUperhUOus posts,
he says
As economies he cites the elimina ion
Of the issue division in the Treasurer
office. by which the double printing Of
Treasury notes is abolished. the aDoii-
ton OF several unnecessary countings,
a reduction in the amount Of paper
stock kept on hand. and reforms II the
office OF the Auditor for the POstofice
Department
The Secretary suggests u al II po1iti-
cal considerations may be eliminated
from appointments to the auditors Of
fees. 10000 may be saved annually
Further Economies Urged
Further. economies are possible. says
the Seer -ary. Il Congress viii consent
TO the abolition OF several customs Of
fees, mints, and assay Offices The
Secretary promises to submit a list OF
customs Offices which ne says. the
country would be better of without"
As q matter OF fact, in regard to the
S3gg.00O.OO0 named as a possible saving,
annually, the Secretary says that the
total expense Of the executive depart
ments was less than $500. 900 000- or this
a great part was expended for interest
on the debt and the pensions, leaving
only 500, ,000 out Of which 70 save
So, OJc,C0p-
Recovery of Unpaid Duties.
Recoveries of unpaid customs duties
have reached a total OF =, 10000 since
the first discovery Of the sugar frauds
The revelations In the sugar fraud trials
and Investigations have led TO inquiries
at other ports, with the eject OF a
complete Overhauling OF the service
The result has been, says Secretary
MacVeagh, an elimination OF the sDOils
system, and politics. in the customs
service. the appear rance OF a bS.ter
morale and a general recognition that
a new epoch has been begun In the
service The Secretary requests at
least an 100000 appropriation for the
payment Of rewards for information re-
garding frauds The discovery Of
frauds has caused more persons to come
forward with further disclosures
Receipts From Tourists.
Regarding the smuggling by passen-
gers on board incoming liners, the Sec
retary asserts that since the iuaugura-
tion Of Collector Loeb's crusade, the re-
ceipts from tourists at New York has
increased 10 four times its former figure
A pTopOTtiOnate increase was noted at
Boston, following an improved admins
tratiOn at that port
The situation q few years ago was
demoTalizing the whole customs service,
the Secretary declares Cheating the
Government was regarded as joke, and
false statements and bribery OF ofnc1alS
the common practices Tourists were so
ObliviOus to the moral conSiderau tons,
he says, that efforts at reform were met
with resentment as II the Government
were committing the crimes OF all
the persons caught in smuggling Or un-
deTvaluing, tourists are the only ones
who have sought to excuse themselves
He sees great Improvement IN the sftu-
alton already. and looks for more
For the sake Of efficiency, the Secre-
taTy reports. the special agents service
Of the customs division has been reor-
ganized, with a view to further devel-
Opment- The appointment of Chief
VTillxie Of the Secret Service to be head
OF the special agents service win bring
about these results Secretary MacVeagh
believes He requests that Congress
permit him 20 use Secret Service men
for other purposes than appTehendinG
cOunterfeiters and guarding the Presi-
dent
Monetary System Wrong.
The banking and currency system Of
the United States is most Thoroughly
excoriated by Secretary MacVeagh. He
declares the time has come for Congress
70 proceed to the reform Of these sys-
tens.
Steady improvement is being shown in
the administration Of national banks, Il
is declared. Politics have been prac-
tically eliminated. the body of examin-
Is becoming excellent
Foreign Branch Banks.
Secretary MacVeagh would permit
the national banks to establish foreign
branches This is necessary, he de-
clares, If an American shipping indus
try is to be built up He urges fmmedI-
ate action By Congress He also would
abolish the provision requiring pay
mentS OF revenue to be made in actual
currency, on the ground that It IS bur
densome and artificial and unbusIness-
like
II viii be necesSaI- soon to pay the
Indebtedness Of ths Panama Canal TO
the general fund, reports the Secretary
by the sale Of some of the Panama
bonds authOriZed in the amount OF $780,
SIS. 90 The Secretary has not yet de-
ci6ed as to the interest rate on the cir
culation privilege The Tostal savings
bank funds may afford & market for
these bonds, he thinks, without an ap-
peal TO the public
II is estimated that the receipts for
ne Tr-fIT HkS0 0s1r