Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-06
HITCHCOCK AGAINST IDEA
Does Not Believe in Imposing Any
Further Hardships on Clerks.
OTHERS ARE NON.C0MMITTAL
Belief Among Subordinate officials
Is That New Schedule Would
Not Work Out Well.

ment clerks, and the caution manifest
ed at times seems ominous. Whether the
has been considered by the
cabinet as such, or merely discussed by
certain cabinet officers in perfunctory
way, the feeling generally among those
who profess to know the facts is that the
idea is not far from the top of the call
endar for cabinet consideration.
Postmaster General Hitchcock, in speak
ing upon the subject today, said from a
personal standpoint he was opposed to
the imposition of any further hardship
upon the government clerks as a whole
without adequate compensation. He
said in his own department they were
doing well a greater volume Of work with
a smaller personnel than ever before, and
he deprecated anything that would de-
stroy the esprit du corps of the force.
He expressed himself as in favor of a
general readjustment of salaries and or
making the government service attractive,
SO that a high grade of employees might
be obtained. He thought perhaps an eX-
tension of the clerks day from to D
pm, due allowance being made for
luncheon. with a half holiday. might not
prove unpopular, but he added:
Has Not Discussed matter.
II have not discussed the subject with
any other members of the cabinet and
cannot therefore say how they feel upon
the subject or, indeed, whether they have
thought of it at ALL
Mr.. Hitchcock made it plain that he is
friend Of the government clerk who
does his duty.
Secretary Nagel Of the Department of
Commerce and Labor said he had given
the subject no consideration at all and
was therefore not in position to discuss
it. He did not know whether longer
hours of service were necessary for the
proper performance of the work of his
department. because he had had no occa-
sion to consider the matter. The Secre-
tary said he had not talked seriously
with any other member of the cabinet in
regard to the matter. He did say, how
ever. that he much preferred a seven
hour day of vigorous, spirited service, to
an eight-hour day of perfunctory per-
Torrance.
Mr.. Bailey, Secretary MacVeaghS pri-
vate secretary, said the Secretary had
just returned from New York and his
attention was occupied with important
work which he preferred to do at home.
He had not reached the department when
The Star reporter called. He said he had
never heard Secretary MacVeagh mention
the subject and he did not know that he
had ever said anything at all about it.
There had been some question some
months ago of temporarily extending the
hours of certain bureaus of the Treasury
Department to bring the work up to date,
but even that had not been talked Of re-
Gently.
Views Of Chief Clerk.
Nevertheless, in places not SO high
up the matter is being discussed and
perhaps suggested to the heads of the
a Star reporter was as
sured today. A chief clerk Of one of
the prominent departments said he
would not be at all averse to working
until o'clock If he could have half
day every Saturday. The time is near
at hand when by executive order the
will be closed half day
Saturday. as in the past. whether the
hours of the other days are extended or
not
This concession, it is said, is made to
the clerks because of the enervating
heat of summer, and good results have
followed from it. 1t gives the clerks an
opportunity to take little outing each
week from Saturday afternoon until
Monday morning.
Another department official, who is
quite high up in rank, said his expe-
rience had taught him that an extension
of the clerks working hours would be
a bad move.
"It will cause dissatisfaction" he said,
land, you can take my word for 1t, the
government will not get any more service
in eight hours than it gets now. and 1t
will be a poorer quality OF service. The
only attraction there is to the govern
ment service now is the seven-hour day
and the annual leave of absence. The
short day gives a, man time for the study
Of a profession in the local universities
which hold night sessions.
ha absence
needs to pull himself together for the fol-
lowing year.
Indoor Work Unhealthy.
"You cannot compare the services Of
the government clerk with those of a
merchant or man who has outdoor
work." he continued. Take the best
built department buildings in the city,
he continued, land you will find the air
dead, close and almost Sickening when |
you come i'm from the outside. Look at
the men and women who have spent
years here at the desk and see If they |
have anything to crow over in the way
of physical robustness or good health. |
AS rule they are pallid and more or |
less sickly. l don't believe it is going to |
be good thing for the government to |
tax them more. The proposed Saturday |
is not going to repair the |
waste of vitality that will follow from
them stay at their desks an hour |
longer This is my statement from the |
clerks standpoint, and ] am qualified to 1
speak because I have been a clerk for
many years.
One of the clerks speaking Of the
said:
Its all very well for the cabinet Of
ficers and the big men in the depart
ments, whose time Of service is not
tabled to the minute. to talk about
eight hours for the clerk. If those high
officials are indisposed, they stay at
home. and nothing is thought of it; but
let us go under. and Immediately from
the division chief up to the chief clerk
punish US. Then, again, although a GER
tain amount of time is allowed. but
very reluctantly, in spite of law. for
sick leave, the chap who gets Ill and
has to use it, is sooner or later slapped
in the face with the record as reason
for his reduction in pay, or perhaps his
dismissal
:.rnere are hundreds of such cases. 1t
s. a common thing when a new chief |
clerk comes into a department for him
20 start out to make a record by seeing
1ow much more he can dig out of the
clerks i'm his department. Whatever Con-
yress may have thought of the proprety
Il passing the law regarding sick leave
It is a bette nOir to the average chief
clerk So. indeed, Is the annual leave.
'or departmental regulations generally
rim that down materially.
The merchants of Washington are be-
coming thoroughly aroused to what the
.ight-hour department day means for
heir business. One of them said today
le regarded it as business calamity. 1t
will certainly add to the cost of living
or the clerks here in Washington. he
said.