Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-26
THE EVENING STAR. THURSDAY, MAY 26, 1910
OLD CLERK HAS HOPE
Continued from First Pase.)

contributed per cent regularly for thir-
ty-five years may die penniless and leave
a widow and children. So many OBJ
jecions of his sort developed under the
Canadian system Especial Report OF the
Royal Commissioners of civil service Of
Canada. 1922 that Canada in 1888 was
forced to abandon it. and III its place
establish a plan of compulsory savings,
each mans deductions being kept apart.
so that he could have them on separa-
ton. or his heirs in case of death.
at is probably fair to say that this
class Of plans has proven a failure or
very unsatisfactory method in every
country where it has been tried
The Substitute Plan.
The plan to retire superannuated
employee on half salary and employ a
airy to do his work until the retired en-
ploye dies has the apparent advantage Of
being without cost to the government.
$50 many objections are evident to this
plan that 1t has not been advanced by
any careful students of the problem.
England had disastrous experience with
1t fifty years ago. (See 5. DOC. 20) 1t
would disorsaniZe the service. make it
difiicult to get good clerks-impossible in
the lower grades-and Work injustice i'll
almost every instance.
advantage VI SoAtIADuIOIy savings
With respect to the compulsory savings
plan advocated by the committee OF which
he is chairman, Mr.. Gillett says:
THE general idea of a compulsory saw
| ings plan is to deduct from each man 5
| salary an amount each month which with
interest, will be enough to buy him a fair
annuity at the age OF retirement. blu;
which savings he may have at any time
Lac .sr,A lit; !
go to his heirs in case of death.
Its great advantage is that every man
gets back what lie put in, and nobody
profits at the expense of another.
Such plan is actuarially sound. and ii
could at any time be ended OF merged into
another plan, etc. without injustice 10
any one or any difficulty or confusion.
| 1T would not give vested right to a
| job, but would make it possible for chiefs
| to dismiss employees for cause, with nc
| starve
| "A number of objections are made tc
| this pian. The strongest is that the i'm.
mediate deductions from salaries in some
| extreme cases high as to 10 per cent
| would be a great burden to the employe.
which they could not adjust themselves
| 1T has been suggested by some that
such plan would eventually result IN
| general increase Of salaries. Some OF
| the employees are opposed to it. more
| especially outside of the District OF
! Columbia. The difiicuIty of caring fol
| so-called pas services is another point
| made.
Provision for Past Services.
THE plan would be simple if it were
| only to AFFECT those employees coming in
| after the passage Of the act, for each
would provide his own annuity, but il
must affect those now in also. Many Of
these could not save out SUFFICIENT to pay
their own annuities, and this difference
! must be met in some way.
/ For instance, a man now sixty-eigh
| would retire in two years. after fort,
| years service. He would suffer deduc
| lions for the next two years, but those
| deductions would not pay cne-ten.h Ct TIM
| cost Of his annuity. Some method mus
| be devised Of making UP to his account
/ the money that ought to have been de
/ Quoted from his pay all these years, bu
! was not.
1.-THE bill reported last year providee
| for raising this money for past services
/ by separate fund raised by deduction:
| from the first months salary of new en-
| trants and from promotion increments
| This bill provides for it's, payment out Of
! the Treasury. 1t is believed that ths
| institution Of the system would be Of
| sufficient advantage to the service t
| compensate for this expense