Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1910-12-07

/ WY pam
Careful study OF experiments made
| by foreign governments shows thai
three serious objections to the civil
pension payable oct or the public
| treasury may be brought against 1t by
| the taxpayer, the admins tratiSe ON
| Ger. and the civil employe. respective
| ly. A dvil pension Is bound TO be
come an enormous. continuous. and
increasing tax OF the public exche
quer; it Is demoralizing TO the ser
vice since Il makes difiicnlt the dis
miesal of incompetent employees aftel
they have partly earned their pension
n is Instantaneous 10 the main body
OF employees themselves since II IL al
WAYS taken into account In iixinR
salaries and only the few who sur
yive and remain In the service until
penslonahle age receive the value oil
their deferred pay. For this reason
after a half century Of experience un'
der a most liberal pension system, the
civil servants OF England succeeded
about year ago. in hefing the sys'
TEN so modified as 10 make IL virtual
| ly a con;ributory plan with provision
| for refund OF their theoretical contri
buttons.
The experience of England ana
countries shows that neither can
contributory plan be successful. hn'
man nature being what it Ia. when
does not make provision for the re-
turn of contributions. with interest, IN
case OF death or resignation before
lpensionable age. Followed tofits log.
zeal conclusion this means that the
6implest and most independent solc-
| ton of the problem for beth empioye
and the government Is compulsory
savings arrangement. the employe tq
lset aside from his salary a sum sum
Client with the help of q liberal rate
of interest from the government. 10
purchase an adequate annuity for him
| on retirement. this accumulation 10 be
jnalienably his and claimable IL he
LEAVES the service before reaching the
retirement age or by his heEs in case
of his death. This is the principle upon
which the Gillett bill now pending IS
drawn.
The Giliett BILL however. goes fur-
Their and provides that the govern
ment shall contribute to the pension
| fund of those employees who are now
so advanced In age that their personal
contributions viii not be sufficient TO
create their annuities before reaching
the retirement age. In my judgment
this provision should be amended SO
that the annrities OF those employees
shall be paid out OF the salaries APP
propriated for the positions vacated by
retirement. and that the difference be-
tween the annuities thus granted and
1.-The salaries may be used for the EN-
ployment of efficient clerk at the
Hover grades. II the bill can be thus
amended recommend itsopassage. as
liz will initiate a valuable system and
ultimately result in great saving IN
the public expenditures.
/ Interstate Commerce Commission.
There has not been time IN test the
benefit and utility of the amendments
| to the interstate commerce law con-
tanned In the act approved June Is.
1910. The law as enacted did not con-
tain all the features which / recon-
mended. IL did not specifically de.
nounce as unlawful the purchase BY
ole vi Two pal a-ict anu NCtAB>ef'"c
reads OF the stock OF the other.
Nor did It subject TO the restraining
Influence OF the Interstate Commerce
Commission of the power of corpora
lions engaged in operating Interstate
railroads 10 issue new stock and
bonds; nor did II authorize the max
ing Of temporary agreements between
railroads, limited to thirty DAYS, fixing
the same rates for traffic between the
same places.
10 not press the consideration or
|anysof these objects upon congress al
this session. The object Of the hrst
provision is probably generally COW
cred ~ the antitrust Law. The sec
ond provision was in the act referred
TO the consideration Of a commission
to be appointed by the executive and
TO report upon the matter to congress.
That commission has beeu appointed
ands Is engaged in the. investigation
and consideration OF the question sub
mitted under the law. II consists OF
President Arthur T. Hadley. Of Yale
University, as chairman: Frederick c.
Strauss, Frederick y. Judscn. Prof. b
H. meyer oiAu Nottct L. rtS"e's 49,
William E. s. Griswold as secretary.
The third proposal led to 50 much
miscons iruction of Its object as being
that OF weakening the effectiveness OF
the antitrust lak that am not dis
posed to press It for further consider
alton. II was intended TO permit rail-
road companies to avoid useless rate
cutting By j mere temporary acqui'
/ essence in the same rates FOR the
same service over competing railroads
with no obligation whatever 20 main
tain those rates for any time
Safety Appliances and Provisions.
The protection OF railroad employees
from personal injury is subject OF
the highest importance and demands
continuing attention There have been
Two measures pending in congress. one
| for the supervision Of boilers and the