Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-17
Paw and Retirement.

report brought before The recent
meeting of the National Civil Service Re
form League in Philadelphia by the COM
nlittee on approximation raised the is
Sue of whether the government should
undertake to pay its elder employees PEN
sons on retirement or increase their pay
sufficiently TO enable them to contribute
TO their own retirement fund, the COM
mittee favorinS the latter proposition.
The committee feels that for the gov
eminent to undertake TO pay pensions
would lead to thriftlessuess and eXtrava-
gance on the part % the clerks, and pre-
fers a sufficient salary increase to en-
able the employees 10 maintain Their own
fund
There are various WAYS of effecting the
paid retirement of the government en-
ployes: BY means of fund maintained
entirely by the clerks themselves, q fund
started by the government. bur afterward
maintained by the clerks p fund started
by both clerks and government and
maintained Jointly by tAcrl and finally
q fund provided exclusively by the gov
eminent. as is the case in Great Britain.
The committee of tn civil service league
appears to favor the second of these
four possible plans and pleads for an
increased pay scale to enable the clerks
to keep up their END of the contribution
without suffering.
In effect if the government increased
the pay of the CLERKS in order TO enable
them 10 maintain a retirement NeXclu-
sively at their own expense-save perhaps
an initial contribution of federal money
to start the scheme-it would be con-
tTfhuting a portion IF the retirement
fund or possibly all il the annual COM
pulsory givinss OF the clerks amounted
to the sum of the increased pay. But
this would not meet the requirements of
the case Of today. 1t would it is true
establish a retirement system, but it
would not relieve the situation as regards
the pay of the clerks. which should be
increased without reference to the retire
ment or pension question. in order to
give the governments workers a living
income suitable to their position and COM
parable with their responsibilities.
Regarded from the point of view of the
governments own interest there should
be both an imnoediate increase in the pay
scale and the provision of a pension
guaranty based exclusively upon federal
funds. II would be mean sort OF gen.
crosby for the United States to put more
money into the clerks pockets IN name of
salaries, take il out again in the Suse
of forced contributions to a retirement
fund and then pay ii back after years OF
faithful service 10 its elder clerks. Far
more in keeping with its own business re-
cuirements would he & system of straight
out pensions. together With higher pay
scale. such a SYSTEM the British gov
eminent maintains. The authorities in
London do not find that the assurance of
a pension leads the clerks to extrava-
gance or lessons their thrift. on the
contrary. the men whom it chooses for
Its civil servants oy a most rigorous sys-
TEN of examinations, and to WHOM it
gives permanent places in its various
departments, are b. the assurance of
permanence and ultimate retirement en-
couraged TO save 50 that in their old age
they will have more than q merely liv
ing income, to which on the average the
retirement allowance amounts.