The Washington times., 1911-01-25
Representative Ce Champions Cause Of Clerks on Floor Of the House

Because we all appreciate the
power or organization, we all ap-
preciate how easy 1t Is when we nave
an organization in our district that
will be advantageously affected by
some legislation. when the great mass
of the people do not care much one
way or the other about the legisla,
tion, to try to win popularity ana
votes by pleasing the organization. II
that goes on and we have in every
district of the country an organiza-
tion of Government employees looking
directly for their own interests, ana
bringing pressure to bear on Congress
in favor of their interests. why grad,
unlly the power of organization Will
make itself felt. so much so that some
remedy against 1t will have to be
adopt51. because II in close districts
there is an organization of only L
ated simply by something that affects
their own interests. while the great
body of the people care little or notn-
ing about II, our tendency VIII be 10
Yield to that influence and to vote TOT
what they desire. That very tendency
is driving many members of Congress
to change the civil service act ana
have all appointments made for only
six or seven years.
For Redistribution.
IT recognize that out of the present
salaries of the employees, for some OF
them It will be difficult to make this
contribution. I recognize that out or
a salary of $500, for instance, it is pretty
hard for the clerks to make any contri-
button. think myself that one of the
vital needs OF the service today. as vital
as this, is a reclassification of the entire
clerical service, and our committee re-
ported contemporaneously with this bill
a hill providing for such a reclassifica-
ton of the service, so that compensation
shall have some relation to the kind OF
work that is done.
THAT, it seems to me, is one OF the
most important reforms that our civil
service needs. Another reform that Il
needs is something to regulate the pro-
motions in the service. We passed our
civil service law in 1888, and by good
luck we got fairly good method of en-
tering the service; no ideal, but the
best that has yet been brought for
ward; but We have no method at all OF
regulating the promotions after they get
into the service, and those promotions
are too often made by favoritism.
"I think that ought to be corrected; ;
but most, think this reclassificatton
ought 10 DC duOptCu" pShSFS N4'A1 IA
the Government service we pay our en-
ployes too little at the bottom and too
little at the top, and that probably
along in between some are overpaid.
In other words / think the clerks
who go in at $3.50 are not getting enough
10 procure the kind of clerk We want in
the Government employ. / think on
the other hand that the heads of bu-
reaus and the heads of the divisions are
not getting enough for the executive
capacity we need. There is where econ
omy Is accomplished and yet we pay
such small amounts to the heads of bu-
reaus and divisions that the do not get
the men of that energy and efficiency
with the desire to produce reforms that
we have in any large business. We all
know that in the conduct of a large
business il is capacity, brains and en-
ergy of men at the top that makes the
business succeed or fail"