Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-11
TWO CABINET MEMBERS
!. FAVOR RETIRING SYSTEM
Views of Secretary of War
and Postmaster General
in Annual Reports.

F'avoring the adoption Of a retirement
system for the civil employees of the
government. two members of the cab
met, Secretary of War Stimson and
Postmaster General Hitchcock, in their
annual reports, made public today. recon-
mend that the federal employees be re-
tired and pensioned when they become
inca pacitated.
The recommendation Of Secretary Stim-
son is particularly interesting, because he
is comparatively new member Of the
cabinet and this is his public statement
Oh this subject. Postmaster General
Hitchcock has for several years been a
firm friend and supporter Of retirement
system for the government clerks.
Secretary Stimson's Position.
Secretary stimsons recommendations
on this subject were as follows:
Il am heartily in favor of some meas
ure by which employees of the federal
government may be retired and pensioned
when they reach condition of impaired
usefulness after years of faithful service.
In taking such action we should only be
following the worldwide trend of nation
al governments and large business cor
pOratiOns. whether find warrant for
such action in humanitarian principles
or considerations OF a SOUND business pol
icy, or both combined.
The purely monetary rewards and
opportunities Of the government service
ought not to be and never will be so
great as those offered in the business and
professional world elsewhere, and If the
government service is to be maintained
upon a high and increasing level of pro-
f1ciency 1t must meet the competition
from other quarters by some compensat
ing features that will attract the best
<ulA 20 ffc -tCn af.{rn
while 1 am not prepared to express
a decided conviction as between a
straightout government pension and one
to which the employe himself shall have
proof that the government, in effect,
though indirectly, has for many years
throughout its service maintained a pen
sion system without retirement, and If it
should now establish pension system
with retirement there is good reason to
believe that in the long run it would not
only suffer no pecuniary loss, but on
the contrary. would reap a substantial
gain in the increased efficiency and i'm
proved morale of the service
Postmaster Generals Attitude.
On this subject Postmaster General
Hichcock's report contained the follow
ing:
Almost without exception, foreign ma
tions provide for the pensioning of civil
service employees when they become
superannuated Large corporations in
this country are rapidly adopting the
same principle in the retirement of their
aged employees. On business grounds, if
for no other reason, the government
should do likewise.
while the compensation of postal en-
ployes has been considerably increased
during the last few years il Is hardly
more than sufficient to meet necessary
living expenses. and consequently does
not permit the putting aside of any con-
siderable savings against old age. 1t Is
believed that a civil pension based on
length of employment should be granted
by the government. Benefits to the serv-
ice far outweghing the expense of such
pensions would undoubtedly result