Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-09-15

employment of what was known as the
Remsen board. That board was created
by order of President Roosevelt for the
very important purpose of enabling the
Secretary of Agriculture to nave re-
viewed the decisions of the bureau OF
chemistry in cases where those decisions
involved disputed technical questions ana
would, if sustained, have destroyed val
liable and profitable business heretofore
regarded as lawful. In Such cases II was
deemed wise not to allow the destruction
of what would be otherwise laW1ui prop
erty and business on the decision OF oniy
one expert OF the head Of bureau Ac-
cordingly the Remsen board was created
of number of experts. all of whom We're
known to be engaged IN other PROBES
sional work than that of the reviewing
board.
DR. Remsen, the head of the board. oc-
cupies an important position IN johns
Hopkins University, and that Is ms pr1n-
cipal occupation. Another member, Dr.
Russell Chittenden of the Sheffield Sci
entific School, is dean of that schOoi. ana
that is his chief vocation. Hence the EN-
poyment of the Remsen board at the
rate of 5000 year for each member
necessarily involved the proposition that
such an annual salary might lawfully De
paid without requiring labor of seven
hours day from each person SO en-
ployed This the Attorney General IN
his opinion intimates is contrary to the
statute but in the Agricultural Depart
ment it was not thought to be the case.
Solicitor McCabe. to whom l referred the.
question of precedents made in the case,
replied that in the practice of the depart
ment the clause in the appropriation act
of March 4. 1907 had been held to have
no application to the employment of ex-
perts outside of Washington.
Differences Reconciled.
1t is necessary fully to understand this
difference between the attitude of the de-
\
annual salary of this kind and the opin-
ion of the Attorney General in this mat
ter, because If DIR. Wiley and his assoc
ciates had understood that the 81 600 an
nual salary required them to exact from
DR. Rusby seven hours a day for all
the work days of the year. then. OF
course, his employment must have been
known by them to be Illegal and under
the circumstances to be only cover for
a different contract of employment, but
IL they understood. as seems to have been
the case generally in the Agricultural De-
partment. that such an employment al an
annual salary might be entered into with
EXPERTS of this kind, and only subject the
experts TO an obligation to work for the
department whenever called upon, with
the understanding that they had some
other vocation. to which their chief at
tention was given. it clearly reconciled
the action of DR.. Wiley with desire to
comply with the law. The recommends
ton of the Attorney General given to me
was upon only part of the evidence, and
hence his Judgment was different, doubt
less from what it would have been If he
had had the whole record before him, as
/ have now.
1t seems fairly clear that DR.. Wiley.
after an examination of the records, con-
cluded that the employment of Dr. Rusby
at 50 a day for laboratory work. and $50
day for court work. would amount to
81 600 year if the department called on
L Tod hi hot
| it was this arrangement to which you
consented In DR.. keblerS anxiety to in
| ducc DR. Kusby to accept the new terms
| or employment he certainly betrayed a
| employment of DIR. Rusby at $1,000 a
wear in one way to reconcile II with the
| law and in another way TO satisfy Dr.
| Rusby in his wish to secure so day,
| and think ne ought to be repr1manded
| for his disingenuouS conduct IN writing
such letters as he did. He said that he
| did not intend TO violate the statute as
| interpreted by the Attorney General ana,
| indeed, that he did not Know eNactiy
| what the ruling was, but whether he did
| or not the language of his letters does
not have "a commendable tone. and sug-
gests willingness to resort 10 evasion
| that calls for official reproof.
| In respect to DIR. Rusby, l do not md
1 that he was advised at all as TO the legal
/ difficulty. and that he was only seeking
/ for additional compensation which he
/ thought to ne adequate
| DR.. Wiley's Work Hampered.
/ The truth is. the limitation upon bu-
l reau chiefs and heads of departments TO
| exact per diem compensations for the
| employment of experts in such cases as
| this is a doubtful legislative policy. Here
| is the pure food act, which ii Is of the
| highest Importance to enforce and in re-
/ spect to which the interests opposed to
| its enforcement are likely In have all the
money at their command needed to secure
the most effective expert evidence The
government ought not To be at a disad-
| vantage in this regard and one cannot
| withhold ones sympathy with earnest
effort by DIR. Wiley to pay proper COM
l pensation and secure expert assistance
in the enforcement of So important a
statute. certainly in the beginning when
the questions arising under it are of capt.
tai Importance to the public.
crate effort to eyade the statute as con-