Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-05-02
PLAN TO CUT Off
CLERKS AGED 65
STYLED |NHUMAN
Provision of Legislative Appro-
priation Bill Denounced in
Report to the House.
"CRUDE, UNREASONABLE,
"CRUDE, UNREASONABLE,
TIMID AND UNFEELING"
Minority of Appropriations Commit
tee Voices Protest in Strong Terms.
MUCH OPPOSITION DISPLAYED

Predicted That the Republicans in
House Will Be Aided by
Many Democrats in Fight
ing Provision.
fact that the operation of the economies
of the legislative, judicial and executive
appropriation bill are confined to the Dis
trict of Columbia. where there are no
voters, Representative Gillett of Massa-
chusetts this afternoon presented TO the
House minority report voicing the re-
publican protest to the bill which the
appropriations committee of the House
reported favorably yesterday.
"We oppose n fixed tenure of i've
years for civil service employees" says
the report. "ThOugh applied only To
those In the District, If adopted here 1t
would, or course, be extended through
out the country. We recognize the ex-
listing problems of superannuatIop, but
we believe to suddenly throw out every
emplOye over sfxty-five years of age Is
a crude and unreasonable method of
meeting 1t even il IL has NO political
animus. IL Overthrows without my
thorough investigation the existing
system. jeOpardizes the civil service
principle and is n timid and unfeeIinr
method of avoiding instead of solving
the problem.
We think the arbitrary cut of ten per
cent throughout the War Department is
unjustifiable New methods adopted by
the chief OF staff may allow such a cut
IN some bureaus, but that does not make
IT possible in others unaffected by the
reforms and We have their testimony
that it would cripple them.
Under this administration notable
economies have been introduced, especial
ly in the Treasury Department, and there
Is an apparent earnest attempt by the
heads of departments to extend them.
and we do not think it wise by such A
drastic and arbitrary cut to discourage
such efforts"
Penny Wise, Pound Foolish"
The report calls the whole bill a good
example of the old adage. penny wise
and pound foolish Although the repub-
licans admit that they are not adj of the
same opinion in regard to the bill, the re-
port mentions three provisions against
which the minority Is especially bitter,
namely. the abolition of the commerce
court, the abolition of the bureau of man
fractures and commercial agents, and
of course, the provision which would dis
charge all clerks sixty-five years of age
These are all matters of Legislation"
says the report, and have no technical
right in a general appropriation bill un-
less by virtue of the Holman rule. but as
they are largely measures of administra-
ton We do not especially complain of
them because they are here, but because
they are bad legislation anywhere
The report says that the republicans
believe that the commerce court is ac-
complishing results, and that its discon-
tinuance would be misfortune. As for
the bureau of manufactures the report
says that sit would be short-sighted
piece of work to wipe it cut of existence
1T is, of course, easy to effect an ap-
parent economy says the report, "by
doing away with a court, or a bureau, or
a department, or whole branch of the
service, or by a wholesale reduction of
force and Salary, but the question always
remains, does this saving compensate for
the loss of service? Is il real economy?
That Is to be determined by evidence and
proof. We are aware of no such proofs
in the cases at issue here, and we think
the people would be serious losers instead
of gamers from the change"
Will Meet Stone Wall of Opposition.
Republicans in the House use the word
''inhuman in describing the provision of
the bill which would discharge every
clerk in the government service in Wash
ington at the age of sixty-five years.
stone wall of opposition when once it
reaches the floor of the House. and the
prediction is freely made in the House
today that the solid republican opposition
will be strengthened by many democrats
who will refuse to participate In voting
for what appears to them to be cruel
injustice.
The republican members of the appro-
priations committee express different
views on many of the provisions of tho
BILL but on the questions regarding the
civil service, especially the section which
cuts off the heads of clerks at sixty-five
years there is a clear unanimity OF ad-
verse opinion. AT meeting of the MI
nority members this morning Represent.
atiye GilIett of Massachusetts was EN-
powered to write a minority report to be
presented at this afternoons session OF
the House.
Charged Move to Provide Jobs.
The general opposition to the idea of
limiting civil service appointments to
five years is that it Is crude and unnec-
essary and that it is simply move to
give democrats a chance to snap up
everything in sight. Some idea of the
opposition awaiting this bill on the
floor of the House is shown in the
fact that when this bill. with its dras-
tic section cutting of clerks at sixty
five years, was in committee several OF
the democrats refused TO sign the re-
port intimating they would oppose
the civil service legislation on the floor
OF the House.
Representative Taylor of Ohio. a mi-
nority member of the appropriations
committee is sanguine in his hopes that
the ak will be stayed before ii swings
upon the clerks of sixty-five years or
over His idea Is that the whole section
is crude and inhuman and that party
lines win cut no figure in the vote on
this particular paragraph.
Blow at the Civil Service.
"I am absolutely opposed to this fea-
ture," said Representative Good of Iowa.
another member Of the committee, land
when It comes to the floor of the House
l will do all / can to have it stricken
out 1t wipes out the civil service en-
tirely. That section which puts all pres
ent appointments to an end in 1914 is
not right. The whole scheme simply
clears the boards to give the democrats
show at grabbing up n lot of good jobs.
There may be way to reorganize the
civil service-I am not discussing that
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