The Washington times., 1912-04-14
URGED sa
/ BY DICK TO USE
1G THEIR INFLUENCE
BY Voting Sentiment in
Favor of Retirement Pen
sions May Be Stirred Up.

STIR them up" is the keynote of this
weeks bulletin Of the Committee Of
one Hundred issued by Director
Charles Dick. BY them" former sena-
tor Dick means Congressmen and sena-
tors who are Indifferent to the need of
approximation pensions In the Gov
eminent service.
III Congress appears Indifferent. :"
says Mr.. Dick, ITO the Just demand Of
the clerks In the Federal classified sery-
Ice for an increase of pay and a lust
and adequate retirement system, II IL
because Congress has not been sum
ciently spurred by public sentiment to
enact the necessary legislation. Now
that the right Of petition has been re-
stored. to Federal employees by the re-
cent Executive order, the men and wo-
men in the classified service who will
be benefited by such legislation should
exercise their political prerogatiye as
citizens of the United States, and by
petition and proper agitation awaken
public sentiment all over the country
which VIII insist upon such relief.
Must Create Sentiment.
Those who enter the classified serv-
ice OF the Government, especially in
washington, too often abandon their
political prerogatives and rarely, II
ever, exercise the right of suffrage. A
Government employe in Washington
who never goes home to vote will soon
discover he has lost all influence with
his Congressman and Senator. II every
Government employe made use of the
political influence he possesses, or
should possess, both in the primary and
at election, and used the columns of his
home paper to set forth the merits of
his claim for Increase OF pay and for a
retirement law, IL would not be long
before sentiment would be created
which would exert it's influence upon
the individual members OF Congress that
would bear fruit in a surprisingly short
time. ...'
"If the Government employees were
properly organized for the protection Of
their own interests. they could make an
appeal to the two national political con-
yentions soon to convene which would
be listened to with respect at least, and
perhaps would result In a declaration
In one or both of the party platforms
favorable to their cause. Public senti-
ment Is ripe for action by Congress for
the relief OF Federal employees in the
classified civil service, and all that is
necessary TO win the victory is agita-
ton and education on the merits of the
case .-ss.-. t,
. Cites An Instance.
The bulletin calls attention to the fact
that the Western Union has recently
adopted a retirement and pension sys-
tenn under which the minimum pension
will be s25 per month and the maximum
si00 80. =,
IF the, Western, Union Telegraph
Company finds It good business policy,
as have numerous other large employers
of labor, to adopt a civil pension plan
they do II on business grounds alone,
and not from motives OF charity or
philanthropy. If such a system works
for economy and efficiency and actually
pays In dollars and cents, and no bust
ness corporation would adopt a civil
pension plan for any other reason, there
is not a single good reason why the
Government of the United States, which
is the largest employer of labor in the
country would not find 1t equally ad-
vantageous to adopt similar policy"