The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-09-01
HOW FAR WILL THIS $25PER WEEK COZ. Uncle Sam Rules Three Can
 Live on It MANY DOING BETTER Investigation Shows That Thousands of Employees in Federal Depart ments Live on No More
 Than 5000 Per Year
MANY DOING BETTER
By RopERIcK CLIFFORD

Washington, August Sl.-Twenty- dollars a week is sufficient to provide the necessities of life for three persons, and there is no reason for three persons. depending on this sum becoming public charges.
 This decision has been given by Secre- tary of Commerce and. Labor Nagel in re- versing the action of the immigration of fiicials at New York. They barred from entry into this country Mary and Cecile Fleming, aged 56 and 5s years respective ly. on the ground that their future sup port would depend on the s25 a week earned by John F. Byrne, a newspaper re- porter. and their nephew.
 There are several thousand government clerks in Washington who know that three and sometimes six and eight per sons. can live on s25 a week, as the av- craze salary In the classified service in Washington is s1o79 year or s2O.75 per week. In fact there are government clerks who work for only S240 @ year, S20 month They support themselves, though it Is not known that any of these employees support families on this wage. oStthhS <hiOh SVU tlCoS In every department, however. there are few clerks who show a practical aversion to race suicide and who. as result, are taking care of large families on less money than young Byrne earns The families who live on less than $25 week may not have many luxuries, but they are not in want, nor have they been forced to even a low standard of living At the same time Washington is well up in nraI Of ha al. ss expensive to live. Outside of Washington the average salaries paid all employees is BPS a year. $l51 less than the average within the district.
 Twenty-Five dollars week totals $13O9 a year. In the classified service there is no such salary. the gradation being from S1209 to sl40a. According to the latest fig ures compiled by the United States Civil Service Commission. there are AS gov ernment clerks who receive less than S1400 a year A large number of these are In the $l200 class, a trif1e over $23 a week. There also are BIOS clerks who receive less than s120O or from $2o to S75 month This accounts for 22.553 clerks in this city who receive less than Byrne is paid in New York.
 Various division heads said that they lad no figures to indicate how many of these men are married have families to support Two of them who ventured what they termed guess" said that at least 20 per cent of the men have fam flies. If this guess be near correct it would mean that more than 4000 families of government workers alone are getting along on less than s25 a week.
 In the War Department there are 1900 civilian employees. The annual payroll is | sl,9s4oo0. This includes the $12.0OO paid the secretary and the comfortable salaries drawn by many division heads, But in- cluding these good salaries. the average for the civilian employe is only $1240 a year. a trihe less than s25 a week. There are 701 employees in the Navy Department. not taking into account any of the men employed at the navy yard and their average pay is $1192 This fig ure also includes the salaries of the high officials and owing to the relatively small number of employees, the average clerical salary Is we'll below $11O0. more than s200 year less than the mmgra- ton inspectors at New York thought was impossible minimum for the suste- nance of three persons.
 Average 5000 Year
 Exact figures on the employees of the Agricultural Department were not avail able. but 1t was stated by both the ap- pointment division and the disbursing clerk that the 30oo employees there do no. average more than S1o00 a year in wages.
 The State Department owing to the small number of persons employed, pre- serts the most favoNble showing of any government department. Including the secretary and the heads of the divisions and bureaus, excepting persons employed in the foreign service. there are 222 per- sons who are paid $337,6Go yearSan av- craze of sl521. The clerical force, how ever, Is not generally better paid than in any other departments, the higher av- craze being largely accounted for by the greater proportion of high salaried men ip responsible positions.
 The average pay of employees of the In- terior Department is less than 5000 per year. There are approximately 4600 em- ployes in Washington who are paid, roughly, s4,520,0oO a year.
 Figures prepared at the Postoffice De- partment show that there are 1859 em- rloyes exclusive of officers. The aver age annual wage of these employees is S10s2. If to these figures are added the number of officers and the amount paid then the average salary is s1174.
 The difficulties encountered by govern ment clerks who have families here are made p1ainer when 1t is considered that Byrne's two aunts have reached an age which does not require much expendi- ture. Children would require more cloth ing, food amusement and other things,
 
 Several Courses Open
 There are several courses open to the government clerk who is tied to the aver age s1079. There is the clerk who adds to his wealth by going into debt and then to keep on his feet pays one bill by con tracting another. There is the clerk who rigidly economzes. In this class is in- cluded the average clerk who has to sup port family. There are those who find outside work or who conduct a small business after hours. There are several hundred clerks in Washington who add to their income in this way. There is hardly a profession which does not have it's after-hours members among the clerks.
 While the average salary paid govern ment employees is far from munihcent. un- ion labor officials are prone to point out that many skilled artisans make less money and support families.
 Tn many trades. under existing condi-