The Washington times., 1912-08-15
SAYS THREE
CAN LIVE ON $25
Secretary Reverses Ruling of New York Immigrant Of
fcials Who Declared Amount insufficient for One
Weeks Support of Family.

Can three persons live on s25 a week
Secretary Nagel, of the Department OF
Commerce and Labor, thinks they can
and on his belief reversed the action OF
the immigration officials at New York,
who barred Mary and Cecile Fleming
from the port on the ground that their
future support would be the SIS a week
earned by John f. Byrne, newspaper
reporter.
There are several thousand Govern
ment clerks in Washington who know
that three and sometimes six or eight
persons can live on SIS week, as the
average salary in the classified service
in Washington is s1,079 a year. or s20.7t
per week.
The question determined by Secretary
Nagel was whether the two women,
aged ftfty-six and fifty-eight, both aunts
OF the newspaper man, were nkely 10
become public charges. He decided
There are Government employees who
work for only $40 a year, $40 month.
They support themselves, although 1t
is not known that any OF these en-
ployes support families on this wage.
In every department. however, there
are a few employees who have shown
practical aversion to race suicide and
who, as a result, are taking care OF
large families on less money than young
The attitude OF departmental or divi-
sion heads is that forced by existing
circumstances. In reply to the question
of whether three persons can live on
s25 a week the em,nently practical reply
is that they can II they can get 1t: II
they cannot they live on less, and they
wave their hand toward various sections
of Washington. where Government
clerks live to indicate where one can
obtain first-hand information.
Not Many Luxuries.
The families who live on less than s25
week may not have many luxuries,
but they are not in want nor have they
be en- forced to even a low standard OF
living. At the same time Washington
is well up in the front rank of cities
where 1t is expensive to live.
Outside of Washington the average
salary paid all employees is 1928 year
S15l less than the average within the
District.
Twenty-Five dollars a week amount tc
1880 year. In the classified service
there Is no such salary, the graduation
being from $1,000 to 81, 400. According tc
the latest figures compiled by the United
States Civil Service Commission there
are 3,445 Government clerks who receive
less than $l,400 a year; very large
number of these are in the $1,000 class
a trifle over $23 per week. There are
also 9,l0S clerks who receive less thar
81, 200 for from 500 to SIS a month. Thi!
accounts for 22,553 clerks in this city
who receive less than Byrne is paid ir
| New York.
or this number 1900 employees are
males.
Various division heads said today tha
they had no figures to indicate how
many of these men arc married ol
have families to support. Two OF them
who ventured what they termed
| guess said that at least 25 per cen
of the men have families. II thi
| guess" is accepted II would mean tina
/ over 1900 families are getting along oI
less than $25 a week
In the War Department.
In the War Department there are 1,60
civilian employees. The annual pay rol
is $l,9S4,OO0. This includes the $500
paid the Secretary and the comforta bl'
salaries drawn by many division heads
But, including these good salaries, th'
| average for the civilian employe is onl.
$1,240 a year, a trife less than S25 ;
week.
There are 701 employees in the Nav.
| Department, not taking into accoun
| any of the men employed at the Nav!
Yard, and the average pay of them i
$1,192. This figure also includes the sal
aries of the high officials and, owini
to the relatively small number OF EN-
| plovas he auerap cleripal salary II