The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-12-22
SALARY RAISES
TO TOTAL $4,000
Council Will BE Asked TO Pro-
vide That Amount in 1914
Budget.
FIRST INCREASE SINCE 1907
Crcnshaw Defends Raises as
Necessary to Meet Higher
Cost of Living.

When the Council Finance Commit
tee meets next month to put in shape
the city's 1914 budget. it will be asked
To provide for salary raises to munic-
ipal officers and employees. aggrcEatinE
$4,000. y large proportion of the
amount is accounted for by increases
in pay to per diem employees of the
various city departments, recommend
cd by the Administrative BOARD. \
comparatively smaller proportion Of
the aggregate increase is in the form
OF increased salaries to officers. orig
mating in the Council or Finance
Committee.
Acting Auditor Crenshaw has asked
the Administrative Board for :, dc
authorized by ii. and the board will
prepare the statement shortly. a pro-
visional statement of all increases
prepared by Mr.. Crcnshaw from the
daily record of the board. and from
the minutes of the Finance Commit
tee show that they viii aggregate in
the nsiEhborhood OF $4,000.
Raise Comparatively Small.
Widespread Comment--somc Of it
advcrse-on the boards action in rec
omncndiuE Wholesale increases to
employees OF practically every depart
mcnt. appears to many Council linen. in
the light OF economic conditions. to I've
little justified. The rate Of increase to
employees of the city, 1T is claimed, is
considerably below the rate OF wage
increase in private occupations. ana
lower also than the yearly increase in
the cost OF living.
The city will. in 1914, pay out in sal
aries to its officers and employees about
sl.5oo. Geo. Compared with this amount
the $4,000 in increases now awaiting
ratification by the Council is modest.
The proportion OF increase on the basis
OF the entire city pay roll, Will be less
than 3 per cent, while the salary raises
of individuals will, except in few
cases. fall below 10 per cent.
We are apt to lose sight Of tho fact
that this il the first general increase
IN salaries since 1907 said Mr.. Crcn-
shaw. in that year the Council au-
thorizcd raises aggregating $4,000
since then. with only few exceptions.
the men have worked year after year
without an increase in pay. although
the cost of living has steadily climbed"
In 1904. when Richmond. in com
mon with the whole country, WAS cX
pericncinS a remarkable wave of pros
pcrity. the Council voted pay increases
amounting TO about $4,000. The year
of plenty was followed by the lean
years. which eliminated in the panic
OF 1907 when the cry for money
caused the Council again to loosen its
purse strings and dole out $4,000
more.
LAS a general rule" said MIR. Cren-
shaw. the demand for increases in pay
parallels the steady rise in the cost OF
living. City employees, like all other
employees, must pay the increased
prices for the necessities OF life. Rail
road corporations and other great in
dustrial enterprises with isolated cX
ccptions. include in their annual re-
ports this year sweeping increases in
Ia flngi, alnN- i..l,
have their origin in the economic de-
mands OF the times.
II do not regard the raises in pay to
employees of the city, now pending. AS
excessive. II is the first general in
crease since 1897, and the cost OF liv-
ing has since that year incrca sod TO a
larger proportion than will be offset by
the increases. if they are granted"
The general increases OF the present
year differ in character from the i'm
creascs OF 1907 and 1891. In both of
those years Il large proportion OF the
raises went TO officers already draw
ing substantial per annum salaries.
The salary OF the Mayor. for example,
was in 1901 raised from 81. 900 10 $500
year Only II negligible proportion
of the aggregate increases asked this
year is destined for officers, most of
the money going To per diem and
monthly employees.
since IIbi lntlc mas Dtcn al 90 per
cent increase in the gross amount OF
the city's pay roll. In that year the
city paid about Sl.0O0.OO0 to its EN-
ploycs OF every class. Since then
there has been an increase in the mum
Der OF employees from 1000 TO nearly
900, with an increase in the pay roll
of about $l.50o.000. The ratio between
the number Of employees and the
amount paid cut in wages has remain
ed bout The same.
The unVaiNinG ratio between ON
ploNcs and pay roll illustrates the gen
erai fact that the Council has uni
iormly followed the policy Of raising
its employees rather than its officers.
The salaries OF the latter have remain
ed a sort OF fixed overhead charge,
against which were balanced the pay
increases To employees TO preserve u
uniform ratio, since 1904. between the
number OF men employed by the city
and the amount paid them in wages.
The 30 PEI cent increase in the mum
h"r Of city employees since 1901 is ac-
ccuntcn for chiefly by the last anncXa-
ton, which doubled the Incorporated
area Of the city, and the steady In
crease In population. Since 1907. for
the city schools have increased from
34t to 800 Like increases in the
working force were made necessary in
the Stree; Cleaning Engineering ana
othcr departments.