The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1915-07-15

WASHINGTON, July 10, 1915. The ut
ter helplessness of the Democratic Ad-
ministration in handling government f.
nances in anything like businessike
manner has engendered more criticism
and disgust than perhaps any other SIM
gle feature of its activities. 1t foun
ders around like blind horse in bog.
It is apparent that the Republicans will
have to begin in 1917 to rebuild from the
ground up.
For the past two weeks our cap and
bells Secretary of the Navy has been
cavorting over the vaudeville boards
blowing soapbubble schemes for econo-
nv. He had plan to economic in the
building of battleships which the Navy
Department publicity bureau promptly
advertised over the country. 1t looked
fine to the average Democratic office
holder whose ability to 'fgger' is limited
to checking up his monthly salary, but,
as the Providence Journal tersely ex-
pressed it, it contemplates little more
than Encouragement of the red lines in
the ledger. There will not be enough
real economy effected to keep in repair
a submarine of the Daniels type-no
small amount, by the way.
Recently our First Lord of the Ad
miralty announced that l,272 employees
of the Washington navy yard were to
have cents day clipped from their
wages, giving as reason an act of the
Democratic Congress which makes it
necessary for the government to in
crease the wages of 900 employees at the
naval proving grounds at Indian Head.
Some more Peter and Paul financing.
In 1912, at the request of the congress
sional naval committee, Republican
Secretary of the Navy appointed board
consisting of three naval officers and
three mechanics from the Washington
navy yard to investigate the cost of liv-
ing and wages paid at Washington and
various cities designated as in its vicin-
ity. The board found that a ten per
cent increase was justified and included
Indian Head in its finding, as being in
the vicinity. The incoming Democratic
Secretary of the Navy recommended the
sum Of $240, 900 as sufficient to cover the
increase, and threw out Indian Head be-
board. This sum was appropriated by
Congress for the fiscal years 1914 and
1915, and in the latter year the report of
the naval committee made it mandatory
that the Indian Head employees receive
equal benefit with those of the yard at
Washington.
1t is this action of the committee
which Secretary Daniels blames for his
present dilemma. Mr.. N. P. Alias,
president of the association of machin-
lists employed by the government in the
United States, declares, however, that
the $240, 600 recommended by the Secre-
tary was sufficient to increase the Wash
ington yard employees only 7.8 per cent,
and that ''if the Navy Department had
considered that $24O, 900 was not suffi-
Gent to provide the ten per cent increase
intended by Congress, they were at.lib-
erty to ask for more, +" which, obviously,
they neglected to do.
1t is simply another case of an admin
istration official being in wrong again,
and at a:somewhat embarrassing moment
As James O'Connell, president of the
metal trades department of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor, said: ''Since
this country is in strained international
relations it behooves the government to
keep its workers and not let them go in
to private concerns which are looking
for such machinists.