The Washington herald., 1915-01-03
Wants STRAIGHT
PENSION Plan
Government Clerk" Thinks
Contributory Relief Idea
Is Inadequate.
CLERKS RETURN SMALL
Publication Says Employees Could Ar
rive at Same Results Through
Annuity Insurance.
CLERKS RETURN SMALL

The Government Clerk, a local monthly
paper, published in the interest of Fed
eral employees, denounces editorially the
contributory plan of pensioning in its
January issue, and makes an urgent
appeal for the enactment of straight
pension legislation, deeming it the most
equitable and satisfactory solution of the
problem.
The editorial states that annuity insur-
ance can be handled better by private
insurance companies than by the Fed
eral government.
LAS a matter of principle" reads the
editorial I'VE are in favor OF any form
of civil pensions which will relieve the
situation as il exists at the present time,
but We are afraid the recent speech
of Senator Sterling, of South Dakota, at
the navy yard banquet December 10 did
not materially strengthen the cause for
Contributory pensions. By way of illus
tration he described how fine IL would
be for a Federal employe, under the
contributory plan, who entered the serv-
ice at twenty years of age, and who, at
age of seventy, after contributing a por-
ton of his salary for fifty years, would
then be entitled TO a pension Of about
$500 year for life. Isn't that wonder
full inducement to put before the young
men in the service-a guarantee Of $500
a year pension after fifty years of serv-
ice.
"After listening to that speech, and
then hearing what a so-Called soulless cor
poration like the Bell Telephone Company
is doing for its employees, We are LED
TO believe that half a loaf is better
than no loaf at all. All this bug-a-boo
about their fear of their constituents at
home that Congressman try to put forth
as an excuse for failure to provide pen
sions for the older employees simply is
h. reader haliaVa
that we have developed a species Of
'.weakIings'' in Congress who are afraid
TO voice their own convictions in the
way of a recorded vote.
Raps Sterling Idea.
"A chief clerk of one of the largest
departments in Washington told the
writer that if he was given the power to
do so he would pension every aged em-
ploye in his department at S69 year,
and still run the department without any
added expense TO the department. There
is no doubt that a straight pension plan
would not increase the expenses OF run
ming the departments TO any appreciable
extent and it was a matter of CoHsid-
cradle conjecture as to where Senator
Sterling got his information when be
stated that a straight pension for Fed
eral employees would cost the government
S159. 900 900 per year at the end OF thirty
five years.
"On the salaries that are now being
paid employes Of the government we fail
to see how they could stand having
certain amount deducted from their
salaries on the contributory plan, for
if they could, they might just as well
20 out and purchase an annuity insurance
policy, instead of allowing the govern
ment to take it out of their pay checks.
Annuity irsuran nee can better be handled
IN, Insurance cOupany EXPERTS who have
given the matter careful study than by
any governmental department, and it is
believed that a straight pension on lines
suggested by the Hamill bill will prove
the most equitable and satisfactory solu-
ton OF the question