The Washington herald., 1916-05-20
Clerks Are Shown the Way.

Two members of the House of Representa-
tives, addressing the mass meeting which follow
ed the annual convention of the United States
Civil Service Retirement Association, gave the
government clerks advice which, if put into sc-
ton and persisted in, eventually may win for
them the long delayed legislation providing a
pension and retirement system. Representative
Bennett, of New York, told all of the advocates
of different plans to agree on a bill and unite
in an appeal for its enactment while Repre-
sentative Tague, of Massachusetts,, urged the
clerks to make a vigorous campaign for the
legislation they desire. The only way to get
anything from Congress, he said was to go
there and deliver a punch"
In effect the clerks were told to agree
among themselves and then put an energetic and
persistent lobby to work That, of course, is the
way to get quick results at the Capitol, but it is
also true that lobbying by the clerks would be
pretty sure to get them into trouble before
their efforts successful; and as plain
matter of fact nothing should be required of the
clerks or their organizations except their in
dorsement of one particular bill that meets all
requirements.
In his address Representative Bennett ad-
mitted that present conditions are undesirable
from every standpoint; they are unfair to the
government he said, because inefficient people
are kept the rolls unfair to the older
clerks because they ought to have their days
and years Of rest, and unfair to the younger
ones because reasonable, legitimate promotion
is prevented. Every word Of this is true and
has been true for years. The entire civil SER
vice system rests upon an unsound basis; its
operation is unbusinesslike extravagant and in
no way comparable with the working organiza-
tions of the big corporations of the country.
nd -iNrip for fbe,,
do not perform, while others are rendering
services for which they are not adequately COM
pensated.
These conditions are due to the failure Of
Congress to do its ordinary duty The civil
service is under the direction and control Of
Congress The Senate maintains a Committee
on Civil Service and Retrcnchment and the House
a Committee Reform in the Civil Service,
but for years there has been no pretense either
of retrenchment or reform. 1t would appear to be
a highly important part OF the work of Con-
gress to prevent the waste OF the taxpayers
money in the executiv, departments and see
that the tens of thousands Of employees in the
civil service receive fair treatment but it has
done neither Competent authorities are of the
opinion that satisfactory pension and retirement
system can be operated without increasing cx-
pendtures, merely by making proper use Of the
IiiOllNy HO" OSlHS pdlu 10 SupeIdnnudtc1 Clerks.
President Taft included a recommendation for
this reform in one Of his annual messages and it
was urged by several members Of his Cabinet
in their annual reports; yet nothing has been
done
Now two $500 members of Congress tell
the $1,000 and $1,000 clerks in the government
departments that they should go to the Capitol
and prod and punch the makers Of the laws
into performing a highly important part of the
work for which the people pay them; otherwise
they will not perform it. 1t sounds like a joke,
OF course, but the two members were quite sin
cere; so perhaps it would be a good plan for
the clerks to prepare their bill and after obtain
ing permission from President Wilson's Cabi-
net, the heads of the departments in which
they are employed, march to the Capitol and de-
mand that justice be done them and that a
stop be put to the misuse of the peoples
money