Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-29
Extra-Hour Service Called
Legislative Robbery by
Representative A. T. Smith

| The Borland amendment is in my
! opinion. nothing more or less than an
! attempt, by legislative robbery. to
exact an extra hours service each day
| from the department clerks. said Rep
resentative Addison T. Smith Of Idaho
today. Il believe that I am well in
| imposed upon the department clerks
and the demands made upon them by
| their division chiefs who are charged
with the responsibility of getting out
the work. as is any representative IN
Congress.
II do not believe that 10 per cent of
the clerks are able to save any money
| for unexpected needs or the purchase
OF house from their meager salaries,
because of the increasing cost OF Nv
ing and the necessity OF spending more
on account of the character of their
work and environments for clothes and
living expenses for themselves and
families. than those in some other
walks of life where the compensation
Is higher.
Their work is most exhaustine. both
mentally and physically, and while 1t is
true that many members of Congress.
including myself. work ten or twelve
hours day, work is not nearly as
irlisome or eXhauSting. as We are not
compelled 10 sit at desk in Il stuffy
room for seven hours. but have an OPP
portunity of moving about.
1T is rather poor encoura cement to
the clerks when they are notified that
they must donate an extra hour each day
to the government without additional
compensation, and the proposed plan will
| not have endency, if adopted. to secure
from them any more work or closer APP
plication to their duties.
Resentment of Contract.
no
of i'll health or age. are performing the
limit of work now, and if an extra hour
should be placed upon them it would in
many instances mean that they would
soon be totally disabled for the perform
ance of the duties required of them.
Every department clerk, when he
takes his oath of office, enters into a
contract with the government to render
seven hours work per day at the en-
trance salary. with the tacit assure nee
that he will be advanced as vacancies
occur. To require additional hours
service without additional pay is an
arbitrary resentment of the contract
and could not be enforced in any court
of justice were the contract between
individuals. 1t is simply an arbitrary.
unreasonable and dishonest method of
taking from large class of people
service without compensation.
What we should do is to increase the
salary of department clerks receiv-
ing less than $4,000 at least Is per
cent: enact a law establishing a con-
tributory pension system, and provide
that 5 per cent of each clerks salary
should go into pension fund to retire
the clerks who are too lnflrm or ad-
Such plan would provide for the
promotion of deserving clerks and IN
vite into the service bright. active
young men and women who would be
a proper discharge of the important
duties imposed upon them.
Important Work Poorly Paid.
AN intelligent administration of the
laws requires as much preparation and
experience, and as high a degree of
ability, as making the laws, and it is
mistake to assume because of the small
salaries that are being paid the employees
of the government that their work is moi
of the greatest importance.
II personally know men in the de-
partments receiving from $1,000 to
$1,000 year who. if they were IN prl-
waite employment, would receive fve
fact that they are established here and
interested in their work. and are rear
ing families. they hesitate to give up
their positions to enter private employ
ment.
81 am utterly opposed to the Borland
amendment, and am doing all / can to
convince my colleagues that its enact
ment would work great injustice upon
a very deserving class of people. 1t is
unfortunate that we are living under an
administration that is so short of rev.
enue that it is proposed to resort to
what I think would be legislative rob-
berry of the government employees to
get money to prevent a larger def
cheney than is now staring in the