Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-06-25
Post Office Committee Takes
important Action, Reporting
Griffin Bill to the House.
WOULD RETIRE MEN OVER
IS WHO SERVED rs YEARS
Report Made Over Protest of Chair
man Moon and Against Mr..
Burleson's Advice.

Retirement for postal employees over
sixtyfive years of age who have been
in the government service for twenty
FIVE years is provided for in the Crit
fin bill. reported to the House from
the post office committee yesterday.
This is said to be the first recog
milton ever given by any House COM
mittee of the principle of civil service
retirement on so broad a scale. 1t is
the result of a remarkable outpouring
of sentiment by members of Congress
in favor of civil service retirement.
Almost a hundred members. record
number, appeared before the House
committee on post Offices while the hear
ings were in progress. and urged
favorable report on the measure.
Over Chairman's Protest.
However. the report will be made
over the protest and vote of Chairman
Moon of the committee. and against
the advice of Postmaster General Bur
Lesson. 1t is also understood that many
prominent southern members of the
House outside the committee are OPP
posed to it. The vote on the report
was IL to s. those favoring it being
REPRESENTATIVES Beakes, Griffin. Tague,
Ayres, Randall, STEVENSON. MADDEN;
Griest, Copley, Hamilton. Lafean and
Paige. and those opposing 1t r, neins
Blackmon. Bell and Black: Represen-
tatiye Beakes will write the report.
The bill as reported is exactly as II
was when it left the subcommittee
several weeks ago, with the exception
of an added provision limiting the re-
tirement pay to employees who nave
reached the age of sixty-fve after
twenty-five years of service. or who
have become incapacitated in the line
of duty regardless of age or service.
The retirement feature allows an an
nual payment of $500 to pensioners and
applies to all employees of the postal
service except fourth-ciass postmas-
tiers.
subcommittee Statement.
In a statement made to the full conc.
mittee. the subcommittee, composed of
Representatives Beakes, Griffin and
Paige, said:
Mr. Miles NJ. Dawson, a consulting
actuary of national repute. estimates
that the approximate cost of super
annuation for the first fiscal year will
be $362,250, or three-tenths of ! per
cent of the salaries of all the postal
employees. and that at the end of five
years the cost will be s1,141,sO0, or
nine-tenths of l per cent of the total
salaries. This extra cost, in the opin-
ion of your committee, will be made
up in the increased efficiency of the
service, in the removal from the minds
of the employees of the fear of starva-
ton in old age. and hence the keeping
in the service of many young men. the
pick of the service, who now seek other
employment.
The postal organizations of the
country have given much study to the
subject of~retirement and old-age pen
sions. All of their national organiZa-
tons have Endorsed this bill as the best
of the many plans. In the opinion Of
your committee it will cost the gov
eminent less than most of the other
plans, while doing exact justice to both
the government and the employe. The
growth of public opinion in favor of
such legislation is shown by the fact
that 10S congressman appeared before
your subcommittee in the two days of
its hearings and urged the passage of
this bill.
Recommendations Cited.
I'm the hearings before the commit
tee are included the recommendations
of several postmasters general and
their assistants to the need of legis-
lation of this kind. In the report of
the first assistant postmaster general
for the year ended June 80, 1911, the
statement is MADE.
In the post Office service large
sum of money accrues annually from
the lapsed salaries of employees absent
without pay where no substitute is en-
ployed. where the substitute re-
ceives less than the salary of the alb
sent clerk carrier. and also on ac-
count of failure to fill vacancies i'm
mediately or where the force is re-
duced temporarily during the dull sea-
son. when vacancies occur. The en-
DlOyeS themselves
tribute to this fund, since the absence
of regular employees throws additional
burdens on those remaining on duty
This fund is more than sufficient to
cover the cost of pensions for the su-
persnnuated employees among the
$4,000 clerks and carriers at first and
second class post Offices. There is an
other source of revenue that might
properly be used 20 constitute n pen
sion fund. and that is the money turned
into the Treasury each year from
money orders issued and never pre-
scented for payment
- believe if the actual amounts of
lapsed salaries covering the entire
service were specified and known. to-
Sether with the revenue annually re-
ceived from the unpaid money order
and dead letter accounts, IL would be
more than sufficient to pay for the re-
tirement of the superannuated en-
ployes.
Opinion of Committee.
The subcommittee is of the opinion.