The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-03-24
House Committee Hears That
Over 0ne-third Are Paid
Less Than $940.
STRIKING EVIDENCE HEARD
Treasurer Of Employees Union
Alleges Discrimination in
Service Exists.

Immersed by successive stories OF
Government employees who are strug-
Cling to live on meager salaries here,
the subcommittee of the House Labor
Committee considering the Nolan bill
win ask the chief clerks of the various
executive departments in Washington to
furnish a table showing how many Gov
eminent clerks are receiving less than
81 0S0 a year.
Congressman Nolan. a member OF the
subcommittee. has decided to ask for
this information following the testi-
mony of Miss Florence Ethcridge. treas
urer of the Federal Employees Union,
who laid before the subcommittee late
yesterday additional stories OF the up
hill battle of underpaid employees.
Less Than $40.
Mr.. Nolan's bill provides for mini
mum salary of 800 per month. or 31,OS0
a year, but Miss Etheridge told the COM
mittee that her tabulation shows that
"Out of the classified and unclassifed
employees in the departments here "a 5-10
per cent are getting along on salaries
of less than $40 year"
Mr.. Nolan said he collected several
years ago statistics showing the num-
Der of employees getting less than $50
per month but the subcommittee will
ask that these figures be brought up
10 date.
Miss Etheridge read to the committee
yesterday afternoon several letters from
underpaid employees. One told the story
OF s720 employe. who said:
Il have lost my savings, have lost
my home, / have lost my wife, | have
next to lost my children-and l have
almost lost courage to continue the
struggle"
Looks for Reunion.
His home. this writer explained, had
been taken from him when the increased
cost Of living made 1t impossible for him
TO keep up the payments contracted
when the living cost was lower. Ills
wife. the man said, finally became dis
satisfied with the constant struggle and
left husband and Children. Then the
father put the children in a charitable
Institution and continued to work at
k720 per year.
Passage OF the Nolan bill, he said,
might mean the reunion of his family.
Lars w. Erickson, an unskilled la
borer getting 81 day. without sick or
annual leave. related the difficulties OF
keeping the wolf from his door. He
Gives His Costs.
1T has been impossible to make ends
meet" he said. After paying ST a
month for rent, S26 for food. "a for wash
ing, So for insurance, and ~ for the boys
Sunday school, I have 81 or IS left to
buy clothes, drugs. household wares.
and other things for three persons We
have to buy the same food as you gen.
tIemen; there is no cheap food now, no
poor mans food. l teTS you there is
every incentive for a man or woman so
situated to do things they should not
do.
Miss Etheridge told the II )use sub
committee that the great need among
the clerks Is organization into the em-
ployes' union so that their case may
be properly presented to Congress-.
Dis' alton Alleged.
Miss FL aid the Federal EN-
ployes' t.. .-ad received great
many letters ii response to appeals
made at the last meeting OF the organi-
zation and in last Sundays newspapers
from people receiving less than a living
wage, who urged the nactmcnt OF the
Nolan bill q gave actual personal ex.
periences OF their efforts To live OH the
email wages paid by the Government to
, many of them.
The larger proportion of the letters
were turned over 10 the committee at
real evidence of ths neeos of these
people, to be placed in the record
anonymously, though in many cases
the. writers of the letters have given
their names.
These letters might 10 grouped in two
classes. she said, those from people
employed as laDorGr' wItchn"n, mes
sengers and atten1Gnts and hos from
me cle.tfs and persons employed as
skilled Hurkmen.
Many If the 'et.eTs laid stress upon
conditions of d's?r.m'nrIi1r ard undue
favor shown certain employees at the
expense of others. This charge wus
probably true in eight cases out of ten
ab almost anybody who has had ex.
perience and knowledge OF the Govern
nient service knows that such discrimI.
nation exists in certain parts of the
Government service particularly.
Miss EtheTidge stated that II was the
intention of the Federal Employees Union
70 take up these matters at a later
date and by cooperation with the
supervisory employees and bureau chiefs
secure the alienation of these cuhdi.
tfons, which arc regarded not so much
al the fault of the men occupying these
Positions as of the circumstance and
practices which have grown up around
them.