Evening star., 1918-07-02
HOUSE PASSES BILL.
| FOR $992,058,993
Urgent Deficiency Measure,
Carrying Many D. c. Items,
Sent to Senate.
s712,223,61o FOR ARMY

The new urgent deficiency bill. car
ryins s9s2.O5s.s93. which includes
1s712.223.61O for clothing for the Army,
which was introduced yesterday
morning, was passed by the House
last evening. This Is the last Of the big
Esupply measures. 1t went to the Sem
ate today.
! The large sum for clothing was
made necessary because no provision
was made for 1t in the twelve-billion-
dollar Army appropriation bill. Chair
man Sherley of the appropriations
committee explained that the War De-
u Rrtment planned to maintain a
three supply Of clothing and
equipment for the soldiers in inland
states in addition to the months sup
ply at seaboard.
Housing Situation Discussed.
In discussing the request for an ad-
3ditional appropriation of $100,000.000
| for housing facilities for war workers.
Chairman Sherley, in charge of the
llbill, spoke of the housing situation in
Washington. He said:
'The situation is frequently not as
i bad as pictured. Take the housing
| situation in Washington. If the COM
| mittee on appropriations had wanted
| to be stampeded and had listened to
a lot of talk that came to it in
formally and to the statements in the
press we would have believed that
the whole machinery of the govern
ment would stop If we did not build
houses Immediately to house en-
ployes here. Yet we have managed
to get along fairly well. In point
nf 10 20 a
munity of any size ever reaches the
saturation point in connection with the
housing of people. There has to be
disposition on the part of people who
can do it to open up their homes and
take people in and help extend the
present facilities to the new need
The House raised the limit on al
lowance per diem for labor in the
National Botanic Garden to meet the
labor situation.
Salary Increases at g. P. o.
In providing for increases in sal
aries at the government printing Of
fee Chairman Sherley explained the
elimination Of the proviso which re-
quired the public printer to get au-
thority from Congress.
Increases were as follows:
Office of superintendent of docu-
ments: For the following employees
during the fiscal year 1919, to be in
lieu Of the positions of stockkeepers.
helpers, assistant messenger, mailers.
skilled laborers, unskilled laborers,
janitress. folders and messenger
boys, provided in the sundry civil ap-
preparation act for the fiscal year
1919: Four stockkeepers at $1,126.80
each, 90 helpers at $1.o01.6o each.
II unskilled laborers at $S76.40 each
and % messenger boys at s500.s0 each;
in all, s9s,033.2O.
Chairman sherley's Statement.
In his statement Chairman sher1ey
said:
ut developed, after we had in
creased the wages of the employees
under the superintendent of docu-
to make them correspond with the
wages paid similarly to other en-
ployes over there. that the public
printer had increased the wages of
the other employees. which made nec-
essary an increase again Of their
We did not want to continue to play
fast and loose and have to increase
one class as fast as they increased
another. and so 1t was suggested in
committee that this limitation be put
on. But the public printer has pre-
sented to the committee since then
the fact that the matter would per-
haps embarrass him unduly and un-
justifably, as he is compelled from
time to time to adjust some Of the
wages there in order to meet condi-
tions that exist in the printing trade.
We therefore have concluded 1t to be
not wise to carry as strict limita-
tion as this. But we hope that the
public printer will not think that
every time an increase Is made by
Congress he is warranted in a further
increase OF other employees. with the
constant boosting up of wages. With
the understanding that such action by
him will not be taken without some
knowledge on the part OF Congress as
to what is proposed to be done, now
move to strike out this Limitation"