The sun., 1919-07-31
.HYLAN BACKS SOME
CITY SALARY PLEAS
Mayor Especially Anxious to
See Street Cleaners Get
Increase in Pay.
NO RELIEF FOR MANY
Civil Service Forum Pushes
Plan to Obtain Higher
Wage Scale.
NO RELIEF FOR MANY

Elevation of salaries of certain
grades or groups of city employees who
are deemed most deserving and continu-
ance of the present stipend in other
cases seems to be the programme of the
Board of Estimate, judging from re-
marks made by Mayor Hylan and other
members Of the Board yesterday. The
Mayor mentioned especially the street
cleaners. He added that there wasn't
the slightest doubt that many city
workers were not receiving enough
money to live decently and that 'this
class of employees has my heartfelt
sympathy" He said he had asked
heads of departments under his control
to give him list of those who should
receive increases, with the reasons.
1t was indicated elsewhere that the
firemen were not slated for more pay
for the reason that they had recently
got the two platoon system, entaillng
heavy expense to the city. In reply to
this the firemen point out that the two
platoon schedule, admittedly enjoyable,
has been put into force In only a third
of the fire houses.
The police, particularly the detectives,
figure more seriously in the official cal
culations regarding wage increases than
the firemen. 1t will be found, however,
that the requests of the patrolmen and
the tiremen are a combination AFFAIR
and that each body OF uniformed men
will be ready to stand with the other.
How much of a figure the fact that the
firemen are now part of the American
Federation of Labor will cut is a mat
ter of conjecture.
Plan to Get Increases.
Meanwhile the Civil Service Forum,
In which the whole mass of city en-
ployees is represented by elected dele
gates, Is going on with its plan to bat
ter the defenses of the Estimate Board
by starting campaign to get the pub
lie on the side of the salary petitioners.
Plans for sounding and moving public
sentiment by means of mass meetings
comparison Of city and outside wages
and other demonstrations were discussed
last night at meeting of the Forums
salary committee. The chairman was
Joseph Courtney. president of the Police
Sergeants Association. Others there
were Frank ]. Prial, Deputy Comp
troller and president of the Civil Ser
vice Forum; Inspector Dominick Henry
president of the Inspectors and Captains
Benevolent Association of the Police De-
partment; Capt. John Ayres, pres mt
of the police Honor Legion; Mrs. Sulli-
van and Mrs. Whitehurst. repre- ,nting
the police matrons Capt. John j. Wal
dron. president of the Uniformed Ont
GERS Association of the Fire Depart
ment. and Joseph Beere. spokesman for
the citys 1000 employees who are paid
by the day. There was no dissent from
the suggestion that the time had come
for concerted action by all classes of
the civil service. 1t will be discussed in
detail at another meeting on Monday
evening.
Meanwhile the men and women of all
departments are watching to see what
wage recommendations are made by the
department heads in the budget requests
which will be in the hands of the Board
of Estimate early in August.
After speaking yesterday of classes OF
employees with whose condition the city
should be concerned, Mayor Hylan said :
81 feel that something ought to be
done for them. With this purpose in
view have asked all the commission
ers in my departments to submit to me
statements giving the names and records
of employees who, in their opinion.
should receive increases, with reasons
for the increases. There are many city
employees whose loyalty should be re-
garded. They have given the city the
best that is In them, working nights to
bring their departments up to high
standard of efficiency.
Hylan Rakes Teachers.
'If 1t hadn't been for the mandatory
laws passed at Albany increasing
salaries of ono class of city employees
without our CONSENT refer Of course
to the teachers-we could have been
more liberal with employees In all other
departments. The teachers Increase
will cost us millions next year. EN-
ployees who don't get increases may
thank certain lobbyists among the teach
ing force"
He praised particularly the loyalty OF
the street cleaners and their volun-
teering for work in the cemeteries last
winter when influenza ravaged the city
and many OF the regular grave diggers
were III.
A salary of $500 n year. for which
they are now striving. has long been the
goal of the New York patrolmen. They
got up to $3.50 this year and hope to
climb the rest OF the way on January
/. 1920, when all the increases that are
made will become effective.
In Chicago that figure has already
been attained Chicago's average police
pay is better than New York's. Ser
geants get $4,000 and lieutenants S2,500
in Chicago, against $3.50 and S2,45o
here. New York and Chicago captains
get the same, $4,000. Some of the cities
which pay their policemen less than does
New York exact only l per cent. OF each
mans salary for the pension fund; New
York exacts per cent. The policemen
of Detroit pay nothing for pensions. De-
troit gives its captains $3.50 year,
lieutenants $1,000, sergeants $3.50 and
patrolmen $1,000.