Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-11-06


the commission. following procedure
set at the first hearing yesterday OF
| library workers, ii is understood that
| the salaries asked in many cases APP
| proximated the health and decencyI
budget figures set recently by DR.
Meeker of the bureau of labor sta
tistics.
Has Saved Government
| Considerable treatment of employees
in the government service here is the
one thing that has saved the govern
ment in the past and may save it5in
| the future" Lieut.. P. E. D. Nagle. tele-
| phone, telegraph and cable engineer
| of the Navy Department. told the
commission.
| DO you think a worker in this
service is better off working for the
] government or in private employ?
| Senator Charles B: Henderson OF Ne
vada asked Lieut. Maggie. who is chair
man of the committee which present
ed the plea of the telephone and tele-
graph workers to the commission.
The outside has pressed its work
ers too hard" answered Lieut.. Nagle,
who has seen many years service, he
declared, with the big telegraph and
telephone companies of the country
for many years before coming to the
Navy Department in his present po-
THE only thing about the govern
| ment service that is attractive Is that
the employees are treated with con-
sideration." Lieut.. Nagle continued.
He pointed out that before the war
the government paid telephone and
telegraph operators and other work.
ers better salaries than were paid for
similar work ION the outside"
True of Entire Service.
This was generally true of the entire
clerical service" continued Lieut.. Maggie.
Now this whole situation is reversed.
fiat increases during the war of so per
cent in salaries. The Western Union
Company has just ordered Is per cent
increase for all employees below $4,000.
and the Postal Company an increase of
10 per cent
1.-THE advisory committee has endeav-
ored to present for the consideration of
mendation which are justified by the
necessities Of government service. by
the peculiar conditions existing in the
National Capital and by the existing
situation as regards the supply Of tele-
phone and telegraph employees in the
business world" Lieut.. Maggie stated in
the brief presented the commission.
'In general, 1t may be said that the
salaries Auggested Or recommended are
lower than those Indicated as desirable
by the employees themselves. ands also
lower than the salaries paid for the same
class of work by most business organi-
sations." concluded, Lieut.. Magic.
THE government wants to Get fifty
Thousand dollar men for $4,000" re-
marked Commissioned Henderson.
who presented the brief were w. c.
| Ten Eyck, bureau of markets.. S. j.
Gombers, chief clerk, Department OF
Labor; Capt W. A.. King, War Depart
ment: r. r. Calvert, Navy Depart
i ment; Mrs. Carrie L. Allen. Navy De-
| partment, anud Mrs. Gertrude P. Cor
rick, treasurer.
Receive Less Than Subordinates.
Some of the chief telegraphers in
the departments are getting as much
as $500 less per year than many OF
! the operators under them, it is under
! stood. 1t was brought out at the hear
| ing that the salary recommended to.
day for the position of "superintend-
| emit of wire communication" would be
! about half that paid on the outside.
Various recommendations for changes
| in classification Of telephone and tele-
| lined by the reclassificatfon commits
sion in "class specifications" were
presented by the committee. Code
clerks, code checkers and code build
ers Of the Navy Department, it was
suggested. should come under the
1t was suggested that the title OF
| telephone accountant" be added. az
! the necessity for some such position
f, exists in three or four Of the depart
ments. it was stated. such as the Navy
! War and Treasury departments.
| Lieut. Maggie stated that the reason
the committee did not, on the whole
| recommend salaries for telephone an(
| telegraph workers in the government
| service here as high as now being
paid outside workers was that thu
| committee felt that If it did so the
members Of the Redistribution COM
| mission would think we had gone w
| in balloon"
Senator A. A. Jones of New Mexico
| chairman of the Redistribution com
mission. announced that IN de1erence
| to the situation presented yesterday
| by library workers. who asked thai
| their salary recommendations be sub
| mitted in confidence, similar procedur.
would be followed in hearing Other
! services.
No more hearings will be held thi,
week. Hearings Of other services IL
| the government will be held mex
week, services and dates to be an
nounced by the commission.
| Hearing OF the community, recrea
! tional and educational service. which
includes all the public schools of thu
District, has tentatively been set To-
November Is and 81. but 1t is hopet
that the entire service can be heard OIL
| the former date.
! Especially pleasing to the commits
sion, 1t is understood. proved the as
| surance made yesterday by DR.. Put
nam, president of the District of Co
lumbia Library Association. and back
ed today by members of the telephon,
and telegraph service committee, tina
the classifications as made by thecom
mission to date are sensible"