Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-01-27
RETIREMENT BILL
GOES TO THE HOUSE
Vote of Committee Was
Unanimous-EarIy Action
Expected by Friends.
DETAILS !. OF MEASURE

The Keating civil service retirement
bill was favorably reported to the
House today after a unanimous vote Of
the committee on interstate and for
eign commerce. Friends of the meas
ure hope to get action upon the bill,
which is already before the Senate, at
this session of Congress.
The Heating bill provides for re-
tirement of the large mass Of civil
service employees at sixty-eight years
of age. Mechanics. city and rural let
ter carriers would be retired at sixty
five and railway mail clerks at sixty.
Postmasters and employees of light
houses and coast guard services are
not included in the bill.
Retirement would not be compuI-
sorry during the first ten years of the
operation of this law. After ten
years retirement would become COM
pulsory at seventytwo. sixty-nine
and sixty-four years for the respec-
tive groups.
Maximum Is $500; Ne Minimum
The maximum provided in the bin
is $500 and there is no minimum. Il
has been estimated that about SO per
cent of those retired would receive
the maximum and that the average
annuity would be about $500. The
bill carries an appropriation of S1ee,-
600 for carrying out the purposes OF
the act
In the report today by Chairman
Sims it is pointed out that for more
than thirty years the question or
making adequate retirement provision
for the superannuated and disabled
civil service employees has received
serious consideration of executive and
administrative officials of the goyerfi-
ment. Recommendations of cabinet
officers, bureau chiefs and super
visory officials of every executive de-
partment, urging retirement legisla-
ton, have been included in the annual
reports to Congress. Chairman Sims
pointed out that in 1912 President
Taft gave his unqualified approval
and made special recommendation to
Congress urging enactment OF re-
tirement law. -
Both Political Parties for Idea.
The report reviews the fact that
both political parties in their platforms
have been committed to a retirement
system
The history of retirement legisla-
tion 10 reviewed. The report then
says:
This bill is the nrst attempt to pro-
vide plan the cost Of which shall be
borne equally by the government ead
its employees upon the basis OF the
half -and-half principle"
Chairman Sims called attention that
the principles of this bill were unaili-
mously indorsed by the American Fed
Grafton Of Labor at its last annual con-
vention and subsequently indorsed by
practically all national and interna-
tional labor organizations.
The committee reports this bill as "a
business proposition" 1t says that It
is conceded that the government ie now
maintaining by indirection, at least, a
costly pension system by retaining In
the public service aged employees long
beyond that period of usefulness, and
whose services viii not be dispensed
with on humanitarian grounds. A re-
port recently made on the civil service
covering the subject of inefficiency due
to superannuation demonstrated con-
clusfveiy. the Sims report says. that
the annual loss to the government on
this account was approximately ST.,
000, 600.