davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16
Purpose of Proposed Law.

The purpose of this proposed leg
islation is to abolish the inequltaDle.
cumbersome and expensive system OF
pensionng employees that new OBTAINS
in the administrative departments OF
the government and establish in ITS
stead a uniform, scientific and eco
nomic system for the retirement of
superannuated employees on annuitles
based on age and length of service.
The existing pension system con-
sists simply of retaining on the pay
roll employees of long years of service
who by reason of advanced age ana
its attendant infirmities are no longer
efficient or competent. This pract1ce
prevails in all of the departments.
Notwithstanding lack of candGr IN
some instances officially to admit II.
There is no warrant in law for the
practice. and although. by its long
continuance and universal appllca
ton. it has the force of custom. 1t IS
unfair to force upon chiefs the re-
sponsibility for such a course. which
both inpairS the efficiency and IN
creases the expense of their divisions
or bureaus
The service pays full salaries for
little work or work so inefficient that
the time of another employe is con-
stunned in checking up and correct
ing it. Competent employees on the
same piece of work are retarded by
the incompetent. On the other hand,
the beneficiary of the informal pen
sion lives in constant dread because
of the uncertainty of his tenure, and
in consequence is even more inefh-
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16

6ldn Illus OuppolIelS.
The second plan has found some
supporters among those who deal
with practical subjects simply as
theories They argue that inasmuch
as the employees are the sole bene-
fciaries, they should be the sole con-
tributors. These people overlook the
fact that the government is also
beneficiary. not only in an increased
efficiency in service, which has real
value IN dollars and cents. but also in
the actual saving Of money by the
abolition of the unofficial pension
system now in vogue, as outlined
above.
But the insuperable objection to
this plan is the fact that under eX
listing scale of pay, and existing liv-
ing conditions. 1t is a financial impos-
sibility for the employees alone to
finance retirement fund. Conse-
quently. insistence upon this plan is
in effect opposition to any retirement
system at all.
The third plan. under which the
employees and the government both
contribute to the retirement fund, is
the plan embodied in the provisions Of
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16
Dual Contradictory Plan.

There are three plans for the
maintenance of retirement fund:
First. the cost thereof to be borne
entirely by the government. second
the cost to be borne entirely by the
employees Third. both the govern
ment and the employees to contribute
to the found
wherever retirement wholly sup
ported by the government mas eN
listed. the tendency has been irres's,-
ible to meet demands for increase IN
wages with the suggestion that tne
prospective annuity was IN ri'",t
deferred payment of wages Such Il
pension plan was adopted IN 1917 u!
the British government win I'M
eventual result that those classes OF
employees coming within the scope
of its provisions received from -
per cent to ~ per cent Tess WAGES
than other government employees not
embraced in the pension plan. VINO
were doing similar character or WORK.
Furthermore. under straight pen
sion system only those who remain
long enough in the service to receive
pensions benefit who number abou'
one in seven of all persons IN the
service. while the other six lose IN"
contributions to the fund winch theS
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16
Existence Well Known.

THE existence of this Illicit pension
system is known to and acauiesced in
not only by the heads of the depart
ments, but by Congress. At least no
serious endeavor to wipe it out has
been made within memory. This fact
constitutes an admission of the justice
of the claim that the empioye who has
devoted the better part Of his life to
the service is entitled to consideration
in his old age. In industry this is to
a large degree an accepted principle.
Even those who would deny its validity
practice it in their personal relations.
il would never occur to them to dismiss
from their households without provision
a servant who had been in their employ
for a generation.
And from every other consideration.
there is an increment of value in the
continuity of service by faithful en-
ploye over a long span Of years. which
does not exist in the services OF
series of employees who come and go
during the same period and who draw
the same pay. For this value the en-
ploye is entitled TO compensation in the
form of an annuity.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16
Accurate Cost Problematical.

1T is impossible, by reason of con-
slant turnover in the personnel.
changes in the numerical forces in va
rious departments due to war activi-
ties and the prospective return to
peace basis. and other causes. to base
estimates of the cost of the proposed
retirement system on absolutely ac-
curate data. In connection with the
various plans proposed from time 10
time in the past twenty years numer-
Gus fluctuations have been maze ana
cost estimate worked out These are
available. but because of changed con-
ditions are no longer reliable. The
subjoined estimate was prepared after
careful scrutiny of all available data
by Mrs John S Beach of the pension
bureau.
Estimate of Cost.
Estimate the cost of retirement under
the provisions of the Lehlbach bill Oh.
II. 3i49). assuming there are 800. 900 en-
ployes in the classified civil service ana
that 400 will retire at once. 1000 VIII
retire each year during the next hVe
years and 500 each year during the next
four years. Contributions are figured at
the rate Of 21a per cent on the average
annual salary of S1,13S. Refunds are es-
timated on average contributions:
/
contributions from 100000 en-
Annuities for $500
nuitants at 500 each. So, 9O4 900
Refunds to 20. 900 en-
poyes separated from
- ATS. 800
surnlus Observation-Disclosures. 1855. 200
Available surplus .......-....... 81. ,'6, 800
C'ontributions Observation-Disclosures. $685.. 900
Total .s12, s91 500
Annnities for 74OO an
nuitants at 500 each. 81 .J14 900
Refunds to 20.O0O en-
ployes separated from
- 5.os3 600
SURPLUS Observation-Disclosures. 1888 500
Available surplus .............. Sl.s2s.oN
contributions Observation-Disclosures. S, $50. 600
Total $16, 1863 800
Aunuities for 400 an
nuitants at $50 each S., 124, 900
Refunds to 10000
pIoyps separated from
the service ........... $4,000
5,947 800
SURPLUS Observation-Disclosures O.416. 900
Fourth year
Available surplus ............. SIC. 900
Contributions Observation-Disclosures. $685., 600
Total .s1s,s51, 900
Annuities for 9.400 an
nuitants at 500 each. IS, 1874 600
Refunds to 10000
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16
SAMPLE TABLE OF ANNUITIES.
Plan Finds Supporters.

have indirectly made by the curtall
ment of their earnings.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16

ical eXaminatio recurring annually.
and upon recovery of the annuitant
the payments cease.
THE annuities are not assignable
nor subject to civil process.
For administrative expenses the
sum of 100000 is authorized.
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16
Provisions of the Bill.

at includes all employees in the CLASH
fed civil service of the United States.
and certain other classes of employees
who are not technically within the
classified service. but whose character
o! work and tenure is substantially the
same. 1t also includes the employees of
the municipal government Of the Dis
trict of Columbia appointed directly by
the Commissioners, excluding, however.
school teachers, policemen and firemen.
The retirement age is fixed at sixty
five years. except for mechanics. city
Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-16
bunlStcad' SW0rmSyrup

ITO children an anrel Of mercy" Whero
worms are present and directions followed
1T NEVER FAILS. One bottle DESTROYED 132
worms. Stood the test for sixtv years. Sold
everywhere bv mail soc q bottle.
Est .. A. voorhees,. 81. d.. PHILADELPHIA. J
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25

clude the word "self-government'
itself; then meeting, leader, trade
union and poll. "Strike" is used, al
though perfectly good French
word exists-"greve"; but lockout
has no native rival. A man who has
been rejected for membership Of a
CLUB" has been "blackboule.
The English writer likens this in
vasion to the wholesale adoption of
French military terms into English
which took place in the second half
of the seventeenth century. The
English origin Of railways is hon
ored by the naturalization of words
like "rail," wagon" tunnel" and
"bogie"; "tramway" is also good
French, and there is the "paquebot," "
an obvious corruption of "packet-
boat"
Needless to say, not all these Eng
lish words have acquired French
citizenship during the war; many of
the adoptions are Of ante-bellum
origin. But the war and the increase
Of intercourse have accelerated the
r,ovanent
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25
Hapgood Forgot the Senate

Whether or not the explanation
given by Haruey's Weekly of the
movements of Mr.. Norman Hapgood
be wholly accurate, it is at least
plausible. 1t is no strain upon the
imagination to picture him as taking
advantage Of his opportunities at
Copenhagen to foster the interests
of his beloved Russian Bolshevists.
The trivial circumstance that he
might create the most serious COM
plications would probably not deter
him. Duty would lead him on. The
intelligentsia is earnest, however it
lacks intelligence and that sense of
proportion which is called common
sense. The sad case of young Mr..
Bullitt is startling illustration.
Mr.. Hapgood, who prides himself
upon thinking internationally, natur-
ally deemed his duty as American
Minister to Denmark subordinate to
his duty as friend of humanity
Bolshevist brand. 1t has often been
noted that pacifsts of his type tend
to become inoculated with ideas
enthusiastically Teutonc. Wher-
ever their argument begins, it ends
with sympathy for poor Germany.
Now, tho 4seRine-Trotzky combine
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25

that extent abnormal. So, perhaps, they
should not be blamed for their unreason-
able ideas. They maintain that their
personal fame, won before their mar
rages, is endangered by their using
their husbands names; but is that
any reason why the lady known on the
stage as Miss La Toilette should not be
Mrs. Middleton in private life? There is
nothing to prevent an actress or an au-
thor from being known professionally
by her maiden name, nor is there any
good reason why she should not be
known, in private life, by her husbands
name. The arguments presented against
the custom are feeble in the extreme
But, after all, the great majority of
our people are so sane in their outlook
on life that the views of our radical
ladies are not social menace but
merely an interesting example of how
wrong-headed intellectual women can be.
ROSE H. PHELPS.
Hackensack, N. j., Dec 20, 1919.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25
ployee. An ounce Of it is worth the

ployee. An ounce Of it is worth the
whole category Of reform.
This is not the counsel of the mil
lennium-it is now fast approaching
1000 years since the first Christmas,
and goodness knows that many more
thousands of years seem inevitable
before the message of that morning
becomes the way of our earth. But
it is to live as best we can in this
confused, cheerful, sad, heroic, pro-
sale, advancing, retreating, side
stepping world. 1t may or may not
get us ahead. 1t is, in any event, all
we can do. 1t is to follow the star.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25
The Spirit of Stern Economy

The business house which with
drew an intended bonus to its women
workers when it found they intended
to spend the money on furs or other
luxuries no doubt believes it has
taught salutary lesson in thrift,
and perhaps it has; yet the moral
may not be quite as plain. There
are times when it seems more i'm
portant to have what one wants
than what one needs. Christmas
would hardly be Christmas without
a touch of extravaganza. We can
live on soup and bread; SILL, we like
the dessert.
1t may have been extravaganza
for the women in question to think
of furs, but, assuming that their
wages were ample for existence, why
should luxury be grudged them?
Life is more than meat and the body
than raiment The psychological is
as much an element in human happi-
ness as the physical. 1t is illogical
to take more delight in a diamond
than in a lump of coal; but mankind
is not ruled by logic, though it has
spent centuries trying to prove that
it is. Nor is it altogether futile
argument to say that if a woman
derives more pleasure in fur coat
than from new parlor carpet she
may be pardoned for buying it.
The qualification of wish the
consummation of desire-these
argue an expanding life. Money is
IA blessing in ways that stern and
unbending economists dream not of.
That is not to say that extravaganza
deserves approval. We may even
admit that the disappointed would
be purchasers Of furs have had an
experience good for the soul. Re-
nunciation is a Christmas virtue.
But the method of impressing it was
none the less ungracious. The spirit
Of Christmas does not speak in an
Indian gift 81 believe in order, but
| would put myself in order," says
the democrat. ~ concede the de-
merits of extravaganza, but let me
judge what is extravaganza"
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25
A Mortified Voter
Republican Complains of His
Leaders in Senate

To the Editor of The Tribune.
Sir: Your editorial NO Ffty-Fiftvs
has the vehemence of the preacher with
poor sermon or the advocate with
weak case
The outstanding facts upon which all
but the most blindly partisan public
opinion has been formed are that I)
the Republicans have a majority in the
Senate; CD they launched an offensive
against the league and treaty; go the
league and treaty are blocked -ditched
perhaps dead. No sophistry Of ar
gument, no allegation Of propaganda,
can relieve the Republican party from
responsibility for the situation nor dis
guise the conclusion that that respon-
sibility is the direct consequence Of
its own acts.
Suppose the President id usurp un-
warranted, even illegal. powers; re-
calling the plan-spoken proverb about
the bird that fouls its own nest, we
might have realized that we could not
discredit HIM without still more dis
crediting our party and the national
honor. Supposing the league were I'M
perfect-even in some details vicious;
the one great essential was to main
tam an unbroken front and coopera-
tive spirit with the Allies We might
have secured any essential changes by
approaching the Administration in 8
temper of conciliation and construc-
ton. or, failing that, might have won
undylng respect for the party and en-
HANGED the formerly great influence OF
the United States by course Of mag
unanimous concession and swift action.
But our Republican leaders could not
see beyond the opportunity to put
Democratic Administration IN hole.
and they have dragged the prestige
and glory of the nation through the
muck of partisan struggles 20 do so.
They have been as aggressive and as
arrogant as the Administration in the
assumption of the Sign here attitude,
and they can no more throw the re-
sponsibility upon the other side than
Germany could throw it upon Belgium
by saying that if she had not resisted
she would have escaped war.
do not condone the obstinacy OF
the Administration, but as a lifelong
Republican l am mortified and indig-
nant that our party should have been
led" into an equally false position,
IN circumstances which put upon US
the greater burden Of blame, and this
is the view of every intelligent Repab-
lican with whom I have talked.
CHARLES B. GOING.
New York, Dec 18, 1919
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25
Maurice Maeterlinck

America extends the warmest of
welcomes to Maurice Maeterlinck, not
only as one of the worlds most dis
tinguished personages but as a man
who carries a spirit not alien to our
people. 1t is not by accident that his
books are on American shelves and
that they are books that seldom need
tc be busted.
In his youth Maeterlinck was
saluted as a symbolist, and symbol
ism, with it's battling unrealities, is
not attractive to people who are
practical and sentimental. Yet the
symbolism Of the great Belgian
seemed different from the queer lit
erary antics played by others of his
school. We seemed to hear the voice
Of another Emerson, and Emerson is
of our national fibre Mysticism
was welded to powers Of observa-
ton and generalization, and both
science and philosophy seemed to
have found minstrel.
Maeterlinck, one may say, unites
IN a rare fashion the faculty Of
imaginative creation and a rehec-
tive or philosophic habit Of mind.
He is at once poet and thinker. His
images are actual and his pale
drama has the pulse Of life in it, but
behind all is the brooding metaphy-
sician whose mind plays with super.
thoughts and forever occupies itself
with the puzzles Of life and nature.
One can never say what he exactly
teaches, but there is an atmosphere
whose oxygen enriches intellectual
emotion.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25

tion was originally (and may be
still) part Of the German game. The
intelligentsia have approved it with
the same hysterical enthusiasm they
manifested for "peace with
out victory" or--to put it another
way--a peace with justice" They
have been as little moved by Rus
sian atrocities as they were by Ger
man.
But there is curious divergence
from German diplomacy. The Ger
man diplomatists never forget the
interests of Germany-always keep
their abstract ideas subordinate to
conscious unscrupulousness. Does
not German philosophy teach the
supremacy Of the will, to which both
reason and morals are servants? ?
But an American seldom becomes
wholly German. His will may be
perverted and his intellect confused,
but he clings to the assumption that
he serves Righteousness.
So Mr.. Hapgood engaged, on the
highest moral grounds, in his pecul-
lar negotiations. He may have
thought that he was entirely safe
with an Administration that seems
to pick it's agents on the principle
that inexperience and lack Of judg-
ment are valuable in the public serv-
ice. But he forgot the Senate. as
Randolph Churchill on memorable
occasion forgot Goschen."
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25
Fog-Bound

One mystery in Washington
grows thicker and thicker. That is
the mystery which envelops Mr..
Hichcock's idea of what the Presi-
dent would consider a suitable COM
promise on the Senate's reservation
to Article X Of the league covenant.
On Monday the Nebraska Senator
put out two additional explanations.
One appeared in a special dispatch
to "The World" and the other in a
special dispatch to "The Times"
What they mean and to what extent
they harmonic must be- left to the
readers imagination. The first read
"The President thinks the recon-
mendations of the executive council
are merely advice, and Congress
would be entirely free to act on the
recommendation or not. | feel sure
the President would accept a reserva-
ton recognizing that the recon-
mendation is advice, and subject to
the action Of Congress-"
The second, cast in indirect dis
course, was as follows:
"Presdent Wilson, the Senator said
would, in his opinion, accept a reser-
walton upon this point which gave
Congress authority in any given case
to say whether that case put upon the
United States a moral obligation to
use its army and navy in defense of
some countrys territorial rights. But
the President would not accept, he
believed, a reservation that took out
of the covenant the direct notice to all
nations that any war of conquest
would bring upon them the combined
retributive force Of the world"
If the councils recommendation is
only advice, as the President tolc
the Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations on August 10 last it must
always be, why try to preserve the
fiction that the council can make
any definite commitments under Ar
ticle X, SO far as the United States
is concerned?
The present reservation to Ar
ticle X obviously does not alter the
obligation of this country. 1t merely
associates Congress with the Presi.
dent in determining in any particu-
lar whether it is our duty to act
1t sets up parliamentary control as a
check to one-manism.
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25
Ang.scized French

Much has been said and written
about the effect Of the war on the
English-French linguistic exchange,
but mostly from the English end of
the story. French words and phrases
picked up by American, British or
colonial troops in France to-day
form a recognized if not entirely as
simulated part Of our vocabulary.
That similar infiltration of Eng
lish terms into French should have
taken place is only natural. 1t ap-
pears, however, that as a matter of
fact the linguistic balance, so to
speak, is decidedly in favor of Eng
lish.
A writer in The London Spectator
speaks Of the amazing spread of
English loan words. 1t is, perhaps,
not surprising that the phenomenon
is most pronounced in the field of
sport. cone may come across" we
are told, "a paragraph headed lie
Boxe,' and beginning: En- face du
champion actuel Sc trouvait lie
comingman du ring. Apres seize
rounds le match Sc terminait en- sa
favour par un Knockout If you
only know that seize" means six
teen you will understand this with
out ever having had lesson in the
language Of Pascal and Moliere.
The Technology of lawn tennis is,
Of course, taken over en- bloc. Other
borrowings now used in the parlance
of press and street are listed: "Foot-
balP' with family, golf" water
polo" rowing" yachting" goal"
track" Jockey" handicap" Stay
ers," "touring-club" and "side-car."
Composite words always carry the
hyphen. Sometimes the words are
slightly Gallicized: thus drag-hounds
became 'les drags"; bowling green
is now spelt and pronounced "boulin-
grin" Sometimes the meaning of
the word is distorted in its Gross
Channel passage. Thus, French
people say "Nous avons fait du foot
ing" when they only mean that they
have been for walk; just as the
Copenhagen storekeeper thinks he is
using perfectly good English when
he names his establishment "English
Hat Magazine.
Terms relating to self f-government,
party politics and the labor move
ment also have been adopted whole
sale--a significant fact They in
New-York tribune., 1919-12-25
Cyril in 1911

To the Editor Of The Tribune.
Sir: | have read with interest the
letter with the caption, "The Question
OF Whom" in to-day's paper.
Concerning the quotations from the
Bible, Mathew xvi, 13, Mark viii, 27
and Luke tx, Is, "Whom do men saw
that l am ?" 1t is evident that Mr..
Vizetelly has taken these from the
King James version, which was issued
in 1911.
The revisers at work at that time did
not have the advantage of the rulings
OF Priestly, Lindley Murray, or any of
the other grammarians mentioned as
among those who have striven to guide
the public in the proper use of "who"
and whom"
In the Standard American Revision
OF the Bible, the word "who" is used in
each of the verses quoted,
JOSEPHINE L. BALDWIN.
New York, Dec. %, 1919.