The Washington times., 1919-12-31
PAY REv|SERS
END DHEAR|NCS
Redistribution Commission
Completes Taking OF Testi-
mony Before Report.

Hearings before the Congressional
Joint commission on reclassihcation
OF salaries will be concluded this aft
srnoon. The accountaI-cy service will
be the last to present salary data and
Specifications of positions. and one of
the big tasks OF the commission there
fore will come to close.
IL the commission is to complete
its work in the time set By. Congress,
which is January II. the next two
weeks will be crowded in assembling
the mass of facts gathered and writ
Ing the dT.al recommendations.
II is still hoped that the request for
an extension Of time to March IL in
which to present the report to Con-
gress will be granted. although the
commission is going ahead to finish
its work by January IL. A report
can be made by this time, although
II ~ generally understood that be-
cause of the lack of time IL will not
be as complete as IL otherwise could
be
This morning the central committee
of the administrative, supervisory
clerical and business services and head
Clerks was given a hearing. One of
the features of their report was
salary schedule arranged according to
the varying degree of responsibility.
character OF work. and the size of the
establishment.
Under such a schedule the maxi
mum salary for the above group of
employees was set at $500. Such a
salary would be paid, according 20 the
recomme ndation, to an executive as
suming the highest responsibility.
whose work is 75 per cent or more
original or technical, and who has
charge of 5000 or more employees.
The minimum was set at $4,000,
which would entail the lowest degree
OF responsibility, the character of the
work would be wholly routine and
the executive would be over 100 en-
pioyes or less.
As TO salaries the brief given the
commission. stated: AT the begin
ming Of the Consideration of the ques-
tion OF proper salaries for the ad-
ministrative and supervisory clerical
workers, this committee was con-
fronted by the salary recommended
tjaas that have been made by and
for other classes in the public service
The committee could not concur IN
some OF the recent demands for SAL
ary increases, even when compared
with the wages demanded and being
paid for many classes of physical
labor.
Wages In Normal Times.
Wages in normal times are largely
subject to the laws OF supply and
demand. and, unlike Government SAL
aries now being considered, are not
to be permanently fixed by law. 1t
is believed also that a permanent
salary increase for national workers
should not include provisions to meet
extraorGinary emergencies. but that
such emergencies should be met by
bonuses large enough 10 cover any
resultant increased cost of living.
Such bonuses should not be confined
to special classes as at present, but
should reach all grades under the
Civil Service"
The committee was comprised of
Warren r. Choate. assistant secretary
TO the Federal Trade Commission,
chairman ard spokesman; Mark Wat
son. chief clerk to the chief of staff,
War Department, secretary; Perry
w. Elliott, register OF the Treasury;
John 7. Doyle, secretary to the Civil
Service Commission: Robert Rees,
chief clerk. Department OF Agricul-
ture, and Frank Bond. chief clerk
General Land Office.
Poorly Paid Expert.
After spending nine years in the
study of art and eighteen years as q
teacher OF drawing, DR.. II. B. Brad
ford. an illustrator in the Bureau of
Entomology. Department Of Agricul-
ture, told the re:lassifcation commits
sfon yesterday afternoon that the Gov
.rnment was paying him s6 per day
for his work. whic hhe declared was
Of a highly technical and important
character and was compensated many
times over in outside employment
DR.. l. W. Besson, OF the Smith
sonian Institution. hled a brief ask.
ing for q higher scale OF salaries for
photographers in the Government
service.
Capt Winfield :. Cline. in charge
OF the signal corps photograph d.
vision at the War Department, de-
clared II was impossible to keep a
full force in the Photographic service
because OF low salaries.
Z. P. Belote, curator OF history in
the National Museum, appeared before
the commission to straighten out
questions relating TO proper classi-
hcation OF mis- position. His efforts
were supported by Prof. W. H
Holmes, Curator OF snthropolosy of
the National Museum and the Smith