Evening star., 1919-05-10
|QUEST|ONNA|REST TO
AID RETIREMENT
Answers May Suggest New
System, HamIin Tells
Teachers.
SCHEDULE IS OUTLINED
SCHEDULE is OUTLINED

4 "A
| ment employees. including employees OF
| the District government. may be
worked out as the result of the en-
deavors of the reclassifcation COM
mission. which is now engaged in get
ting data looking toward the reclassi-
hcation of the civil service.
This is the reason why 1t is i'm
portant that all federal employees who
receive the classification question
naires give truthful answers to ques-
tion No. is. What Is your age? ex-
planned c. w. Hamlin Of the reclassi-
fication commission before a meeting
of high school and grade school teach
ers he'd in the District building last
night
''The age question is asked in good
faith, and it is very important TO you
people that you give a truthful an
swer." Mr.. Hamlin told the teachers.
I'VE have conceived the idea OF work.
ing out a retirement system. Now II
we are to work out system that
will inure to the credit of the city we
are to work out a system which Will
take care Of the physically unable.
Says Insurance Plan Necessary.
"You know that the government de-
partments are honeycombed with old
clerks physically unable to work" the
speaker continued. 1T isn't fair to
turn them out without compensation,
30 there must be an insurance sys-
tenn"
Mr.. Hamlin expressed the opinion
that such retirement plan probably
will be worked out according to the
insurance company methods, and that
to secure the full benefits to ones self
an employe Of the government should
give his correct age when it is asked
for. and not attempt to hedge" on the
question.
"1f you give the wrong age" Mr..
Hamlin warned. you may have to pay
more than you ought to-" The classi
fcation commission hopes to have its
work completed by January 1. he
stated. and to do this everything con-
nected with the distribution Of the
questionnaires and their filing out
must run on schedule time.
Outlines Schedule.
Here is the schedule, as outlined
by Mr.. Hamlin. which every one of
the more than 100. 900 government
employees must observe:
May 15-Distribution of question
naires to clerks.
May 17-Completion of every ques-
tionnaire by every employe.
May Reimbursement of question
naires by bureau chiefs.
May 22-Questionnaires back to en-
ployes for answers to questions No.
90 and No 20.
May 24-Questionnairesf from depart
mental subcommittee to the joint
commission on reclassification.
THE United States should be the
model employer" Mr.. Hamlin said.
but that doesn't always mean paying
the highest salaries"
The basis for the reclassiflcation
must be the actual work done by the
nAr,f 10
The commission is going to classify
positions, and not individuals. Simi-
lar positions will be put in one GLASS.
A minimum and maximum pay will be
recomm ended for each class Each
class will be divided into grades, and
means will be worked out for ad-
'vancement IN grades, and from class
to class.
Lists of all employees in the GOV
ernment service, on great sheets
Will have been completed throuRhout
the city by the end Of today. and
committee In the various
departments. which will fill in each
euestfonnaire with the name, organi-
zation unit, payroll title and basic
salary Of the clerk. and then assign
.esch man or woman . number.
:. ouestionnaires Are Simple.
TIE departmental committees will
see to 1t that each clerk gets his own
particular QUESTIONABLE in time to
follow out the schedule previously
outlined. The Questionnaifes, when
compared with the sixteen page
questionnaires filled out by the mil
lions Of selective service men, are
very simple and should not take very
long for an employe to complete.
Henry w. Draper. representing the
Eighth Grade Teachers Association,
made plea for relieving principals
of grade schools Of classroom work
Only ten cities out Of 135 canvassed.
he declared, require classroom duties
Of eighth grade principals. He also
asked that his association be repre-
sented on subcofnmittees of teachers
helping in the classification question
naire work.
The teachers assembled paid tribute
to Rev. John Van Schaick, former
president of the board of education,
who has Just returned to washington
from two years OF work with the Red
Cross in Belgium.
DR.. Van Schaick, in uniform. made a
plea for "the morale Of the teaching
/ force of the District" declaring that
the biggest Job before any one is to
set people from fro prejudice. He
touched only indirectly upon the pres
set people free from prejudice. He
board of education and those organi-
cations upholding Miss Wood, a teach
er at the Western High School, who
was suspended by the board recently
for statements alleged to have been
made while teaching current topics.
Miss Alice Deal. president OF the