The Washington herald., 1919-12-31
Plea for Photographer.


a year while he received but s1,S40.
with the war bonus.
Plea for Photographers.
DR.. l. w. Besson, of the Smithson-
ian Institution. filed a brief with the
asking for a higher
scale of salaries for Photographic
in the Government service.
The value of photography to our
government" he said. lis far beyond
any individual estimate. Without IL
Illustrations our publications would be
an impossible mass of descriptions.
As a means of recording scientific
progress and historical facts, photog-
raphy is a necessity.
The Importance of photography in
military activities was early recoS-
nized by all governments and i'm
mense sums were spent for training
at the front"
Or. Beeson asked the commission
to recommend an age limit of Is for
entrants in the photograph service.
Because of the large amount of poison
Gus acid on hand in the work rooms
at all times il was extremely danger
Gus to have boys and young girls
around. Just a few weeks ago. he
said a girl was burned severely when
she upset a jar of acid.
signal Corps suffers.
Capt Winfield S. Cline. in charge
of the Signal Corps photograph divi-
sion at the War Department. declared
it impossible to keep a full force of
men in the photograph service because
of the small pay. When the men
become most valuable to the govern
ment. he said. they resign to accept
other positions paying much higher
salaries.
"As soon as my successor can be
appointed and l can get out of the
service. |, too. expect to take up the
profession in civil life" he said. The
question is whether the government
is going to continue the work of the
photograph service in a diEnified
manner or allow it to degenerate"
T. p. Belote. curator of history IN
the National Museum. appeared be-
fore the commission to straighten out
questions relating to proper classifica-
tiOns of his position. His efforts were
supported by Prof. w. IT. Holmes.
curator of anthropoloSy of the Ma
tional Museum and the Smithsonian
Institution
wind-Up In sight.
The administrative and supcrvis-
ory service will appear before the
commission at $50 this morning and
the accountancy service in the aft
ernoon.
The hearing of the accountanCy
service will wind up the hearings
before the commission. The re-
mainder of this week and all of next
week will be occupied by the com
mission in compiling its report to
Congress which. under the law. il
due January IL.
1t is conceded by every member of
the commission that it is a physical
impossibility to get the report in
shape for Congress by that date. 4
resolution already passed by the
House and pending in the Senate
extending the time to March IL is
looked to by the commission as the
only hope for making fair report.
Commissioner Hamlin declared IRE
Gently that under no circumstances
would he sign a "half-baked" report
to Congress unless il was specified
that it was "half-baked' report.
Trnfic Clerks Scarce.
Representatives of railroad traffic
clerks, appearing before the commits
sion yesterday morning, declared the
ranks of this service will he decimated
unless some reclassification is made
with the result of increasing salaries.
When the Civil Service Commission
an examination last sum-
mer for railroad traffic clerks at an
entrance salary of $3.50 a year. only
six applicants throughout the United
States took the examination. A sec
Ond examination in October, adver-
tised as a special one for ex-soldiers.
drew only two applicants.
Herbert C. Marshall. assistant chief
of the Bureau of Markets. Department
OF Agriculture, presented a salary
scale request for the personnel of
his office.