Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-10-25
MAY HEAR LIBRARY
WORKERS,F|REMEN,
POLICEMEN FIRST
Reconsideration Commission
to Query Various Federal
Employees.

Library workers, firemen. policemen
workers in the skilled trades and
workers I'm the printing trades In the
government service are likely to be
the first Of 100000 federal employees
here to he given hearings by the
joint congressional commission on re-
classification of salaries in the Dis
trict.
Not only workers at the Public
Library and the Congressional Library
will be heard by the commission on
the question of adequate salaries. but
employees in the libraries in several
of the federal departments will be
given opportunity to present their
pleas through chosen spokesman ana
by means Of briefs. The Department
of Agriculture has fine library and
the Department of Labor an equally
fine collection on labor matters
Workers named will be the first to
appear before the reclassification
commission. Dates for the hearings
are expected to be announced by the
commission shortly. Other employees
in the various "seryices Into whica
will be heard in sequence.
Study Nearby Cities.
The commissions flying squadron"
of twenty-five Investigators today
started field Investigations in nearby
cities to determine what wages are
being paid employees OF big CONNER
cial firms and other institutions Tor
work comparable to that done in the
federal service here.
of business firms here. and the inves-
tigators have gone to cities as ter
north as Boston. as far south as Htch-
mond and as Harvest as Pittsburgh.
Several stan men will 60 Into the
middle west in order to get at the
who are performing duties similar to
those performed by many employees OF
the Department of Agriculture here.
Of3cers of the National Federation
Of Federal Employees today upheld
the minimum budget OF $3,zSI.f ior
lily, as prepared by DR.. Royal Meeker,
commissioner of labor statistics. This
is actually an irreducible minimum,
a abatement issued today declared.
The statement points to several items
in the budget, and says that 0tner
items In the budget are similarly
meager as to quantity.
Commissions Statement.
The CONVERSATIONAL COHhHiSSioA Su\
classification Of salaries made the fol-
lowing statement:
Some time ago the commission re-
auested the bureau Of labor Stairs
tics to prepare minimum comfort
budeets,' showing the cost OF living
in the District Of Columbta. Tor an un-
married man, d, an unmarried woman
and the typical family OF nYe--nus-
band, wife and three children.
These budgets were prepared ano
for examination and crtti-
wage policies, named bs this commits.
sion and made up OF dtstingulsne0
and representatives OF the
employees and administrative omcials.
Budgets Not SUBMITTED.
"The budgets have never been sub
mitted to this commission and have
never been considered by this COM
mission except in the most informal
fashion, and, of course. the commits
sion has not, in any way, indicated Its
position on this important matter.
This advisory committee has not
had an opportunity-t to inaicate
the budgets.
THE Commission had hoped that
discussion of the budgets might be
postponed until after the advisory
committee and the commission had
had an opportunity to scrutinise the
various items contained therein. How
ever. DIR. Meeker. chief OF the bureau
of labor statistics. has seen mt to give
the budgets to the press before they
could be subjected to the considera-
ton desired, and the commission
therefore feels that this statement Is
necessary"