Evening star., 1920-03-13
u. S. CLERKS STAND
SQUARELY BEHIND
CLASS|F|ERS' WORK
Some Schedules for Lower
Paid Positions Receive
Criticism. However.
THESE MAY BE BROUGHT
UP WHEN CONGRESS ACTS
Head of Employees Federation Will
Await Study of Report Before
Making ANY Comment.

Making Any Comment.
Government employees today pre-
/, pared to stand squareIy behind the
! report of the joint congressional COM
mission on reclassification of salaries
in the District presented 10 Congress
yesterday.
| This seemed the general determine
ton expressed throughout the various
! federal departments and bureaus. al
! though some officials and employees
seemed disappointed with the salary
recommendations of the commission
| for some of the already poorer paid
classes Of employees. notably messen
gers, watchmen and guards.
"On the whole the work of the COM
mission is to be commended" de-
clared John S. Beach, president of
local No. 2, Federal Employees Union.
pledging the support of this organi-
Zation of 20. 900 employees to the report
Of the Redistribution commission.
Some Criticisms.
| Mr.. Beach expressed the opinion that
| the salaries in some of the lower
grades are not adequate. as recon-
mended by the commission. and said
that steps would be taken to impress
this belief upon Congress. He also
intimated that the lamentations
as to annual and sick leave might not
| be satisfactory to the clerks.
Mr.. Beach expressed himself as
well pleased with the report of the
Inmission as a whole, however. and
pledged the support of his organiza-
tion to it's adoption, with the reserva-
! tionS mentioned. perhaps.
! "It is to be hoped that the work OF
the commission viii be enacted into
law by Congress. and. if done. it will
undoubtedly serve as a model to the
various states and municipalities of
the entire country in working out
a scientific salary scale for their em-
ploy es." Mr.. Beach said.
I'VE had hoped that an irreducible
minimum salary of 1890 would have
been recommended for all employees.
no matter in what work employed.
Mr.. Beach expressed the opinion
that the proposed minimum of $1.320,
strongly urged by the empoyes them
selves. would ultimately be applied
to the messenger, guard and other
similar forces.
Reclassificntion Society Acts.
| The Federal Reclassification So
, ciety. composed of the 200 employees
, of the various departments who as
sisted the reclassification commission.
has adopted resolutions placing itself
on record las heartily in accord with
the work as submitted to Congress
as being the best possible piece OF
work under the conditions. and that
it favors its early adoption for opera
ton"
DR.. w. w. Stockberger of the De-
partment of Agriculture. president OF
the society. was Instructed to appoint
two members of the society to act
with himself as a steering committee
to aid in the hearings and passage Of
the bill
society to instruct it's executive COM
mittee to act as an emergency stan
subject to call, to furnish additional
data to Congress. The committee is to
act as a clearing house for additional
information and methods of securing
the data and assigning the actual
task.
The Federal Reconsideration Society
was organized several months ago for
the purpose of Offering assistance to
the Civil Service Commission when it
shall take over the follow-up work OF
reclassification. as is recommended in
the report of the reclassification COM
mission.
Federation to study Report.
Luther Steward, president Of the
National Federation of Federal En-
ployes today refused to make any
statement on the report of the reclas-
sification commission. The legislative
committee of the federation intends
to 20 over the entire report carefully
| at meeting to be held tomorrow aft
ernoon. after which an official state
ment of the federation's views will be
made.
Today the reclassification commits
sion is defunct, although Chief Clerk
Almond, with a small corps of clerks.
! is at work, clearing up final details
and getting the records of the COM
mission into shape for turning over to
! the Civil Service Commission. A joint
resolution has been introduced TO give
/ the commission custody of all the rec
! ords. questionnaires and statistics OF
the former reclassitcation commis-
! sion.
| In the meantime the questionnaires
and all other records stand without
owner, in a sense, although close
guard is being kept over them.
! Federal employees today seemed not
yet to realize that with the presenta-
! ton of the report of the commission
| to Congress reclassiication has but
! begun
! What the individual government
clerk wanted to know is the very
| thing that is as yet not answered.:
! where do l come in?'
ALLEGATION Of Employees.
To the Civil Service Commission 10
left the great task of allocating the
; 10000 employees into the 100 classes
set up and recommended by the re-
classification comm iSSon. To the Civil
Service Commission, also. is left the
task of giving each one of the 107, 200
employees his precise place in the
mended.
Not until after Congress shall have
adopted and made law the recommen-
dations presented to it yesterday will
the Civil Service Commission, if it is
chosen the continuing authority, as
recommended, be able to tell any in
dividual employe in just exactly
which of the 200 classes he shall go.
and just exactly what salary he is to
receive.
The reclassification commission ten
tatively allocated. the questionnaires,
but such ALLEGATION will have to be
reviewed and, in sense, completely
done over again by the civil service
body. All employees will have the
right of appeal.
AS employees began to grasp the true
significance of the reclassification re-
port three main points emerged.
First. equalization of salaries will be
accomplished by it. Second, chance
for advancement will come through
reclassification and the dead walf''
which has stared federal employees in
the face for hundred years will be
razed at last. Third, the great right
of appeal will be given.
Welcomed by Treasury Omcials.
While officials of the Treasury De-
Dartment have not yet received