The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1920-12-10
To CUT 10000
FROM U. 5. PAYROLL
Republicans Grind Shears,
To Gust Useless EN-
Ployees, Aim

Washington Dec. 6.-How to re-
duce by $3.50, 900 the present padded
payroll of the government is the
problem which the new Republican
administration will take up as soon
as It enters power.
At the beginning Of the war with
Germany there were 10000 govern
ment employees in Washington. Dur
ing the conflict as the result of the ex-
travagant methods of the Wilson adj
ministration, this total jumped to
$4,000. After the armistice had
been signed in 1918 the executive de-
partments asked that this be increas-
ed. The Republicans held up these
estimates and, when they captured
Congress, speedily reduced the num-
Der to 10000 in one year getting rid
OF $4,000 employees who had become
a burden to the taxpayers of the
country.
Representative Will r. Wood of
Indiana, chairman Of the subcommit-
tee of the Appropriations Committee
in charge of the legislative bill to be-
come effective after June 80, next, de-
clares that the number of Washington
government employees will be so re-
duced that not more than $4,000 will
be provided for, thus in year and a
half looping off a total of $1,000 en-
ployees in Washington alone.
This IS only the beginning of the
Chairman Good, of the House Appro-
priations Committee; Senator Curtis,
OF Kansas. Republican whip in the
Senate, and other Republican leaders
at the Capitol, are insisting that the
reductions must be made in every de-
partment of the Federal service and
that many of the bureaus established
during the war shall be legislated out
of existence altogether.
There are now more than 100000
men and women in the employ of the
United States government throughout
the country. On January 81, 1920
there were 757,S54 on the payrolls of
the Federal government, but Congress
during the last session, reduced this
number to about 1000.
The reduction OF $50, 900 in the size
of the army of Federal employees
that is hoped for by Congressional
leaders would result in an annual saw
ing of between sSOO,OOO,OOO and
$500, 100000 to the taxpayers, it is
estimated.
Senator Lodge, Republican leader
; in the upper House, and Representa-
tive Mondell Republican leader in
the lower House. declare their inten-
tion of insisting upon wholesale re-
auctions in the number of Federal
employees.
The present administration, how
ever, has submitted estimates to the
House Appropriations Committee that
in nearly every case call for addition
al employees for the next fiscal year
About the only exception that has
been noted is in the case of the Blu
rean of War Risk Insurance, where
an immediate reduction of about l..
500 is reported contemplated at once.
Chairman Wood said that he could
not understand why new clerks were
being asked for in the legislative bill,
which his committee hopes TO have
ready for reporting to Congress by
December 10.
1--WE have today in Washington un-
der the civil service something over
10000 sn'n,oyees and between 5000
= and 5000 unclassified, making a to-
tai of $4,000 government employees
here, said Mr.. Wood Before the
war there were about $4,000. 1t is
idle for any one to say that there is
now three times as much work done
here rs before the war.
There are twenty-five or thirty in
dependent bureaus, meant by the law
that created them to be merely for
the war emergency, that are trying to
induce us to make them permanent
and to get larger force than before.
Every man who comes before us
agrees that there ought to be re-
duction in the number of civil service
employees in Washington, but they
insist that the cut must come some
where else than in their own Offices"
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