The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1920-09-09
THE NATIONAL CAPITAL

passed retiring its aged employees on
part pay. During August the first de-
duction of two and one-half per cent
of each pay check for the retirement
fund was made.
At the same time, no substantial
changes in the salaries of government
clerks have yet been made, and in
some cases the rate of pay obtains
today that was in effect as far back
as the period when old sailing frigate
America first cleaned up the British
feet and brought the pewter cup to
these shores to tempt future Liptons
to build their successive Shamrocks.
1t is quite true that the higher sal
aried officials of the government have
received very great increases in their
salaries. For instance, We used to
hire a president for $4,000 a year,
but Lincoln worked for much less and
George Washington was not paid any
thing for fathering the American re-
public. Now every Ohio editor eX-
poets 100000 a yea to do the job.
There are mOr ~perQuisites to garnish
the position than the whole undertake
ing cost in the days of our fathers.
But with ordinary government clerk.
ships in Washington it is different.
These places are looked upon in the
capital as great jobs for girls and
widows" When viewed as a career
for men they hold very little in the
perspective. What the government
has recently done for its s%uperannu-
ated employees and in supplying a
retirement fund for the future is very
similar to the plans put into effect
by the International Harvester com
pany and some of the other corpora
tions several years ago. The fact that
the government has become a party
to the scheme for retiring its en-
ployees after long and faithful SER
vice is regarded as showing the ten
dency Of the age toward the recogni-
ton of individual efforts in every walk
of life, no matter how insignificant
a part the individual may have per
formed in humanity's workshop.
The rate to which production slack
ems under wages that are not salts
factory to labor has been very strik-
ingly illustrated in the railroad stu
alton. Previous to the recent out
law" strikes the figures concerning
the amount Of freight loaded at GER
tain terminals and the added accu-
mutation of freight in the yards, fur
nished certain proof that the EN-
ployees, were, at least, "disinterested'
in their work. They were demanding
more pay. But human psychology
demonstrated itself in the situation.
and since the government labor board
has awarded 1928, OO0, 900 additional
wages a year to the two million rail
road employees, the employees are
apparently again buckling down TO
work and trying to give a dollar OF
service for a dollar of wages.
Everybody knows that after the war
there was a great let-down in labor
efficiency, and a good many wage
earners were letting George do it,
Reports of the car service commits
sion of the railroads show that with
bigger pay checks in sight, an aver
age of about $500 a year for all rail
road workers, the employees are buck
ling down to help the arrangements
move the freight.
The world has pointed to Germany
as a horrible example of an aggres-
sively militaristic country. When the
central empires We're whipped it be-
came a popular pastime in the United
States to speak of Japan as another
progressively militaristic country
Back in the days of Roosevelt, who
supposedly feared nobody, we began
to palliate the irritable Japs. By the
time President Taft came into office
genuine apprehension was felt over
the race period" and California, at
least. was in a fighting mood. When
President Wilson went into office he
selected as one of the first missions
for Secretary Bryan, the tanning of
the Californians. Whereas President
Roosevelt had brought the Legislature
to Washington, Mr.. Bryan, as secre-
tary of state, went as President VIII
sons emissary to the mountain He
was the guest of Governor Hiram
Johnson, but he didn't bring back any
bacon to Washington. The governor
and the legislature refused to recede
from their position in curbing the en-
croachments Of the Japs, the same
Japs whom we were coaxing to re,
main good, and whom we openly feared
might seize the Philippines and the
Hawaiian Islands.
All this changed with the war, and
if the writer has any understanding
of the temper and conviction OF the
American people they are no longer
timid, or appreciably concerned about
other nations of the earth. While we
still claim to be a very peaceful PEG