Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-08-02
commissioners Brand
Wage Promise Claims
! "UnquaIifiedIy False"

4 me commissioners make public
their stand in the following state
hsnt:
i The statement that the Commits
pave broken faith with their en-
1ioyes by violating an agreement to
make the navy yard wage scale the
fage scale of. the District govern
Hent, uttered Saturday night by Row
and b Mahaly, solicitor of the De-
lartment of Labor. to members of the
City Employees Association, is un-
tualifiedly false.
J. There is no such agreement and
pr: Mahany and his fellow .concilia--
4ors have been repeatedly so informed
4ythe Commissioners.
1 MI Mahany refers to certain state
nents alleged to have been made by
zen Knight two years ago, which
alleged statements he interprets to
bean that the Commissioners then
Hound themselves and their sGds
Sessors in Office to the navy yard
scale as the sole standard of Dis
Fi9t governments wager, presumably
4oE all time. = =
honorable man and considerations
emcSaL He was incapable Of
Intlmatfng that any statement of his
would OF could he binding upon those
who would follow him IN once He
cqreainly never mentioned to either
OF ps that he entertained any such
Thought ' ~
Ordinarily Would BE Ignored,
under ordinary circumstances we
would ignore such charge as has
been made against the Commissioners
BY Mr.. Mahany and his associates But
when men appointed as conciliators
to- prevent a strike of city employees
so far forget the obligation of their
ofce as to address a mass meeting
Of City employees and tell them that
the Cemmissioners of the District of
Colam bia have broken a pledge to
tnem: that under that pledge they are
entitled to all they ask; advise these
employees to give the Commissioners
time limit ultimatum and say that
III there is a strike the whole re-
sponsibility is upon the constituted
governing authority of the city and not
upon the strikers; then it becomes our
duty to speaksin the interests of public
order and responsible government.
MI Mdhany and his associates NAV
nave said TO the men. Don't strike
but the effect and the only reasonable
result of their speeches will be to en-
courage and justify the men in striK-
ing s.,
believe that employees of the govern
ment should be encouraged to strike
against the government. But what
shfn be said of high official of the
Department of Labor who recklessly
gifSS such encouragement from the
4tform and. bases it upon a false
arp unjustiffed attaek-upon the Com
mSaioners. who are responsible under
th4 CONSTITUTION and the federal laws
fos 1the conduct of the municipal af-
fairs of the capital of the nation?
fo4 the CONDUCT of. the municipal af-
Intelligence and the character to un-
deftake the high function of con-
Citation should have so far forgot
teb themselves seems inconceivable-
Ia Lack of Power.
dIf the Commissioners had the
power they would increase the pay of
Those District employees whose COM
peAsation is fixed by Congress and
WHO have had no increase in pay be-
yond the s240 bonus since prior to the
war. If theyrwere able, in justice TO
the efficiency of the District govern =
ment and to'.tle taxpayers to meet the
NAVY yard scale they would be glad
to< do so. But as they are without
power to increase the wages of the
supervisory workers they feel it is
th8iT duty to accept the recommended
tiorEs of the wage board and adhere
tos the wage increase granted on
'iis they have said before. they will
review the wage scale after the Navy
Department wage board reports on Au-
gust 20. but they repeat with all posi- BILE
emphasis that they are not bound by
any pledge or agreement. expressed
or implied, TO make the navy yard
scale the sole standard Of fixing Dis
trfct wages
r-he District per diem employees
would not strike il they were not con-
fused by the statements of some of
their misguided leaders. now lament
ably. supplemented by the false state
ments of men who have the title of
,orciliator, but who have adopted the
tactics. the manners and the language
ofiagitatOrS-"