Evening star., 1920-02-06
DELAY THREATENS
RETIREMENT BILL
May Be Taken Up Next Week
if Treaty Is Sent Back
to Committee.

motion by Senator Lodge, the repub-
lican leader. providing that when the
Senate adjourns today it shall not
| meet again until Monday at noon, the
chances for any immediate action on
the civil service retirement bill be-
came slender.
Senator Sterling of South Dakota
will make an effort to get final vote
on the bill this afternoon. This may
not be possible, however, owing to
the opposition of Senator Pomerene
and Senator King. and the difficulty
of keeping quorum late in the after
noon.
Monday Senator Lodge will move to
suspend the rules and take up the
peace treaty. If the treaty is brought
before the Senate. it may be weeks
before the debate closes. In the mean
time appropriation bills will be re-
ported to the Senate and other impor-
tant measures. which will still further
delay action on the retirement bill, it
is said.
There is one chance Of obtaining
some time for consideration of the re-
treaty may be referred back to the
foreign relations committee. it is said,
after 1t is resuscitated in the Senate,
so as to purge it of the cloture rule
ADOPTED at the last session. If that is
the case there may be day or two in
up.
Senator Sterling Urges Passage.
Ihe civil service retirement bill was
discussed at length in the Senate yes
terday afternoon by Senator Sterling.
chairman of the civil service COM
mlttee. who strongly urged it's pas
sage; He pointed out that the bill
employees, the government and the
people of the country
The government" he said, "by rea-
son OF lack of efficiency on the part
OF aged employees. Of course. is ex-
penoing. l viii say. now millions of
expend, and would not be required to
expend, under a proper civil service
retirement system.
There is the great public besides
II All ultimately comes back to the
public. and the interest the public
has in such a system, of course, in
terested primarily in efficient govern
ment, In the doing of the work of the
several departments of government
well. 1t is interested. of course, in
work economically. interested in the
saving of the millions that may be
saved annually under retirement
system.
Three Factors Named.
SO we have those three factors:
the employees themselves, by whom
l know we wish to do justice and
cannot without some retirement sys-
tenn; the government itself, whose
business should be efficiently and eco
nomically managed, and the public
itself, the taxpayers. who are affected.
OF course. by inefficiency and lack of
economy in the dispatch and manage
ment OF the government business"
Senator Sterling quoted from. many
high officials of the government. all
strongly supporting the proposal that
retirement law be enacted.
Can the government of the United
tion, its wealth. afford to institute
a civil service retirement system? We
can afford it better than any other
nation in the world. AS 1 said at
the outset, there is no great civilized
nation in the world but has it's civil
service retirement system. beg the
Indulgence of the Senate for just a
moment while I call attention to some
of the systems found in other coun-
tries. : !,
germany, for example-and I hope
that senator's will note the cost of
the civil service retirement system to
the government of Germany-has had
a civil service retirement law since
1873"
Practice OF Civilized Nations.
Senator Sterling said that practical
ly all the other civilized nations have
systems of retirement and pension for
superannuated government employees
Great Britain, he said. has had a
pension system since the beginning of
the nineteenth century. She has for
long time had pension law which
made provision for the aged employees
Of tho government. The pension now
is so graded as to encourage retire.
ment at the age Of sixty-fve years.
There is this further difference to
be noted between the provisions of
the pending bill and the provisions Of
the statutes of most other countries
that I have examined. The employe
will not be entitled to a pension un-
der the provisions of the pending bill
unless he has served a. minimum of
fifteen years. Under the laws of other
countries he will be entitled to a pen
sion upon the completion Of service
Of ten years or more
Senator Sterling pointed out that
the employees are to contribute a GER
tain percentage of the money for the
pension fund and the government the
remainder. In Germany he said. the
entire pension is paid by the govern
ment, and the German pension may be
higher than under the Senate bill.
Senator Pomerene, who is an oppo-
nent of the pending bill. gave notice
that he would offer a substitute by
which the government employees
would be required to contribute from
their salaries all OF the money which
goes into the retirement fund.