The Washington herald., 1920-05-02
Fat Salaries
Take Experts
In Agriculture
Loyalty Stronger Than
Money in Holding De-
partment Workers.
Government Jobs below par,

Government jobs below par!
Thirty-five cents a year from the
taxpayer to maintain the experts
of the Department of Agriculture
in giving service to the public
brings the department face to face
with the problem of giving 35-cent
service. farm experts declare.
II have been impressed for some
time" says former Secretary David
+. Houston, OF the department,
with the fact that democracy. if II
is to succeed, must be willing to
secure and retain in positions of
marked governmental responsibility
men of the highest ability, qualifi-
cations and experience"
From s1.JOe to $4,000 Salary.
The record of the past year shows
14.734y employees leaving the depart
ment, of whom 1856 left for rea-
sons other than the necessary re.
duction of force. One man left a
81. 500 position to become Eastern
, representative of a Louisiana firm
at $4,000 a year. Another resigned
from the Bureau of Chemistry to
accept a $4,000 position with a trade
association. One man OF the sew
eral thousand went to a s20,0O0-a-
year position.
Many positions in the govern
ment service" Mr.. Houston con-
tinued, Involving the supervision
of vast enterprises now have at
tached to them Inadequate salaries.
The government is constantly los
ing men of the sort l have in mind
L. n ISfy NCn
with replaccments of men who. in
may not be thoroughly qualified for
the tasks assigned to them"
Loyalty is the strongest incen.
tive the department has in holding
its men. Secretary Meredith tells
of a young man who is of the ut
most importance to the department
and to me" who recently turned
down an offer paying him S325 a
month more than he was getting,
saying: mo, I will serve"
High Average Increase.
Case after case is pointed to of
brilliant men, experts in their line
of work. who are paid from 25 to 20
per cent less salary by the govern
ment than they could obtain from
private CONCERNS.
OF those who resigned from the
department during the past fiscal
year, the salaries Of $50 are known,
Among them is the man who is re-
ceiving 100000. while there are five
who went to $4,000 positions.
Thirty-three got positions ranging
between $1,000 and $4,000; 254 got
more than $4,000, and 396 took po-
sitions at $4,000 or under.
The average increase gained by
men who left the Weather Bureau
was 95 per cent; the Forest Service
81 per cent. and the Bureau of
Markets, 43 per cent.
A salary of s3.7O0 failed to keep
one man from going with a busi-
ness firm that offered him 10000;
a government box inspector jumped
from S2,OoO a year in Washington
to $4,000 with a Western lumber
company; $1,000 tempted man
away from his $1,000 position in
the Forest Service,
isn't 1t a little disappointing"
says Secretary Meredith, land a lit
tie discouraging, however, to the
men who are giving their efforts
and their time to this work not to
be equipped? While many of them
are grossly underpaid, they do not
ask the salaries that manufactur-
ers. merchants and business men
pay in their establishments. But
they do ask that they be properly
equipped, and that is what I ask
for them.
THE product. of our department
is service; and 1t is wonderful serv-
ice."
The Department of Agriculture Is
now asking for yearly appropria-
tion Of $35,000.000 to. carry on its
work.