The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-01-28
THE
GOVERNMENT SALARIES
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

WASHINGTON, Jan. -5 Should
worker receive just as much money as
| his work is worth, as compared with
other work in the amount of ability
and energy it requires, or, If he is able
and is permitted to do the work at all,
should he receive enough money with
which to keep himself and his family
| adequately clothed and nourished?
In other words when it comes to fix
! ing the amount of the reward which So
ciety is going to give an individual for
| his time ana energy, should an effort
| be made to compute the amount In
money which his time and energy are
| worth or should the effort be directed
| to finding out the least amount upon
which he and his family can live, and
should that be made the basis OF pay?
This question, which is interesting to
every individual who works for a salary
or a wage has been raised in con-
nection with the work of the reclassifi
cation commission, which is making
study of the salaries paid to government
employees.
The question of government salaries
| is attracting widespread attention.
| There are several reasons for this. In
| the first place, more than 900 Amer
| leans now work for the government in
! Washington alone. This means that
| about one worker in every 200 works for
/ the government, and the percentage OF
| Americans who work for the govern
| ment tends constantly to increase. Fur
| thermore the government employees are
| typical salaried workers. 1t Is generally
| conceded that the salaried worker at
| large has suffered more from the rise
| in the cost of living than has either
the laborer who is member of a union
| or the capitalist who lives on the in
! come from invested funds. The cause
of the salaried government employe is
| in some sense the cause of the salarled
man everywhere, and the salaried class
! Is therefore keenly Interested to know
/ how the government workers are go
ing to come out in their effort to get
higher nay, and especially in the theory
upon which that compensation is to be
| based
In the debate on the question with
which the article begins, brilliant argu-
ments have been made on both sides.
Our object here is to set forth these
arguments fairly.
The argument of the government
clerks is briefly this; In the last 30
| years their average advancement in
salary has been slight-varying from
nothing to SO per cent, with an average
probably somewhere around 20 to % per
Cent-and during the same period the
cost Of living has more than doubled.
Therefore. they assert, they are unable
to live upon the amounts now paid
them. They demand large increases.
primarily on the ground that they must
have enough to live on This is the
chief object from the individual point
OF view. But from the social point of
view thev contend that the whole nation
must suffer II these increases are not
granted. because men can not and VIII
not work for less than a living. They
! DOint out th0t experienced men are con
| stantlv leaving the government service
and are being replaced by inexperienced
men or not replaced at all; that the
government as result is far behind
with its work, and that unless the in
creases are granted the civil service
will he wreck inside of q year, and II
win take 10 years TO put 1t in running
order again"
: The facts, the publication Of which
lrrecipitatod the debate, had to do will
} the salaries received nv examiners
There are men bearing the title OF ex'
? aminer in a number of government de-
3 rartrents They examine claims fol
e money orders. farm loans. pensions, In.
oura nCc indemnities, ruh|iC landS anC
{ great many othor things Naturally
{ an examiner should know a great dea
t ahout his subject ard should have gooc
iuarvnort He should he an experienced
4 and intelligent man. Now the man rem
e. reernting the examiners before tho com
S mission nreSerted figures to show that II
many cases the salaries Of examiners
t have not substantially inCrea sod sine,
= 1S23 and in some cases since 1922. Thus
= tho nNnmirers in 1888 passing on Revo
rtiorHrv war claims rot 81 4oo a year
r Examiners in the pension bureau toda,
!. cot FROM 5000 to SO onh hut only one o
d them gets the ton salary, and most o
th"v', stll get 81 400,
20 This nav be an extreme case, hu
= a-1olo evidence was submitted to prov
that during neriod when the cost q
= livir~ hns douh'ed. the average salarie
$ Of exarrtners have not increased o5 Pc
/ cent. It ie argued that while on eN
h aniner might very we'll live and rails
fa~,iv on 81 goo in 1890. he could no
o nossih,v do so now. II is further ar
e gued that the taXnavers are nor reall,
r owing money hv naving this less-than
d livir~ wa~e, because tho examiner M
10 do with tho spending Of nuhli
. money Uron his renort II largely dc
Il rends whether c1nims aocre~atinr mil
= lions shal' 10 raid or not. II he is II
n rnront or careless he may lose nor
II 81 the peoples money IN an hour thal
j. they can save on his salary in man,
years.
Y Senator Sr'oot ~ 1'tah made al
! elaborate attack on this whole con
$. tantion lie asserts in tho first place
VI that the effect OF this publicity abou
t. the small salaries Of government EN-
d ploves will make them all discontente,
and cause them all to Join unions. II