Evening star., 1920-10-31
SCIENTIFIC BUREAUS
OF u. S. THREATENED
Plea of 100000 Government Employees for
Adequate Pay Involves Maintaining Of
High Standards of Efficiency Here.

AA6A
BY WILLIAM e. BRIGHAM.
washinetoa corsspendsnt Of the Boston Tran
script
HALL American public opinion
support the plea of more than
100. 900 government employees for
fair treatment, adequate COM
pensation. and the maintenance at a
high standard Of the great scientific
bureaus of the government. or will
Congress be allowed to slight a task
which. in the nnal analysis. must be
done properly II the government serv-
ice 10 to be saved from utter demorali-
cation?
These questions are not intended to
imply that Congress shows signs Of
aegiecting its duty. but rather to
point out that the task ahead involves
many perplexities. and that the clos
est oo-operation possible between Con-
gress and the thousands of men and
women whom its legislation will af-
feet b necessary to insure a stable
government.
Fortunately, evidences Of this CO.
opesation are at hand. More than
year ago Congress created a reclassi-
Aen&ion commission which had for it's
purpose the Reorganization of the
suitable classification of all govern
ment employees according to the duties
they perform. increased compensa-
ton necessitated by the rise in the
cost Of living, and such administra-
tive reforms as might be found ad-
visahle to insure the highest efl-
cheney. The commission has made its
report to Congress. and already its
chairman. Senator Jones of New Mex
leo. has introduced q bill to carry out
its Recommendations.
NaAe Subject Of study.
This report and bill have been made
the subject Of extensive study by the
ablsst minds In the government serv-
ice. ana these are now seeking to CO.
opera1s with Congress through the
presentation Of such recommendations
n will perfect the tentative bill that
has been introduced. It is possible
that - . result Of constructive criti-
cism important amendments will be
proposed or even a new bill be pre-
pared. It IL difIicult to present a sub
ject Of this character in a manner at
tractive to the general reader. for the
subject ia important rather than in
teresting.
Of hA hoo o;1 ~
the governmental function, and when
Secretary of Agriculture Meredith
tells the American Bankers' Associa-
tion that his department, with its
seventeen great bureaus and its 10000
employees and enhancing American
production millions Of dollars every
year. suffers q labor turnover Of 50
per cent. IL becomes evident that the
citi1en must interest himself in the
conduct Of his goernment II he is to
be wen served.
SuEgestion Of Aanainistrators.
The most useful contribution to the
literature Of the discussion of the
subject Of governmental reorganiza-
tion probably has been made by Dr.
Edward b Rosa. chief physicist of the
bueeau Of standards, in an address be-
fore the Washington Academy of Sci
enees dealing with this whole ques-
tion. This letter is intended as a
rather free Transcription Of the ideas
OF Dr.. Rosa. Of which it may be said
also that they have the approval Of
other experienced administrators in
the government service. The report
Of the reclassidcation commission
deals with two phases, reclassification
ana administration. The former. is
not discussed here. as it is too tech
nical and elaborate for presentation,
nor IL the system Of entrance into
the government service under discus
sion. This system. in fact. remains
substantially unchanged in the report
and the bill. and it may be said gem
orally that the civil service law as it
stands is probably ample and ade-
auate to AFFORD all necessary reform
without further legislation. What
the administrators desire is an en-
foreement of the existing civil serv-
ice law, with politics eliminated and
with such supplementary improve
ment as may be embodied in the new
law to be based on the report Of the
reclassihcation commission.
Legal Dimcuities in Way.
The reorganization scheme is per-
haps most important in it's effect upon
the scientific bureaus which employ
men Of the highest technical training,
and. Of late. have been losing them
so rapidly that in many cases their
work has come practically to a stand
still. Secretary Meredith tells of a
specialist in cotton CHASING, re.
ceiving $1,000 from the department.
who has resigned to accept $4,000
An engineer in the bureau of public
roads. to whom the government paid
only $500. is now receiving $4,000
from a single county in Texas. The
list could be expanded indefinitely
DR.. Rosa and his associates do not
advocate scale of salaries equal to
that obtaining in private employ
ment, nor would they regard such
scale as necessary, but they ex-
pected that Congress-. at least, will
approve the very conservative scale
recommended by the commission, il
not raise 1t somewhat. AT present
several legal difficulties stand in the
way of proper administration, the
most serious of which may be emu.
merated, as follows: