davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1920-09-12
ny WILL r. KENNEDY.


~ ETERMINED effort to have
justice done to the pa
tient army Of govern,
ment employees by giving
them increases in salary that will
constitute "a living wage" and by
opening up opportunities for those
in the federal service to win pro-
motion to the higher positions.
while at the same time developing
economy and efficiency in the con-
duct Of Uncle Sans big business.
is to be made at the coming ses-
sion Of Congress.
This reform in the management
and operation Of the governments
monster workshop is being urged
from within the federal service by
the one agency that comes in con-
tact with all departments, bu-
reaus and independent establish
ments. and whose duty 1t is to in
yestigate "methods"-the United
States bureau Of efficiency.
+ 4 + 4
Two particular reports that are
now being prepared by this bureau
promise to focus the attention OF
Congress particularly and undodg-
ingly upon the need for giving
higher salaries end for opening up
Strv
of these on reclassiflcation of SAL
aries will show in elaborate detail
that increases in salaries granted
by Congress to federal employees
have been entirely inadequate to
enable them to battle with the
high cost Of living. as compared
with increases in a few special
branches Of the government serv-
ice, or in outside establishments.
This comprehensive report will
show what it will take in dollars
to put the employees of Uncle Sam
on the same basis that they were
in 1914. Besides this report from
the bureau Of efficiency. Congress
already has before 1t a voluminous
special report On ''reclassification"
prepared at great expense by the
joint congressional commission on
reclassihcation.
Another report which is practi-
cally ready amplifies an earlier
report on the need for establish
ing a service school for the gov
ernment employees. in which they
may be trained by government ex-
perts and fitted to do particularly
we'll the peculiar work required
in the government service and win
promotion by fitting themselves to
take the better positions as open-
ings offer.
4 + X.
In addition to these two reports
others that are being prepared by
the bureau Of efficiency affecting
particularly the hundreds of thou
sands Of government workers in
Washington. who come from every
state in the Union. which look to
promotion Of economy and effici-
ency along practical, business lines.
include such subjects as civil serv-
ice. duplication of work in the
federal service. reorganization and
coordination Of the government
establishments into better working
groups. readjustment Of statistical
activities.
M HedG1uo6aa4l4 0Da -
Evening star., 1920-09-12
Increase in Pay for Government Workers ....
and Schools aeala ia ProraatiQns
! o'1!['la,at||iolnsi

Washington give every Indication
that, such training, would be suc-
cessful for federal efnployes. The
bureau advised Congress that the
labor turnover in the government
costs no les3 than $5oo.06o a year.
a large part OF which should be
saved If the school Is established.
1t is also believed that the school
I will make the Individual efnploye
more efficient and, will attract
higher grade clerks to enter and
remain in the governments en-
ploy. Mr.. Brown says that he has
found the employees very much in
terested in the proposition.
X 80 i
The idea is to train and educate
them for the peculiarities of Uncle
Sans. work after; they. have been
admitted under civil service, but
not to train them to take the civil
service examinations. The Civil
Service Commissions examinations
only test ones general education
and ability to learn a job. This
school would enable the clerks to
get a broader vision Of the duties
OF the department or bureau and
enable them to qualify for higher
grades of work and to climb up
the grades in the reclassihed
oSA vA@N. d.
There is no intention to make
the attendance compulsory. The
commissioner Of education sent out
QUESTIONABLE some time ago to
about 10000. employees taken at
random to ascertain how. they,
would like to take up some line Of
study, and found that very large
percentage Of the employees want
to, improve themselves by study.
Mr.. Brown has prepared for Con-
gress a statement showing that
such school would be very mex
pensive and the trivial cost to the
United States Treasury would be
compensated many times over in
actual savings through greater ef-
ficiency. The instruction would be
given principally by technical men
now employed In the government.
The advisability of having the in
dividual employees pay a tuition fee
is being considered. More than half
of those who answered Commission
er Claxton'a QUESTIONABLE express
"a .<ho;~ ~s,3Il3s, o,., ao, 20 nav 81 O
week tuition. If necessary. r.
The reorganization report will
outline a definite program of re-
alignment of all government agen-
cies. with view to bringing all
similar, co-ordinated or correlated
lines of work together under one
control. as far as practicable.
The report on readiustment Of
statistical activities win analyze
all of the 1o3 units in the federal
service-ss In the principal depart
ments and II in the Independent
establishments-which are now en-
gagged in collecting. compiling and
reporting statistics on various sub
jects.,
The report ON duplication of ac-
tiyities in the federal service will
show Congress just how much
duplication" actually exists and
will In a measure be refutation.
of the charge so often made by
members Of Congress who have not
given close study to how these sta
ashfni2sanaoGtagat1onasxaallxs1ifnn
Evening star., 1920-09-12

cording to Herbert b. Brown, chief
Of the bureau Of efficieifcy. IL being
drafted to show two thiass piainiy:
First. that the employees are being
treated shabbily, that they afs .suf-
fering under present conditions
and that the government has been
unfair to them in the matter of
pay increases. Second, it will give
the method Of doing JUSTICE to the
employees in such simple. unrnis-
taxable way that Congress cannot
help but act upon it. Mr. Brown be-
lieveS.
The report on the proposed school
will show particularly what COM
mercial establishments gre doing
to improve their service through
the medium Of training schools for
their employees. The proposal for
the government training school
has already received serious and
favorable consideration before the
House appropriations committee
and by the Senate. The idea has
also been strongly, approved by the
joint congressional commission on
Redistribution.
Mr.. Brown says that tho bureau
Of efficiency is going to recon-
mend that the school should be
established for the benefit Of the
federal service itself. aside from
and even more than it will be Of
personal benefit to the employees.
He will urge that 1t should carry
the employees up through the. serv-
ice into the higher positions rather
than have Uncle Sam hunting vainly
outside for people to take the better
jobs. for which they are not train
ed. The report will point out that
the government work Is so differ
ent from work in outside CONNER
Evening star., 1920-09-12

oial life that commercial establish
ments and commercial schools do
not and cannot furnish. the govern
ment with people to do the work in
the way It must be done. : Z
He will urge that the school
should be conducted by the bureau
Of eflciency as the one Independent
agency coming most closely into
contact with all departments and
independent establishments. Know
ing their needs, and being ths au-'
thorized agency for investigating
methods in the governmet service.
k X - 4 =
In September. 1919. the bureau
Of efficiency recommended to Con-
gress the establishment Of a school
for training government, employees.
A provision authorizing such q
school was submitted to the Sen
ate committee on appropriations
when it was considering the last
deficiency bill, but the recommen-,
dation was not acted upon. 1t was
discussed at q. hearing on. the leg
islative. judicial and executive ap-
preparation bill. Before making
its Recommendation the bureau Of
efficiency had investigated the
training given by private corpora
tions to their employees and. by the
College of tho City Of New York
for employees Of that city. 1t had
also considered conditions In
Washington. the needs Of the de-
partments and the civil service re-
quirements. -
The bureau found and reported to
Congress that private corporations
were effecting big savings in la
Dor turnover by training their en-
ployes, that the school for the New
York municipal employees was very
SUCCESSFUL and that. conditions in
Evening star., 1920-09-12
ny LINDSAY s. PERKINS.

ny LINDSAY 8. PERKINS.
THIS is a story Of how to become
well-to-do, even II only q
government worker.
L The federal employees of Wash
ineton give the city its tone to large
extent and form an element OF po-
tential force in finance not YET oe-
ve,oned. the exact equal OF which is
not ia be found elsewhere. MOST OF
them are in permanent positiohs
which call for occasional promotions
IN SALARY; to which they have at
tanned through competitive e4amina-
ton on their own merits through 'he
civil service system ana passeu .
r,vid mental. physical and moral test
Their combined salaries amount 10
manv millions Of dollars annually
Few Of them save, or expect to save
anv considerable portion OF their pay
Many use the service merely as = :.
stepping stone to something peter
and do not expect to work for uncle
sam after they shall have graduated
from some course Of study they are
taking. in medicine. law, etc.
Rut there is a large element OF
clerks here who will stay and grow
old in the service. BY the strtctest
economy, certain percentage OF
them will save enough money IN the
course of fifteen or twenty years to
buy a modest home in the city or
suburbs, SO that the small stipend al
lowed on retirement will be sumcient
for their actual needs and comfort.
work in the 01en Air.
A few know the pleasures and ad-
vantages Of suburban life, where
garden and orchard furnish not only
a substantial addition to- the table.
but the open-air exercise necessary
to keep them In good health and
spirits once work is mostly OF
confining and sedentary character.
and in time a sort Of poisonous ac-
cumulation in the. system sometimes
leads to hardening Of the arteries.
heart troubles. rheumatism and dis
orders Of the, nerves and kidneys.
and apoplexy. Some Of these clerks
will add several years to their lives
as well as dollars to their bank ac-
count by brisk work In the garden
Of mornings and evenings. and many
more should follow the good ex-
ample.
This article aims to show them
Evening star., 1920-09-12

rand financial world that only through
a gradual curtailment of credits car
there be a sure return to the normal
| No Disaster In Sight.
The committee on statistics Of the
Chamber Of Commerce of the United
States, In its semi-annual bulletin on
! crop and general business conditions
manifests a strong belief that the
readjustment Of business conditions
will continue without any violent
financial disorders or economic
calamities. In its review of the
situation the committee found a
widespread feeling among business
men that business would continue
good for the remainder Of the year.
In its review of general business and
financial conditions during the month
of August, the Federal Reserve Board
found that the continued readjustment
of economic and business conditions
was proceeding. but without any
signs Of disaster threatening. 1t
found that prices showed a tendency
to fall still further. and during the
month Of August the boards index
number Of wholesale prices showed a
reduction Of seven points. Bradstreet's
estimated an average decline in prices
for all articles, when this years high
level and the prices charged August 1
are considered. of 9A per cent. It is
believed that the last month has
brought about a still greater decline.
Retail Prices Hold Up.
Retail prices have not yet reflected
the decline Of the wholesale prices to
a like extent, except in case Of cloth
ing and some. foodstuffs. In the case
of clothing. the prices have been re-
duced because, to q considerable ex-
tent, the consuming public has taken
the bit in its teeth and refused to con-
tinue to purchase at the higher rates.
With foodstuffs. the decrease has been
due in considerable part to the In
creased supplies. Take the case OF
sugar. which has dropped with a
rapidity that has caused the sugar
spectators great anguish. It finally
became apparent that the supply Of
sugar in this country was large
enough to meet demands. and the
crops in Cuba and elsewhere were
large. with the promise Of still greater
supplies.
The outlook for thu crops in this
country last spring was rather gloomy
In some respects. But the farmers
have come through In wonderful style,
according to reports from the Depart
ment of AgricnIture. the Omitted States.
Chxmber oes 1srce and th4 x6detaf
Reserve Boaed. The assurance OF
these huge crops has tended to
brighten the outlook considerably, and.
to nninfmixs the fears enterts
because eof price reductions. tikht
money and Industrial unrest In some
localities.
Transportation vital Problena.
The movement Of the crops is the
present problem. just as it, is the
problem inNplved in the Industrial
situation. Adequate transportation
facilities are necessary, and what the
railroads are able to do in the next
few months will have a vital bearing
upon business conditions. There Is
little use producing crops or goods
from the factory unless there are cars
to haul them to markets or to ports
for export. It has been the cry of
many manufacturers that they could
not get the cars either to ship their
goods away or to bring to their fac
tories the materials needed in their bus
mess.
There IL a certain amount of hesi-
Evening star., 1920-09-12

q cHOOLS and colleges of the
present and future should
\ enable women to judge wise
ly. purchase carefully and
appreciate the true value Of good
material. good workmanship and
really beautiful designs, in the be-
lief of Mrs. Henrietta w. Calvin.
specialist in home economies OF the
bureau Of education. She bases her
opinion on the fact that women
are the determining factors in pro-
duction, due to the fact that they
direct the expenditure of SIS per
cent Of the wealth of the country.
"As the girls of today are taught,
the women of tomorrow will buy
and use." says Mrs. Calvin. "As
those women buy and use, the re-
taller will demand from the whole
saler."
Just what may be the result
when women are all like minded,
Mrs. Calvin pointed out, was man.
ifested when the female population
Of the country became possessed
with the desire to knit. The ef-
feet upon the whole woolen sit
uation which resulted from 2o.-
900. 900 women demanding knitting
yarn is q matter Of history.
Mrs. Calvin made it clear that
women decide the color. design and
- tho width
and size Of sheets. the quality and
kind of blankets and covers and
the length, weave and pattern OF
window draperies. She tended to
show that they are the ultimate
consumers Of the product of in
Vulnerable factories and shops.
*** y ~
According to statistics compiled
by the bureau Of education, there
are now $4,000 American girls pur-
suing the study of home economies
in schools and colleges, and these
students will ultimately bring
within the scope Of their influence
as teachers approximately 1.ooo,-
900 pupils, as home economics edu-
cation usually begins in the NTH
grade in the more progressive
cities. In. includes food and nutri-
ton, textiles and clothing, house
construction and furnishings.
household management and sani-
tation, child care and training,
household : administration and
financial management.
Present-day conditions. Mrs. Cal
Evening star., 1920-09-12
Urges That Schools Train Girls TO
Be Wise Judges Of Goods
and Intelligent Buyers.

vim explained. make such training
imperative. She illustrated this need
by calling attention to the fact that
women were formerly producers of
the so-called dry goods for their
households. They carded, spun. and
wove both cotton and wool; they
worked with men in the preparation
Of fax and the production Of linen.
Every housewife was a Judge of the
quality Of cloth, because she had. di-
rectly or indirectly. been concerned
with the making of cloth.
With the advent Of machinery the
clothing industries left the homes,
and gradually even the recognition
Of certain fabrics waned and a gen.
Grafton Of women came who did not
know cloth. nor were they skillful in
the use of the needle or machine. At
about the same time many women
became wage-earners. and hence no
longer vitality interested in the af-
fairs Of home.
Other agencies were at work
changing the lives of women. School
terms increased. the school day
heightened, music and lessons occu-
pied the evening hours. social amuse-
ments multiplied. and did the mother
desire to train her daughter in the
household arts there was neither
time nor opportunity. A generation
of unframed homemakers developed.
Mrs. Calvin believes the teaching
Of textiles and clothing aims first to
give skill in Earment-making. while
there can be no doubt but that the
wage-earning women should pur-
chase ready-to-wear clothing or that
night or Sunday work detracts from
occupational efficiency" she says,
there are many millions Of nom
wage-earning women who cannot
more prontably use their time than
in sewing upon their own and their
families clothing. es
Each woman should be able to de-
eide just how her time can best be
spent. II she has a family Of little
children and q fairly liberal income,
unquestionably her time and strength
are better spent in caring for the
physical, mental and moral develop
ment Of her children. But II she
must extend her income to its utter
most, or II she has few or no small
children. she can use her time and
. her means best by. fabricating some
or all of her own undergarments and
many Of the household articles"
Evening star., 1920-09-12
MAKING A HUGE BOOK
OF ACTS OF CONGRESS

A LII of the federal laws will be
~ compiled into one enormous
~ book Of 100000 words. di-
vided into more than 1900
sections. and constituting sixty-one
titles. ready for Congress to o. x. the
printing and binding of this code
when it. reassembles in December.
Representative Edward Little of Kan
sas. chairman of the House commit
tee on revision Of the laws. has been
with the assistance of ten able law
Evening star., 1920-09-12
NJ q, GOULD LINCOLN.
7 oW'S business?
. In the United States, as II
ss the countries throughout thu

SseSsesS~e
In the United States, as II
IS the countries throughout thu
civilized world. the welfare
Of nilfions Of people depends upor
TIE answer Of this question Ever
since the axmistfce was signed back
in Novesnber. 1918. almost two years
age. Thousands Of persons have been
woaAerins-and fearing-what was
going to happen to business before
ths country returned to what is gen.
eeally called normal conditions
Prices were high and wages were
hikh. Production was not keeping
pace with consumption. Predictions
~ere rife. however. that there would
be q slump in prices and tremend-
ous panic when the slump began.
But these predictions have not been
borne out in fact. While the business
Of producing war materials naturally
fell or with a bang. the United
States and the rest Of the world was
20 far behind In its requirements for
other materials that there was plenty
Of business for the manufacturers,
the jobbers, the wholesalers. the re-
tailers. and. of course. labor. Prices
not only kept high. but increased, and
ragss along with them. until few
weeks age.
Price Tread Now Downward.
Nov the peak actually seems to
have passed and there is lessening
of-prices in . considerable number of
hines. Thta ts attributed to a number
Of causes. among which are a tend
ency to catch up In the matter of
production. SO ~ to meet the demand.
and . determination upon the part Of
the ultimate consumer to buy no more
than necessity requires at prices
tant. Also the people Of Europe are
doiRS more and moro for themselves.
now, and what they cannot furnish
for themselves they are doing with
ont to = greater extent, largely be-
cause their credit is about exhausted
and they must do something to
change to sone extent the balance Of
trade which has been so heavily
against them.
This fall in prices b not confined
to the United States. It Is found in
many other countries and may be due
in large part to the increased and in
cre2sing ocean shipping facilities. which
in turn means lower marine freight
rates :asa ,nsseased imports and e1-
- - csssisse
Evening star., 1920-09-12

VIII Mean Sacrifices.
There is no use in minimizing the
sacrifices a woman must make in
going to the country to live. She
will miss much that makes life
pleasant will have to. work harder
and put up with many drawbacks not
The Washington times., 1920-01-17
POSTOFFICE POTATOES
SCARCE AT 81 A BUSHEL
Capitol Man Sends Check for $1.30,
but Finds He Must In
crease Ante.

Frank Barrow, secretary to Major
ity Leader Mondell, Of the House,
read in the local press the other day
that potatoes could be had by Parcel
Post at $40 per bushel. He hurriedly
wrote check for S1.3O and sent 1t
to the Postofficc Department, request
ing n bushel of potatoes.
81 told many Of my friends about
il. Mr.. Barrow said today. 81 sug-
gested that they also order some Par
eel Post potatoes, and pass the word
on TO their friends.
"Now here's what ! am in for-l
cannot get potatoes at S1.3O. In fact,
the PostoftiCe Department has re-
turned my check, with the eXplana-
ton that the story in the newspaper
was unauthorized; that potatoes have
advanced to $500, and that at pres
ent / will have to get my potatoes
elsewhere. They gave me the name
of q man in Virginia from whom
might get potatoes, so ! have made
another check for $1.30 and sent ir to
him. I intend TO ind out how this
Parcel Post system works"
1t is stated at the Postoffice De-
partment that hundreds of persons in
Washington have been sending money
for potatoes during the past few
days.
The Washington times., 1920-01-17
4 DOMINATE JAIL" -"
SAYS MRS. TABOR
Aged Mother, Held in Hope
Chest" Murder Case, Spends
Time Reading.

PAW PAW, Mich, Jan. IL Michi-
gan's hope chest" murder. which the
authorities had considered solved by
the affidavit OF Walter o Tabor, ac-
cusing his siXty-yesr-old mother of
killing his sister with chloroform.
was cloudy with complications today.
Attorneys for Mrs. Sarah .. Tabor
the octogenarian mother of Maud
Tabor. gave notice they would con-
test to the last the use of her sons
affidavit. Tabor made another affi-
davit to his attorneys denying the
truth of the one in which he accused
his mother. and asserting it was OBJ
tained from him under false pretCnses.
"They will have TO show there was
malice" said Attorney ketchem. for
the Tabors, today. There never was
one shred of evidence to show Maud
and her mother had any argument.
My defense is that Maud died a nat
ural death. For more than a month
she had been treated for asthma, her
heart action was bad, and she was
soon to become mother"
Meanwhile, Mrs. Tabor, aged and
wrinkled under the weight of her
sixty years, remains incommunicado
in the Jail here. The charge that
she murdered her daughter with
chloroform. and then hid the body in
Mauds own hope chest" secreting 1t
beneath the cellar floor and conceal
! ing it for three years, rests lightly
upon her She reads current maga-
zines, and refuses to discuss the case
other than to state her disbelief in
her sons accusing affidavit.
81 dominate the jail" she said to
reporter today. 81 don't let the
Jail dominate me. I'm bigger than
the Jail"
Joseph Virgo, who was the secret
husband of Maud Tabor, and was
charged with causing her death by
an abortion, returned to his home
| in South Send today.