Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1920-12-07
PRUNING THE
u. S. PAYROLL
BUSY WITH PRUN-
ING EXPECT TO GUST
USELESS EMPLOYEES
SAYS 250,O0O ARE NOT NEEDED
Pruning VIM Save Taxpayers More
Than 35O,000,0O0.

Washington, Dec. 4.-How to reduce
by 250,00O the present padded payroll
Of the government is the problem
which the new republican administra-
tion will take up as soon as it enters
power.
At the beginning of the war with
Germany there were 10000 govern
ment employees in Washington. Dur
ing the conflict, as the result Of the
eXtravagant methods of the Wilson ad-
ministration. this total jumped to 1872
900. After the armistice had been
signed in 1918 the executive depart
ments asked that this be increased.
The republicans held up these esti-
mates and, when they captured con-
gress, speedily reduced the number
to 10000, in one year getting rid of
$4,000 employees who had become a
burden to the taxpayers of the country.
Representative Will r. Wood, of In
diana chairman of the subcommittee
of the appropriations committee in
charge of the legislative bill to become
effective after June 80 next, declares
that the number of Washington gov
tl tllUlOJGtS Will UG 81 lNNuCtQ
that not more than $4,000 will be pro
vided for thus in year and a half
looping off a total of 81 600 employees
in Washington alone.
This is only the beginning of the re-
duction that is planned, however.
Chairman Good. of the house appro-
priations committee; Senator Curtis,
of Kansas, republican whip in the SEN
ate, and other republican leaders at
the capitol, are insisting that the re-
ductions must be made in every de
partment of the federal service and
that many of the bureaus established
during the war shall be legislated out
of existence altogether.
There are now more than 10000
men and women in the employ of the
United States government throughout
the country On January 81, 1920,
there were 1854 on the payrolls of
the federal government, but congress,
during the last session, reduced this
number to about 100000.
The reduction of 250,000 in the size
of the army of federal employees that
is hoped for by congressional leaders
would result in an annual saving of
between $500 900, 900 and 1000, 600
to the taxpayers, it is estimated.
Senator Lodge, republican leader in
the upper house, and Representative
Mondell, republican leader in the low
er house. declare their intention of in
sisting upon wholesale reductions in
the number of federal employees.
The present administration. however,
- hn
appropriations committee that in near
ly every case call for additional em-
ployees for the next fiscal year. About
the only exception that has been noted
is in the case of the bureau of war
risk insurance, where an immediate
reduction of about 1900 is reported
contemplated at once.
Chairman Wood said that he could
not understand why new clerks were
being asked for in the legislative bill
which his committee hopes to have
ready for reporting to congress by De
cember IS.
I'VE have today in Washington un-
der the civil service something over
80. .0OOe employees and between 5000
and 6 5000 unclassiifed, making a total
of $4,000 government employees here,
said Mr.. Wood Before the war there
were about $4,000 1t is idle for any
one to say that there is now three
times as much work done here as be-
fore the war.
"There are 25 or 80 independent
bureaus, meant by the law that created
them to be merely for the war emer-
gency, that are trying to induce us tC
make them permanent and to get
larger force than before.
Every man who comes before us
agrees that there ought to be reduc-
ton in the number of civil service EN-
: ployees in Washington, but they insist
that the cut must come somewhere
; else than in their own offices"