Evening star., 1921-05-24
PAY CUTS IN SOME
REC[ASS|F|ED j. S.
Jobs |GPROBLEM
Cases of Salaries Exceeding
Proposed Figures Make
Task for Congress.
COMMITTEE WARNED
OF STORM OF PROTEST
Expert at Hearing Predicts That
Any Attempt to Reduce Would
Endanger Bill.

Whether government employees
whose present compensation exceeds
the amount they would receive under
a classified system shall be reduced
in pay today promised to become one
OF the most difficult problems Con-
gress will have to solve in enactinG
legislation to standardize government
work
The Sterling Lehlbach bill provides
specifically that there shall be no re-
ductions in the salaries now paid EN- :
ployes who would be placed in classi-
fed grades where the standard rates
of pay would be less.
TestifyinG today before the joint
Senate and House committees on civil
service considering classifying legis-
lation. Fred Telford. civil service
engineer. said this provision in the
Sterling-Lehlbach bill is wise one.
inasmuch as any effort to reduce the
pay of employees would bring about a
storm of protest that might jeopardize
the enactment of classified law.
A similar opinion was expressed to
the joint committee yesterday by
Federation of Federal Employees.
Representative Black of Texas. both
Yesterday and today. questioned the
advisability of the provisions referred
to. He said he believed it would de-
stroy the morale of the CLASSIFIED
service if employees were placed in
the grades they would belong to. but
permitted to retain their present sala-
rieS where the paw exceeded the reg
u,ar pay designated for the grades.
Mr. Telford said that the Sterling
and I-ehlbach bills contained provi-
sion looking to the reduction in grade
of employees who do not come up to
the standard set and for their re-
moval from the service if they are not
efficient. On the other hand, he said.
the Woods bill does not make any
such provision.
shall be lodged is an important ques-
tion in reclassification and fixing Of
salaries. Mr.. Telford said. In the
English-speaking countries the leg
islative body has invariably held on to
the purse stgins, he zsaid----Hoxsxer.
legislative. bUdieS are large and Some-
times slow to act.
When detailed matters come before
them, relating to salaries Of many
employees, they must accept what is
presented to them or slash at random.
for. as a. rule, they are unable to make
detailed nvestiSation. In some cases,
he said. legislative bodies are found
delegating authority to fix rates Of
pay to some outside agency. 1t is
most dicult problem tD decide how
much of this work shall be done by
Congress and how much by an outside
agency, he said.
Called HAPPY Medium.
Mr.. Telford said. however, that the
Sterling and Lehlbach bills appear to
have struck happy medium. Under
them Congress keeps the legislative
authority and determines what the
appropriations shall be. but does not
go into too great details and leaves
the ALLEGATION of the employees to an
outside agency.
Discussing the classification OF tie
skilled trades. Mr.. Telford said that
the same reason exists for classifying
that kind OF employe as exists for
classifying the clerical force.
Senator Nicholson of Colorado ask
ed the witness If he believed that
with labor unions outside the govern
ment.
That is a difficult question to an
swer," replied Mr.. Telford. "Where
the employer is inanimate and far
away. 1t is an advantage to both the
employer and the employe to deal
with classes and groups of employees
rather than with the Individual. In
Canada the government tried to deal
with the individual until the minis
ters found they were giving all their
time to such work.
Mr. Telford said that the best solu-
tion of the matter was to so treat the
government employees that they would
not have to join outside labor unions
to get that to which they are entitled
He said that he did not like the
idea of federal employees afiiIatinE
with outside labor unions which use
the strike. However. he said, if the
employees OF the government cannot
wrongly they will affiliate with these
outside unions.
Work Of ALLEGATION.
Senator Sterling asked Mr.. Telford
what agency should handle the allo-
cation of the employees in a reclassi-
fication. The witness replied that in
his opinion the ALLEGATION of the en-
ployes was real test of the success
of reclassification. The classification
must be made. he said. by a central
agency. In regard to the ALLEGATION,
number of opinions have been ad-
vanced, he said. Some hold that a
central agency should make the allo-
cations: others hold that the alloca-
tions should be made by the depart
ment heads, and still others hold that
the ALLEGATIONS should be made by the
department heads subject to the re-
view of central agency. Mr.. Tel
ford said tnat where ALLEGATIONS had
been made by department heads with
/ out review by central agency. the
reclassification has been a failure.
When the work was concluded. the
same old inequalities were found to
. exist, he said.
n. b. Alias. representing the In
ternational Association of Machinists
appearing before the joint committee
yesterday afternoon, strongly urged
the adoption of plan for wage
boards in any reclassification legis-
lation enacted, upon which the EN-
ployes should have representation
He criticised the amendment to the
Army appropriation Dill adopted by
the House which provides that the
men shall not be paid in excess of
the prevailing wage for similar work
in the locality in which they arc
employed. Heads OF the department
he said. would be sure to keen well
within this limitation. which might
resuit in injustice to the mon. Wages.
he said. should be determined by a
way. board. which should take into
consideration. among other things a
. living wage. the cost Of living, the
skill required on the job and the
productivity OF the nation
Representative Black asked the
witness how the government was 10
arrive at an efficiency rating for the
men if the present law prohibiting
, all time study OF jobs was continued
; in effect. Mr.. Alias replied that he
/ believed II would be entirely proper
| to retain the provisions now carried