Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1921-12-23
UNCLE SAM AS EMPLOYEE

IECOt GAAASAS SAARNCGSA VI Altu Ann .
women in this country. At the present
time In the executive civil service n
the Federal government, and exclusive
of the army and navy, there are EN-.
ployed approximately $4,000 workers
or one in 70 of all residents on Amer. |
can soil, ten years of age or over, en-.
gagged in gainful occupations. A little
while ago, when the number of federal
employees was even larger than it IA
now. one person out of every GO in the
United States who had any sort of a
job at all was working for the govern.
ment. These calculations are based
on recent estimates of the bureau Of
the census in anticipation of the re-
suits of the fourteenth general census.
Prior to the outbreak of the war,
in 1914, the number of men and women
in civil positions in the executive
service was approximately 3S5,63O. In
1916 1t had grown to 398,S32. In 1911
after our entry into the war, it was
459, 79S. On June 80, 1919, the number
was 7O7,44S. The number on July 81,
1920, was 691,116.
These figures are ~confessedly ap
proximations. Since the signing of the
armistice the number of federal en-
ployees has been decreasing. UH
doubtedly the decrease in force will
continue to be made for months to
come, but the growth of the govern
ment business in the past few years
has been such as to make 1t a larger
employer in the postwar period than
1t had ever been in the pre-war period
These thousands of men and women
working for the government comprise
every type of ability and intelligen@
Their duties cover a range of ACTIVITIES
that far exceeds that exercised for
other public or private employers; ff
besides its task of lawmaking and Law
enforcing, of national defense and
national finance, the government Is
charged with promoting the health and
welfare of its people, of promoting
their home interests, their agricultural
mining, manufacturing, shipping, fish
ing and transportation interests.
To do this it must investigate, con
troll and eradicate diseases that ,tacA
persons, plants and animals. Thrust
inspect livestock. foods and drugs. 1t
must. study conditions and progress In
education, labor and commerce. Il
must prevent individual men or groups
of men from using unfair business
methods, whether in banking, trans
portation, trade or manufacture.
The government must administe
public lands and the affairs Of the
Indians, and educate children Id
Alaska. 1t grants patents Of invea'
ton, it sets the clocks of the county,
forecasts the weather, and makes
observations of the stars and heaven!
bodies. 1t constructs buildings, docks
roads, bridges, irrigation works, build
canals and aeroplanes, makes
ordnance and ammunition, clothing
and other supplies for its soldiers and
sailors. 1t makes all it's own mone
and does all it's own printing. 1t ds
tributes all mail and many packages
The government does everything
that any employer in the United States
does, in addition to a great man
things that no other employer does
How does it treat its people? Is NJ
a good employer or a bad employer
Are its employees ~contented? Thes
are questions that I should advise tn
railroad men, the miners and ons
workers who seek naturalization O
industry, to look into before they CON
NIT themselves.
Let them find out for themselVs
what government ownership wou'
mean to them.
The first thing they will discover ' T
/ discovered when I began the preSsI
inquiry, is that nobody knows, ~"
nobody in the government service :
charged with knowing, the eau
number of employees in the ser'@
from day to day. Even more astows
ing, nobody knows, or is charged wiz
knowing, even approximately, the su'
of the payroll of the United STATES
1t is not possible to find out wlAD
hundreds of thousands of dollars NV
much the United States pays yeag
or monthly in salaries and wages
went to the Treasury department
the appropriations committee OF W.
gress, and elsewhere where l thousy
the information might be LODGED. ~
nobody knew. I was told vaguey -
the government was not run VI
asset and liability basis, and tneie-
it was not necessary to know the ~
number of employees on the pa' \.
If the average compensation
100, the federal civil service pa.
now amounts to more than
hundred million dollars annually.
largest single branch is the POS.
department, with nearly 3OV,ow ~.
ployees. The War department
more than 125,0O0 civilian emplo' N
the Navy department about W'oV cnM
the Treasury department about %ssMI
No other branch has as many as ~
employees. Any institution tna nd
ploys one in seventy-three OF a. N.
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