Evening star., 1921-06-15
SHORT SATURDAYS
ALL YEAR CLERKS
PLEA AT0PRES|DENT
U. S. Employees Union States
HaIf-Holiday Is Provided
by Legal Enactment.
TAKES ACTION ON EVE
OF SUMMER SCHEDULE
Brief Cites Cases in Courts and Be-
fore Treasury Controller IN
Petitions Support.

On the eve Of the summer SATURDAY
ha!f-holidays for the government eh'-
r,oyes here, President Harding mas
been presented with a brief by COM
mittee of the Federal Employees Union'
So . outlining reasons why govern
ment workers should be granted the
hiIf-holiday all the year round.
.On behalf of many thousands OF
government employees who feel tnat
in this matter they are deprived OF
substantial benefit. contrary TO the
intent of the law. we ask your care
full consideration of this matter.
states the brief presented for Presi-
cent Harding's consideration. The
,'rcument was taken TO the Wnite
House late yesterday oy Jsre ,tta. ION
r"ily. chairman ina, Iss,a or tne DeiI GI' saiome
n; nstirld. =. NJ. kennerly anu Heorse
4 Warren.
The federal employees ask that the
get OF Congress making every Satur.
holiday in the District shall be given
similar effect to that now given to
o.her statutes declaring legal holidays.
Section 1889 of the District code is
quoted to the effect that every Satur-
day after IL o'clock noon" shall be
meaning of the section. An amend
Inent of June 80, 1909. substituted for
all purposes for the words within
the meaning Of this section"
Chased With Other Holidays.
According to the brief presented the
President. the acting attorney gener-
al (new Justice McReynolds Of the
Supreme .Court) stated: II am of the
opinion that under the code Of the
District. as amended. every Saturday
after IL o'clock noon is holiday
therein for all purposes. to the same
extent and upon the same footing as
Christmas day. July 4. etc.
Cases in the Court of Appeals. Court
OF Claims and before the controller
of the Treasury are cited to uphold
the contention. The clerks further
contends:
1--WE fully appreciate that there is
no law making it Illegal to labor on
holidays Of any kind created by
statute or that there is anything
in the legislation by Congress alb
solutely requiring that the executive
closed and the employees therein re-
leased from working upon holidays.
we contend. however, and our con-
tention is, We believe, absolutely sup
ported by legal authority, that every
Saturday after 12 o'clock noon is by
law made holiday In the 6istrict Of
Columbia to the same extent and upon
the same footing as Christmas day.
upon which occa asions. in the absence
of reason deemed sufficient, the civil
service employees of the government
are excused from labor.
Canada. Australia and England.
'1t appears that Saturday afternoon
Is a holiday the year around in the
Canadian and Australian civil serv-
ices. and in the British civil service,
with the exception of the foreign Of
flee. Numbers of business houses and
industrial concerns in our own coun-
try make Saturday afternoon a holi-
day throughout the year, notably in
New York. Chicago and other large
cities. and it is felt that the federal
government. as an employer. should
keep abreast of enlightened private
concerns.
I'VE are not unmfndful Of the fact
that in the administration of this act
exceptions may be necessary from
time to time, depending upon the con-
dltion of business in a particular de-
partment or departments" concluded
the plea. For instance, one DEPART
ment may be behind in its work. We
are of opinion, however, that the
presence of this state of facts in one
department should not be permitted
to stay the operation of the law in
others wherein the public business
would not suffer from the employee re-
ceiving the Saturday half holiday.
Such a discrimination, based on con-
ditions obtaining at certain time,
practice of curtailing or Withholding
leave of absence In particular depart
mentS when emergencies arise which
were unforeseen"