The New York herald., 1921-10-27
DEMANDS INQUIRY
INTO RESERVE BANK
Williams Renews Charges of
Excessive Salaries Here i'm
$4,6S9,273 Payroll.

John Shelton Williams. formerly
Comptroller Of the Currency. has reit-
Grated in a letter to George Foster Pea
body. Director of the Federal Reserve
Bank OF New York, his charges that
excessive salaries are being paid to off,
GERS Of that institution and states as
his opinion that the Reserve Bank di-
rectors should welcome ana urge a thor
ough and impartial investigation Of the
situation by Congress-
For my part" says Mr.. Williams in
the letter which he released yesterday.
Il am willing to abide by the results
OF such investigation, absolutely con-
vfnced that the evidence to be ELECTED
by 1t will sustain my assertions and
contentious. II they (the directors)
have as much confidence in their posi-
ton as have in mine, surely they will
accept this invitation
| The way for an inquiry of the salary
question was paved by a resolution
passed by the Senate on October a.
you inform me and the public" the
letter continues. that certain apparent
ly indispensable officials of the New
York Reserve Bank were lost because of
higher salaries than the Government
was paying them offered In other en-
ployinent. their places. happily, being
filled by promotion. Other indispensa-
bles were presumably retained by proc
ess of piteous persuasion or expansion
Of salaries.
This has it's humorous aspects when
we consider known facts and obvious
| possibilities. 1t leaves us to surmise
what would have happened If one or
! some OF these gentlemen had died or fol-
| lowed the example Of Governor Strong
and gone Off on long vacations. six
months or a year at a time
ITO the ordinary mind it seems, how
ever. that II the bank could continue
to function smoothly with its Governor,
at $4,000 a year, absent through many
months in q most critical period, ii
might have survived the loss or sub
stltution of any minor official. When
we remember the thousands of capable
| writer's. editors and reporters doing
good work at $4,000 a year. or less. it
seems rather absurd to assume that the
| publicity department of the New York
Federal Reserve Bank requires men at
| salaries of $4,000 year to aid in giv-
ing literary finish to their press state
| ments.
when we realize that Justices Of the
| Supreme Court, Cabinet officers, Sena-
\
| positions OF vast responsibility. involv-
\ ing great labor and requiring great
4 ability. die or resign and are replaced
promptly from the intellectual resources
of the country it Is hopelessly futile to
| attempt to make the public believe that
| 1t was necessary for the country's well
being and the operation of this bank to
pile up such an increase Of salaries"
Mr.. Williams states it was because
he made careful examination that he
| was convinced of the "wanton extrava-
schedule which paid out in 1920 for
salaries s4,639.273. exclusive of other
hugo expense disbursements"
1T is cold and naked fact" Mr..
Williams adds. that fifteen OF the thirty
officers and publicity experts of the
New York bank are drawing from the
treasury OF the bank, annually. in
salaries (90 per cent. of any reduction
in these salaries would go into the
Federal Treasury more money than all
the ten members of the Cabinet. all the
nine members of the Supreme Court. six
United State Senators and ten Govern
ors of States combined"
Mr.. Williams asserts that if ii Is as
sumed that conditions Justify the Gov
ernment in reducing the pay Of railway
men and giving them the choice between
accepting the reduction and seeking
other employment" the same conditions
would Justify like course toward Re-
serve Bank employees. Commenting on
the discontinuance of quarterly extra
compensation to certain employees OF
the Reserve Bank. announced on October
l. the letter says that economic develop
ments have not yet induced the officers
drawing 100000. $4,000 or s5o.o00 to
scale their own salaries. as the curtail-
ment of extra pay applied only to en-
ployees who were receiving an average
of less than $4,000 year salaries. with
which ID support themselves. their
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