New Britain herald., 1921-12-17
CITY SALARIES.

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 The employer and the employe quite naturally look at the suggestion Of cut in salary from different angles, The employer Is apt 10 be- Iiove that bis ompDoyc Is getting q salary sufficiently large to meet his needs if he does not 80 even farther and insist that he is getting more than he earns,
 The employc, on the other hand, is inclined to feel that he is not paid enough; that he would be able to do much better work were he paid more, and that his employer could never get another man as efficient as he deems himself to be for the amount he is receiving.
 The people Of the city arc the em- ployers of the city employees. The taxes they pay meet the expenses Of running the city. Among these eX- ponses are the salaries of those who attend 10 the city's business-the tax payers business-more or less eff ciently.
 Under these conditions it is quite natural that there arises occasionally the cry that the city officials and en- ployes are receiving too much pay. To suggest a reduction is a popular move among the taxpayers of the city it would reduce their taxes, they be- lieve.
 There are many thinking people, however, not employees of the city or anyone else, who take the opposite view They believe that salary cuts would not tend to reduce taxes; they believe that were the city's work the taxpayers work-to be done by q set of dissatisfied people there would be less efficiency and, in the final an alysis, the expenses would be greater and the taxes heavier.
 Moreover, such people want the best men in offices and the best em- ployes obtainable. A policy of salary reduction is poor way to bring in teligent, skilled and efficient people into the work of the city-and such intelligent, skilled and efficient per sons are sadly needed. They oppose cuts in salaries unless there are glar- ing instances of big pay with little work
 Beyond this aspect of the, situation and underlying the whole consider ation of the subject is the justice of the matter. Those who know what the salaries of the ministerial em- ployes are--the clerks, stenographers, etc, believe that the pay they are receiving is no greater than is fair, considering the cost of living.
 A slightly different condition exists in regard to city officials. Such po- sitions are sought and 1t is known that they are temporary at best. No one need seek such positions. But, having sought and obtained them, and having determined to give their best to their work, the office holders should receive fair pay for the work they do.
 If a position is a political stepping stone and if it is considered such by the incumbent the matter of salary is of little importance to him. But no man has q right to assert that he Is able to read the mind of another, and who can say that any one city official did not seek the position he holds be- cause he believed he could serve the city q little better than anyone else in that position?
 Considering the interest of the tax payers, the interest of the city, the work of which should be in the hands of competent men and women, anG considering the matter Of justice tc the city. officials and employees them selves, a general cut in salaries woult he an act of fragrant injustice,