Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-01-05
.PH|LA. MINT MEN
PUT ON HALF TIME
Lack Of Funds and Work Is
Excuse Given by Fed
eral Officials
LITTLE RELIEF IN SIGHT

Due, according to officials, to lack OF
money and work. virtually all Of the
United States Mint employees here are
affected by ruling which, in effect,
puts them all on half-timc.
Fred G. Chaflin, who Is in charge of
the Mint during temporary absence of
Freas Styer. the head here, says a plan
has been adopted whereby the men work
for a certain period. tuii days at time.
and then are furloughcd for an equal
period.
This, says Mr.. Chafin, gives them
steady work. and also steady time to
themselves, during which they may be
able to get other employment. while
halliday work would 40 break into their
time that other occupation would be i'm
possible.
There are about 300 o0perating de-
partment employees. according to Mr..
Chaffin. These men are roughly clnssi-
fed as machinists, mechanics, meters,
coiners and laborers. The way the new
ruling worked out, about forty five OF
these men are off duty at all times
without pay. That Is, sliding ar
ranged whereby all men share in the in
voluntary vacations, but only forty five
or thereabouts are off at any one time.
Two Weeks Work, Two or
In the case of the majority of the
workers the new ruling means that they
work two weeks and then loaf two
weeks--thus being put on half time.
In the case Of some Of the more highly
skilled men the two weeks vacation
comes only at the end of every four
Tn
get four weeks work out of six. while
the ordinary rank and file get two
weeks work out of four.
Cause for the sudden cessation in
work-which also resulted in the per-
manent "furloughing' of some fifty men
who were hired during the boom times
attendant on the coining of the Peace
Dollars'--is variously explained. Ac-
cording to the Treasury officials and to
Mr.. Chnffin, the cut Is necessary on
account of less work and big deficit
in the appropriation.
According to certain rumors it Is due
to political retaliation for alleged
Democratic activities in the Mint dur.
ing the Wilson Administration. Still
other rumors are that the lack OF money
Is due to the appointment OF many
deserving Democrats during the
Joyce regime whose salaries ate up the
money, causing hard times now.
Whatever the answer it appears, from
investigation that the men laid off have
been given their "furloughs" without
regard to political affiliations. Accord
ing to the most reliable reports there
are no cases Of great hardship among
the workers. despite the bitter days and
the high cost Of coal and provisions.
Has Little to Do
The Mint Is busy only in reminting
American money, and in manufacturing
coins for South American republics.
The latter work is paid for by the coun-
tries concerned, but does not represent
nearly enough to keep the plant at full
capacity. According to Mr.. Chaffin the
vaults are full of the smaller coins. for
which there is little or no demand, on
account of the business depression
Mr.. Chafin explains that many men
were laid off as soon as the minting OF
the Peace Dollars" was completed.
by saying that the twenty -four hour
shifts were not necessary. He said that
during the war, due to the low wages
paid in the Mint in comparison with
the money offered by manufacturers, the
Civil Service lists were soon exhausted
and the Mint was forced to get men
where it could.
An explanation came from Treasury
officials In Washington to account for
the sudden curtaiment of work after
q summer and autumn season on which
employees were worked in three eight
hour shifts, twenty-four hours day,
to coin silver dollars.
1t ,discloses, incidentally, that the ap-
propriation of the Director of the Mint
Is so nearly exhausted that 1t VIII be
necessary to operate the Philadelphia
Mint on n half-time basis for the re-
mainder of the fiscal year, up to June
30, 1929.
Sold Silver to England.
To understand the present situation.
it is necessary to recall that during the
war Great Britain ran short of silver,
and the United States to help her out
and provide silver for the use Of the
British in India, melted down S2S7.-
600 900 in silver dollars and sold her
the silver in bull.
That made IL necessary to replace the
S2S7 900 900 In silver dollars with Fed
eral Reserve notes for like amount,
and this was done. The Federal Re
serve notes were secured by the sale of
Treasury certificates of indebtedness in
equivalent amount. on which the Gov
crnment paid interest. Thus the situa-
ton stood when silver touched the
price of 81 an ounce, when, under the
terms of the Pittman act, the Govern
mcnt is required to buy silver.
This point was reached last May, and
the Government went into the market
to purchase silver. The faster the silver
was bought, the faster silver dollars
were coined, as it was desired to retire
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