Evening star., 1922-06-01
Three Cup Game of Now You
See 1t, Now You Don't,
He Charges.
WILL BITTERLY FIGHT
EFFORTS FOR ADOPTION
Declares Standard of Efficiency
Sufficiently Elastic to Pre-
vent Promotion.

scheme for government employees de-
vised by Herbert D. Brown. chief of
the bureau of efficiency, as three
cup game of now you see 1t and
now you DON'T" Senator Sterling of
South Dakota, chairman of the Senate
civil service committee, announced to
the Senate today that he would re-
sist the efforts of Mr.. Brown to have
his reclassification plan adopted
through executive order. as has been
suggested.
Senator Sterling made 1t clear that
the legislation which would neces-
sarily have to follow an executive
and ratings proposed by Mr.. Brown
would be bitterly fought in Congress
He did not mince words In discussing
Mr.. Brown and his work as head of
the bureau of efficiency.
He said that the Brown plan. In the
shape of the Smoot and Wood bills.
Rad been introduced in the Senate and
House, and that they had been re-
jected by the civil service committees
of both bodies. and then by the House
Wood bill when 1t was offered as
substitute for the Lehlbach reclassi-
fcation bill. which in amended form
has been favorably reported by the
Is now awaiting the consideration OF
the Senate appropriations committee.
Started Work In 1913.
The South Dakota senator declared
that the congressional joint commits
sion on reclassification had started
out it's work in 1919 with the idea
that the bureau of efficiency would
be its laboratory for the detailed
work and that its chief, Mr.. Brown,
would be its technical adviser.
Senator Sterling said that the COM
mission had found that Mr.. Brown
objected to the commissions giving
pare a statement Of their duties to be
considered in classifying the positions.
He said further that Mr.. Brown, the
commission found, was not proposing
a modern, up-to-date classification.
but "a halfway salary. classification
such az had been proposed many years
ago by the old Keep commission. made
up of government sdministrator1"
THE commission decided. "said Sen
ator Sterling. that II wovlA not get
and the commission parted company"
Senator Sterling charged that Mr..
Brown then began campaign against
the work of the congressional COM
mission. II
Examination Of the printed reports
of his testimony" said Senator Sterl-
Ing, before the appropriations COM
mittees discloses that In this cam
paign. Intentionally or unintention-
ally. he grossly misrepresented the
Again and again he or his assistants
have sought to create the impression
that the congressional commission
classified employees on the basis Of
HAfr nd hA outo -
the actual duties of their positions.
Nothing could be further from the
fact.
Based on Actual Duties.
The truth is that the classification
proposed by the congressional COM
mission and that Is planned for in
the Lehlbach bill is based on the
actual duties and responsibilities of
and the qualifications for the posi-
tions. The bureau of efficiency scheme
is a classification on the basis of the
bureau Of efficiencys idea OF the
value OF the duties and not on the
duties themselves.
Senator Sterling said thar after
. Mr.. Brown had been eliminated from
the work of the congressional COM
mission he began spending thousands
OF dollars. his ORGANIZATIONS time and
and employees in 'furthering his own
scheme. which would be run by the
bureau of efficiency and thus give 1t
l an excuse for being and keep it from
I absorption into the budget bureau"
Senator Sterling charged too, that
Mr.. Brown and former Representative
Good OF Iowa, at one time chairman
or the House appropriations commit
tee, mad fallen out over the increase
Of Mr.. Browns salary as chief of
the bureau Of efficiency from $1,000
to $4,000 and that upon Mr. Goods
$500.
The bureau of ehiciency's scheme of
reclassi1cation, Senator Sterling said,
provided for classification by analogy,
presenting wonderful opportunities
to skillful manipuIator"
Attempt to Sell Scheme.
inspection Of the salary scale pro-
posed" continued Senator Sterling.
and of the administrative positions
of the proposal has led some people
to an opinion that there has been a
deiioerate attempt to sell the scheme
to the upper administrative oficers
at the expense Of the routine work.
era
The salary scale in the bureau or
emciency proposal is its own handi-
work. The reclassihcation commits
what the salary would be for each Of
the more than 1.7o0 classes of posi-
tions 1t found in the service, and to
get congressional approval for them
The bureau of efficiency proposes to
go to the other extreme and not to
bother Congress about the salaries
At all. It will hx the whole matter
up, quietly without any fuss and
feathers by 'adjustments' with ad-
m1nistrative officers. Why let Com
gress rs a whole pass on such an
item. authority over which under q
reasonably good modern Constitution
would undoubtedly be vested In the
United States bureau Of efficiency. at
least SO long as 1t Is continued under
it's present head?
Sees Joker In Plan.
The salary scale on its face an.
pears reasonably generous to upper
administrative officers and q bit Mig
gardly In dealing with the rank and
fi}e. We say ION its face" because
the Brown efficiency rating system
has . Joker In 1t whereby for che
4 rank and file Of employees the upper
salary rates in his salary scale are
for bait rather than for realization.
"under his efficiency scheme an en-
ploye's salary rate within the range
prescribed for the grade to which
his position 10 allocated will depend
on his ef3cisncy rating, not neces.
sarily On his eflciency. It n here
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