The Washington times., 1922-06-01
RAPS .
BROWN 'SPLAN
FOR EMPLOYEES
Bureau Of Efficiency Chief Is
Accused Of Deceptive Tactics
in Reclassific alton.

A bitter attack on the reclassifica.
ton Of Federal employees as proposed
by Herbert d. Brown, chief Of the
Bureau Of Efficiency, was made in
the Senate today by Senator Sterl.
ing, chairman Of the Senate Civil
Service Committee. .g..
Senator Sterling denounced Brown
for deceptive tactics, said that he
was pretending to have the support
of President Harding, when, AZ q
matter OF fact, he did not have, and
called his 'reclassification scheme
"delusion and a snare" 81. ..
Defiance OF Senator Reed Smoot.
Browns sponsor In the Senate, was
given by Senator Sterling when he
announced, that the present cam
paign to impose the Bureau OF Eft
cheney plan Of reclassification on
the Government employees would be
bitterly fought by Civil Service sup
porters in the House and Senate.
Plan IL Called q Bait.
For the rank and file of Federal
employees the salary scales in the
Brown plan Of reclassification are
for bait rather than for realization"
said Senator Stirling. Under his
scheme. an employees. salary rate
within the range prescribed for the
grade to which his position is allo-
Gated. will depend upon his eff
cheney rating, and not necessarily
upon his efficiency. 1t IL here that
the extreme ingenuity of Mr..
Brown becomes apparent. He has
devised q three-cup game OF now
you see II and now you don't
whereby while we are all talking
about rewarding the efficient Gov.
ernment employe according to his
efficiency. Mr.. Brown gets our eye
on an efficiency rating and ends
up with the average employe of
the lower ranks, or below, the mid.
die OF his grade, regardless OF the
efficiency Of the average employe.
I'VE are mesmerized for n moment
in sort of haze OF quantity, quail.
ity, percentages and standards; and
we come to at the end when Mr..
Browns q. e. D. rouses US to the
fact that he has safely kept the aver.
age salary from rising, regardless Of
the efficiency Of the employe.
THE trick Is done by having the
standard for measuring the quantity
OF work done by employees. working
In groups Of five or more CT one
grade under a single supervisor,
made out Of rubber or any other suf-
ficiently elastic material SO that Il
will stretch. II the employees begin
to get so efficient that there Is come
danger Of the average salary for tho
group getting above the middle rate
| Tor the average, all you have to do
Is to stretch the standard, and they
are safely back where they started.
Standard Said to Vary.
NOW and then one peculiarly
efficient may be permitted to reach
the upper rates, but It win be at
the expense Of others in the group
who will fall a corresponding dis.
lance below the average.
Some OF us seem to belong 10 a
school Of thought or ethics very
different from the one of which
| Mr.. Brown Is an exponent. To US
uniform, and not something which
will vary from department TO de-
partment. from bureau to bureau,
from office to office, and from
| time to time. To US the ideal Of
equal pay for equal work. payment
on the basis Of efficiency and
justice alike to the Government and
| to the employe are something more
than pleasant phrases.
ct am unable to sit quietly by
while q scheme In established. with
out consulting Congress. which pro-
vides for classification by analogy,
ALLEGATION :, by adjustment, and
| efficiency measurement by a. vari-
able, instead Of a standard. As
chairman of the Civil Service Com
mittee and having no other In.
terest than the good of the service
at heart, most earnestly protest
against these or any further at
tempts upon the part Of the head
Of the Bureau of Efficiency 10 carry
out a scheme which believe is
bound to prove unsatisfactory to the
| Government, the heads of depart
ments and unjust to employees, and
also detrimental to the public wei.
fare.