The Washington times., 1922-03-10
Prompt Remedial Legis-
LntiOn for Annuitnnts
BY BILL PRICE.


The unfortunate benefciaries of the civil service
retirement act who temporarily deprived Of their
small annutes under the decision Of Attorney Gen
eral DAUGHERTY, may safely expect that Congress
will promptly remedy the alleged defects in the law
and restore to them the tiny incomes that enable
them partly to maintain themselves. In passing
remedial legislation Congress will to it that in
the future employe Of the Government, matter
how he she may have entered the service, will be
deprived of the right to an annuity after the
quired years of faithful and efficient service.
The decision Of the Attorney General-even if it
is quite technical in the emphasis placed upon the
meaning of classified" or competitive" civil SER
vce-may be useful if it serves to bring prompt cor
rection of and, if possible, increases in the
measly annuites allowed those who have reached
retirement age after serving their Government so
loyalty
Whatever the technical phases of the new ruling
there is no doubt that the intent of both houses Of
Congress to include in the retirement law all
Government workers whose long service entitled
them to benefits, whether they were appointed
through Presidential order or competitive civil
service processes
The primary object of the retirement law, in its
initial operation, to fairly and honoraby care for
superannuated employees who had been kept on the
Government payrols because it inhuman and un-
fair to dismiss them, and that their places might be
filled by younger people.
The fundamental reason for the law was the rec
ognized principle, now prevailing among large en-
ployers everywhere, that loyalty and faithfulness
should be rewarded by provisions that will prevent
aged workers from being thrown upon the world, to
be cared for by Others after they have reached super
annuation.
The prime object and spirit of the law are tenn
porarily defeated, and Congress will doubtless pro-
vide that suffering shall result from the situation.
Corrective legislation will be sufficiently retroactive
to prevent financial losses to those greatly in need
of the annuities it intended they should have.
Thousands of older employees of the United States
were blanketed into the civil service by executive
orders authorized by Congress. Many in in
dvidualy through executive order, also authorized
by Congress. There be no question as to the
Legality of their civil service status. Therefore
there should be bubble to their bona fde quail
ifications as beneficiaries.
There are large numbers of comparatively young
civil service employees, who also came in through Pres
idental civil service order They are each month pay
ing from their salaries goody contributions to what
is too often called the "pension fund" The Gov
ernment has not pensioned employees. It is merely
contributing to fund for their retirement the Gov
ernment's workers themselves furnishing the bulk
of the fund
1t is misleading to refer to the annuites as open
sions" carrying an impression throughout the coun-
try, and occasionally accentuated in Congress, that
Government employees have "cinch." The only
"cinch" they've got is low salaries, barely suffi-
cient to maintain them and entirely insufficient for
that purpose If they married and have children
In all fairness to Government workers, therefore,
press dispatches and newspapers should ban the
word "pension' as applying to the annuites of the
retirement act-annuities that will be paid in the
future almost entirely out of percentages of salaries
withheld each pay day.
1t is taken for granted that executive officers
of the Government will delay contemplated retire
ments Of employees coming under Mr. Daugherty' g
characterization until Congress has rectifed the pres
ent law that there no longer be doubt or dis
pute.