Evening star., 1922-06-02
PRESIDENT HOLDS
UP BROWN PLAN
OF CLASSIFICATION
Senator Sterling Has Confer
ence With Mr.. Harding
on Proposed Shake-Up.
SPECIAL COMMITTEE
TO HANDLE LEGISLATION
Senate Appropriations Body to
Handle Matter-Need of Action
at This Time Question.

Developments today in the move
ment to bring about reclassi ification
of the government employees were:
l. Senator Sterling, chairman of tie
Senate civil service committee, called
at the White House and talked over
reclassification with the President
2. The appointment of a special sub
committee of the Senate appropria-
tions committee, to consider the re-
classification bill. which was referred
to the appropriations committee after
being reported favorably by the civil
service committee.
While Senator Sterling would not
discuss what transpired at the con-
ference with the President, it was
learned later that the President does
not intend at this time to issue an
order putting into effect the reclassi-
fication of government employees in
accordance with the plan developed
by the bureau of efficiency, of which
Herbert D. Brown is chairman.
1t was learned also that the view
taken at the White House is that there
is no reason why Congress, which In
this instance means the Senate should
not proceed with reclassifcation legis-
lation.
Smoot Heads Committee.
The subcommittee of the appropria-
tions committee appointed to consider
the reclassifcation bill, consists of
Senator Smoot of Utah, chairman;
Senators Curtis of Kansas, Mckinley
of Illinois. Lenroot of Wisconsin.
Overman of North Carolina, Harris OF
Georgia, and Glass of Virginia.
Senator Smoot, who heads the SUB.
committee. has in the past supported
! the Brown plan for reclasslncatlon
author of a Bill which was introduced
| in the Senate for that plan. A SIM
| liar bill was introduced in the House
| The House and Senate committees on
| civil service rejected the Smoot-Wood
bill for the Lehlbach bill. The Lehl-
/ bach bill was passedsby the house
! ferred to the Senate civil service
! committee. with the understanding
! that after the committee had acted
upon it 1T would be referred to the
! appropriations commitAee. but merely
for the purpose of having the appro-
priations committee consider the COM
! pensation fixed in the bill.
The appropriations committee has
| no jurisdiction, il was said today,
over the reclassification- 1t appears,
therefore. that the subcommittee.
headed by Senator Smoot, will not be
/ in a position to substitute the Smoot
bill for the Lehlbach-Sterling meas
ure.
The appropriations committee has
completed it's work on all of the big
annual supply bills with the exception
! of the naval bill. which will be report
! ed soon TO the Senate. The decks are
| cleared for action on reclassifica ton
! legislation. Senator Sterling is hope
| ful that the bill will be reported out
at a comparatively early date, and that
it will be passed during the present
session.
COnfers with President.
| For fifteen minutes today Senator
! Sterling gave the executive a resume
| of his views on reclassification. his
personal objections to the bureau OF
efficiency, which has completed pro-
gram of reclassifcation for the fed
| eral employees, and extolled his own
program for putting into effect re-
| classification.
Whether Senator Sterling amplified
! the caustic remarks made by him on
| the floor of the Senate yesterday in
his gri1ling of the efficiency bureau
and its chief, Herbert D. Brown, the
senator would not state following his
! talk with the President He did say
| his interview was devoted to the re-
| classification subject and that il was
very satisfactory. He said the Presi-
dent appeared to be thoroughly aware
/ OF the nceO OF T6CldSSluCdlloU anu IL
! well posted upon the subject. He
| said the President indicated that he
| was strongly in favor of reclassifica-
! tion at an early date, but whether or
/ not the President expressed himself
4 regarding the Sterling program or
| The one drawn up by the efficiency
| bureau and contained in the Smoot bill
| Senator Sterling declined to say
! Expects EnrIy Action.
Regarding the issuance of an ex-
| ecutive order by President Harding.
putting into effect reclassification Of
| federal employees. as arranged by the
| bureau of efficiency, Senator Sterling
F! said he was not in a position to make
! any answer. He stated, though, that
| he expects action at an early date
| upon his own bill and he hopes for
| favorable treatment of it at that
| time.
WHEN Chairman Brown of the eff
! cheney bureau was asked today re-
garding the attack made upon him
personally and his bureau in general
yesterday by Senator Sterling he ex-
| planned that the latter always had
| opposed the bureau and its work and
| that his recent abuse" was not un-
expected.
"To begin with" Chairman Brown
answered, Senator Sterling's state
ments in the Senate yesterday were
| just one big mass of misinformation.
He knows very little regarding the
| operation of my bureau other than
that he is opposed to it, and If he is
quoted directly he has been shame
! fully misinformed. He made repeated
misstatements of facts. indicating
| that his source of information is un-
| reliable.
| Attack Called Unfair.
| His attack on me is of little conse-
quence, but his references to the bu-
| reau, which is operating under an
act of Congress. naturally has a bad
effect and cannot be helpful in the
work we are attempting to accom-
plish. His attack was unfair and he
gives every evidence of deliberately
/ attempting to block the relief we are
aiming to extend to the thousands Of
federal employees who are patiently
waiting for a proper Redistribution"
Chairman Brown said that he
1 would welcome an investigation of
/ his bureau, as was proposed in q
resolution introduced yesterday by
Senator Sterling, and that he would
give every assistance in making such
I an Investigation. He intimated that
| at the conclusion of il Senator Ster-
ling would then be better acquainted
with what the bureau has accom-
plished and is attempting to.
Chairman Brown probably will for
mally answer the charges made by
I6enator Sterling tomorrow. In the
maantime he wishes to carefully read
verbatim report OF the eenator>>