Evening star., 1922-04-30
GOOD PAY FOR GOOD MEN
TO BETTER u. S. SERVICE
Leaders in Congress Realize That Present
Scale of Salaries Is One Greai
Cause of Inefficiency.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.
I IMPROVEMENT of the governme

BY WILL r. KENNEDY.
IMPROVEMENT of the government
service from the top down, by
getting a high grade of proven
business men and specialists to
take the executive positions by the
simple process of making the salaries
worth while, is the reform to which
Congress will give attention as soon
as the appropriation bills. are out of
the way.
Representative Will r. Wood of In
diana, one of the real powers in the
, one OF the most active majority men,
, bers on the House appropriations
! committee, is working up this reform
and is authority for the statement
that the appropriations committee
will make a careful and systematic
survey of the entire federal establish
nent TO get scientific readjustment
Of these salaries. That is the ofr-sea-
son work that the appropriations
committee can do of most value to
the government and to the taxpayers
Of the country, he says.
To Pay Good Salaries
To High-Grade Men.
This will mean generally much
larger salaries for the chiefs of bu-
reaus and divisions, members of COM
missions and boards, etc.-the men de-
pended upon to get the governments
! work done and done right. 1t will
mean salaries such as men of execu-
tive ability can command in outside
business. 1t means that Uncle Sam
| would go after men of proven ability
| to take charge of having his work
done right-just as good men as can
| be found in the country.
The people throughout the country
may not know it, but every member
Of Congress should and most people
in Washington do know that whether
a republican organization OF a demo-
cratic regime takes charge of Uncle
Sans workshop. the work goes along
with little or no change, because
there are bureau chiefs. and division
chiefs and board members and scien-
lists who keep it going. 1t is to put
the strongest possible men in these
positions that the proposed reform
contemplates.
Good Pay and Good Work
Held Real Economy.
priations committee and of the Senate
appropriations committee are PRACTICAL,
unanimous in favor of paying ade-
Quate salaries to these non-political
important executive and technical
positions. as a matter of real economy
and efficiency, Representative Woods
says. This same view is expressed
by Chairman Madden of the appro-
| priations committee-that it is real
/ economy to pay a, good man a decent
salary to get the work done right.
| Il stand as firmly as any man for
economy in public Office" Represen-
tative Wood explained, but to my
mind the greatest waste of public
! funds and the poorest economy is to
place men in important positions who
are not fitted to hold those Offices.
| Inefi1ctency at the top is reflected
all the way to. the bottom.
IF we are going to have good
service, we must have good men to
!, command that service. To get good
men we must be prepared to pay
reasonably good salaries. Men can
not be attracted from private life
men who have made business sue
! cess and proved their efficiency, un-
less we can offer them some induce
ment in the way Of remuneration.
| Men accept cabinet positions and
some of the other high government
I offices because of the honor and So
! cial standing. But when men are
asked to take positions in the gov
ernment service without these in
ducements or attractions-to become
cogs in the government machinery
| the only consideration that will get
! them is money, as much money as
they can get in private business"
Cites the Skipping Board
AZ an Illustration.
| Representative Wood cites the
! Shipping Board as an illustration. II
ri is a business conducted by the gov
ernment and not purely official-tem-
porary at best. Men cannot be en-.
ticed from private business life te
take temporary positions by the lure
of social position. It's a cold, prac.
tical business proposition, he points
out. Say a lawyer is making $4,000
! back home in some state. He cannot
afford to come to Washington fol
a Job with the Shipping Board for less
than twice that amount. Representative
Wood argues, because he will soon find
himself out Of q job here, his clients
will have gone to some other lawyer
his practice will be all broken up. and
he will have lost prestige in the home
community.
1t has been demonstrated time and
time again that some OF the losses the
In G