Evening star., 1922-12-13
DEP[0RES L0WP PAY
l0F u. S. SCIENTISTS
Director of Ceast and Geo.
dedic Survey Sees Impair.
l. ment to Service.

Existence of underpaid intellectual
workers in the government and in
the faculties of our universities and
colleges is blot on our body poll
tic. declared Col T.. Lester Jones'
director of the United States coast
and Eeodetie survey. in his annual
report to the Secretary of Commerce,
made public today.
The director points out that in his
preceding reports. especially that of
1921. he discussed at length the
fundamental trouble in the bureau.
placing stress above everything else
upon the deplorable situation of the
underpaid employees of the coast and
Seodetic survey" He says:
Unfortunately. this condition has
not been changed. and. while many
other things have been done to bene-
Ut the bureau, it is my opinion that
the bureau as business organiza-
tion cannot function properly until
this fundamental trouble is cor
rccted
The average person does not real
ize tina; the very heart of the gov
ernrnent. sreAkiug of it as a whole.
i$--h"!nS eaten away. leaving what
appears from the outside viewpoint
:" be a working organization. but
one which = steadily and certaInl,
"et'ri"r+ijnr from within. Instead Of
'nrourarin=. ~. at ieas:. making
certain that the able men of the
government are retained and made
20 "tas"nabiy satisfied, there is a de-
riorahlc lack a.: action for this de.
sired result. which is working toward
Il sire and certain depletion of the
v"ry barkbo of the working forces
ri the government
decentralization in 1856.
In 1855 steps were taken throug,,
the proper channels 10 make a read
1uStmcnt. or reclasSitication as it is
hetter known, of the government sal
arleS. but after thirty-SiX years, with
huch money spent on investigations
o. this subject. conditions are un-
rhanged, and from the standpoint of
economy and wise administration it ap-
psalS tu me that ii would be infinitely
better t" curtail some of the existing
projects IT necessary and use the
money To remedy this pressing evil.
The institutions for higher educa-
tIon iii the United States have plants
aud endowmentS representing hum
dredS OF millions of dollars. Tens of
thousands of the most ambitious young
men and women at great expense spend
about four years each at these inSti-
tutionS in taking advantage of the OPP
portunity to acquire a higher educa-
zion. Many of these young people
have a vision of being a bic. as a con-
sequence. 70 serve the nation better in
some intellectual pursuit. Little do
they know what is before them After
graduation often with debts incurred
n order that their college work may
he Comple,ed. they ar. offered such
1neaCer compensation in the intellec-
iual field that many of them are forced
ont of II INTO positions in the indus
rial and commercial fields. where they
are not only no better off for their
higher education hut are often actual
iE Handicapped because. of it.
There is no better way to illustrate
the deplorablc situation re egarding the
underpaid employees of the govern
'nent than to use as a parallel what
has Recently tranSpired at one of
our large universities. The trustees
of this university have announced
that hereafter no Instructors who are
words. instructors are paid such low
salaries that they cannot support
and rear Il family while connected
with the Institution. Their condition
IL very similar to that of many of
The hIgheSt trained men in the XDv
crnncHt today and is practically what
many of the ablsSt men Of the gov
crnment are facing. They are not
able on the salaries paid them by the
federal government to maintain a
family in reasonable comfort and Sc
"urity. and this appeals to me as an
ineNrusable situation
Under present conditions the gov
rrnrnent must either be deprived of
securing and keeping the best men
in the service. or these men. If Sc
cured. must he deprived of the
privilege of marrying, or. if married.
from raising a family. These are hard
facts, but nevertheless they are true
and should he faced frankly. as the