Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-10-10
HARRISBURG HIT
I. BY ECONOMY WAVE
Experimental Heads Antic;p ate
PInchot Onslaught by Slash
ing Payroll Leeches
CUTS MADE IN SALARIES

Weeping md waiting and gnnshing OF
eeeth arc all the rage among the fiv,
$housand State employees at Harrisburg
Experimental heads under II surpris-
ing urge of economy. induced by the
Imminent prospect of Clifford Pinchot
Tor Governor. are slashing out III" old
style free use of contingent funds. They
are even cutting down salaries which
are stipulated by statutes made and
provided.
Hints of the new order of things on
the Hill. which comes before the For
ester gets into Office have been drifting
In from time T.. time. but heretofore the
full extent of the economy wave had
not been known.
Today il was learned from State ON.
ploycs In touch with the situation that
the Capitol is in something lih" 'ur-
moil because of the Unprecedented C"u-
ditiona.
Men accustomed for years tO drawing
pay Ms extra employees ire out ut n
Job or else have to depend on the "rCHl'
job which they have. anA which tho!
have been accustomed to tatt"n 10y
means &c frOlicSomc drafts on III" con.
tingent fund
But the biggest blow Of all came
when cuts were wade in salaries who's"
figures are ser by law Thus. a man
with $4,000 salary is cut from $500
to $1,000 a year.
Some of those affected would ike to
appeal 70 the courts, as they argl, ;i: .
q statutory salary cannot bo reduce .
without directly violating the Law BU,
an appeal to tie courts would got lhrm
in wronS AMI besides the money j. rot
In the treasury anyway.
Departmental chiefs, all Of them,
whether they hope to be retained by
Pinchot or not. are doing their level
best to prevent their department from
showing n ,lefrit when the new Gov.
ernor and the new Legislature come into
Office next January. licnc" III" hearty
swinging Of tn" aX,
Last session the departments waited
Into the Legislature with total de-
fcicnry uf more than 81 900 .WN. It
In known TINT no department head can
hope to get by with the new Governor
II he ,lopS not cut tO the hone.
As n result. 1t is figured that the
coming deficiency bill. if there is any
at all. will be very little
VILLAIN L. gallagher, chict clerk OF
the State Senate and ono Of state
Chairman Bakers aides. had quite n
company ut breakfast in the Bellevue
this morning.
Mr.. Gallagher was joined first by
Harmon NJ. Kephnrt. Deputy State
Treasurer. Kcphart looks VOL despite
the legal snarls In which he has boon
involved Qs the result Of Auditor Gem
eral Lewis Investigations of the ac-
counting system in the Treasurer :
Office.
Mr.. Kephnrt. before becoming State
Treasurer. WAS chief clerk Of the senate.
the same Office which Mr.. Gallaghrr
now holds. and both have, therefore,
much in common. Kcphart wishes he
still had his cd job. Whcroupon some
po.iti lnns SpcculGtcd on the possibilitI :
of state Chairman Baker resigning II.
secretary Of the State Senate So nS to b"
able to give Al his time To the State
craftsmanship. This would make it pos.
sibc. in the minds Of the politicians, for
Gallagher 10 become secretary and then
Kephnrt could get his old place again
This gossip was stirred up by the fact
that the GttiCe now held by kcphart
Deputy State Treasurer. will be abol-
ishcd next session at the joint suggcS-
tion of Kephart and the Governor.
to-bc.
Gallagher. the political autocrat of
the breakfast table, later had the COM
pany of Paul IIouck. member of the
Workmen's Compensation Board. and
joint leader with State Treasurer Sny-
der. of Schuylkill County. IIouck car
ried blurb backed novel under his
arm, whereas Mr. Snyder always car
ries n cane and carnation. State
Chairman Bakers favorite author, it
was pointed out, is Smull and his legis-
lative handbook.
Senator Pepper had breakfast in Phil
adc!phia. lunch in Harrisburg with
(,oynrpnr SprnIll nd Iinpar in phi In dol :
phia. He went to Harrisburg to spruk
before the postal employees in ronvcn-
tion and tonight will speak at Stetson
Auditorium, in this rity,