Evening star., 1924-06-10
Appeals to Gen. Lord to Find
Means of Meeting Pay Raise
Without Calling Congress.
DISTRESSED BY LOSS
THAT NOW THREATENS
Believes Injustice Can Be Averted
Without Special Session-Work-
ers Prove Loyalty.

the aid of the 1000 police and fire.
men and public school teachers i,
the National Capital who have faced
the prospect since Saturday Of hay
ing their already insufficient pay re
ouced through a last hour fiascn
"hich prevented the final step in
making money available specifcaIly
for paying increases and automatic
any resulted in their losing the $50
oonus they have been receiving.
PRESIDENT Coolidge, who has been
greatly distressed over this predica
ment OF SO many devoted employees.
appealed today to Brig. Gen. II NJ
LORD, director of the budget ur1ipc
.hat ne try his best to find some way
oy which the situation can be re-
iieVeo. The President is very hone
lul that some way can be found "a
pay the salaries which Congress do
cided should be paid.
VIII Withhold Congress Call.
Until he has a contrary report from
the budget chief, President cooIide-c
Will not consider seriously the nros-
pect Of calling an extra session Of
Cohsress to remove the Injustice
that has been done.
This attitude of the President an
plies also to the other urgent items i,
the second deficiency AUTHORIZATION
oii' winch failed because of a one
man filibuster over a reclamation
project placed as a rider" on this
appropriation bill.
Even before this action was taken
oE the President and other efforts
mace TO get a ruling that would AL
low the new schedules of salaries to
De paid, with heroic devotion to duty
suppressing their disappointment snd
secret suffering, the police and fire
men and school teachers maintaina,t
their morale. encouraging one anothe.
10 carry on" with no let-up in ouaI
ity' of service
Asks Study of Approximations.
The President impressed upon Gen
Lord the necessity of scrutinizine the
various available appropriations To
see II IT is not possible to apply some
OF them to meet the emergency faced
py the devoted and earnest. already
unoerpaid police and fremen and
school teachers.
He gave general directions tn gov
eminent officials TO take eyery sten
possible under the law to meet the
emergency arising from the situation.
he feels the Secretary of the Interior
has power under laws previously an
proved to grant relief to settlers on
sEafNI 10 M = r1rNr,
their payments. He instructed Dj-
rector Lord Of the budget to do every
thing possible 10 put the bonus law
into operation.
While he intends to be extremely
careful not to overstep the bounds
or the law in his desire to be kind
and thoughtful of the distressed en-
ployes in the National Capital Presi-
dent Coolidge feels that, inasmucl
as congress passed the bill authoriz-
and it thereby became a law of th,
land, he feels justified in acting in
any way within reason although
Congress did not actually pass III,
bill providing the necessary money.
McCarI Approval Needed.
Ii will be necessary for Gen. Lord
in the event he does hit upon SOM
means of furnishing the increased
TO the teachers, firemen and
policemen to first put the matter NJ
to Controller General McCarl to OBJ
tain his sanction. The White Hous.
said that Gen. Lord and Controller
McCarl will endeavor to work out to
gether some practicable plan which
will not only brighten the hearts OF
the District employees mentioned, but
also will make it possible to go ahead
a
to the paying of the soldiers bonus.
President Coolidge is very hopeful
that these officers of the government
will be successful in their endeavors.
been suggested as a means Of making
available the appropriations that
were defeated by the failure of Con
gresS to pass the second deficiency
bill. The President is not at all in
harmony with the suggestion of an
extra session, but because of his deep
feeling for the employees, who are not
only losing an increase, but are suf
fering a decrease, it is thought NOT
unlikely that if an extra session is
seriously consider it.
Money Is Available.
The conviction is sinking in to-
day-that it is the manifest duty OF
the government officials to recog-
nize the unmistakable intent of Con-
gress that these salaries should be
paid: that the appropriations that
failed through a one-man filibuster
on a rider were, in fact deficien-
cies created by Congress itself and
recognized by the President and the
budget bureau; and that it is the
duty of the controller generals Office
to act upon the plain intent of Con
gresS rather than allow a deplorable
snarl in legislation red tape to work
an injustice.
There is plenty of money in the
Treasury, which has been appro-
priated for the payment of salaries
to police, firemen and teachers, and
Congress has ordered that they
should be paid so much per month,
1t is claimed that the controller
general has just as much Gf not
more) right to recognize these
rates until the total appro-
priation for these salaries has been
depleted as he has to approve pay
ments covering the entire year at
the old rates discarded by Congres :
The controller general has a right
to declare that the full new salary
passed by Congress and
by the President should be ,
paid throughout the entire year.
l. L =