Evening star., 1925-01-10
VETERANS BUREAU
TO REDUCE FORCE
Progress in Handling Bonus
Justifies Cut of 231 From
Personnel. ...

Sufficient progress in administering
the world war bonus Is expected to
be made to warrant reduction of the
Veterans Bureau bonus force by
about 231 persoas during the next
| fiscal year. 1t WAS revealed in the
independent Offices supply bill re-
ported to the House today. At the
Veterans Bureau 1t was said the
bonus force now totals about 375
persons.
A further reduction of approx
mately 1,20o employees, mostly in the
| field force. will be accomplished dur
ing the year under the salary allow
ances provided by the bill.
| The reduction in the field force Is
understood to be in continuance of
the policy Of decentralization and in
! crease in efficiency.
Representative VIII r. Wood of
Indiana, in his report to the House,
| pointed out that approximately 1900
! persons have been dismissed from the
| regional Offices, but the construction
| OF new hospitals has resulted in the
employment of approximately 1900
| persons, so that the net reduction in
1 the field Is 400.
Total Fund is $45o,340,8I7.
The total appropriations for the
| Independent offices provided for in
this bin is s452,349,s17; this sum,
compared with the regular annual
appropriation for 1925, shows. a re-
| duction of SS1,074.530.46,, which Is
$2,os5,a22 more than the amount
recommended by the Budget Bureau.
Appropriation of $24,330,o0o for the
Shipping. Board Is carried in the bill
Provides for President.
Included in the items is $4,000
for the salary Of President Coolidge,
$4,000 for his travelling expenses,
$4,000 for maintenance of the exec
utive mansion. sS7,400 for the White
House police and approximately
$4,000 fol- salaries and expenses at
, the executive office.
Other provisions in the bill are
$18s.220 for the alien property GUS
todian; S354,320 for the new Board of
Tax Appeals; sl50.350 for the Bureau
Of Efficiency, 100000 for the Federal
Board for Vocational Education,
tS,ooS.o00 for the Federal Trade Com
mission, $3,701,s60 for the General
Accounting once.
This bill carries the uniform pro-
| vision which has been included in
each appropriation bill thus far sub
mitted relating to expenditures for
the salaries In the District OF CO.
lumbia under the classification act Of
1928 This restrictive provision has
| been included to offset several rulings
by the controller general.
Government Hotels Pay.
The report submitted to the House
for the appropriation committees by
Representative Will r. Wood of In
diana shows that receipts from the
Government Hotels during the fiscal
year Of 1924 aggregated $ss7. TAB. OF
and operating expenses totaled 3676.-
.h H..
over expenditures of $20,9S095. The
laundry of the Government Hotels is
iaundrying towels for other branches
OF the Government and where hereto
fore the cost of this work ranges
from "a cents to So a hundred, the
same work is now being done for 45
cents a hundred.
During the fiscal year 1924 the Hous-
ing Corporation collected and covered
into the Treasury. aside from the rev.
enues derived from the Government
Hotels. s4.056.i15.o6. The total expense
of handling this business was $10s,-
942.6S. or 2.6S per cent of the amount
I collected
Several of the dormitoriee are located
on property belonging to the Baltimore
and Ohio Railroad, for which an annual
rental of sT4,3l5 Is paid. These dorrni-
tories are not used for the accommoda-
ton of guests, and one of them is occu-
pied by the Offices Of the Bureau of
Home Economics of the Department of
Agriculture. This bureau does not pay
rent to the Housing Corporation, and
the rent is absorbed in the charges
made against guests of the hotel,
amounting to about IS per capita an
nually.
! Would Speed Up I. c. C.
The appropriations committee recon-
l ~, y Mr.
state Commerce Commission to bring
its general work current and give
the character Of service to which
shippers are entitled.
} In addition to the regular work of
this commission and the activities OF
, It's various bureaus the Supreme
Court decision in the Wolfe case re-
, suited in the fling of some 10000
overcharge claims which must be dis
posed of. Reductions in personnel
: have been made during the past two
years and in order to keep the alb
solutely necessary work current the
employees have been worked overtime
| which during the last three months
of the year amounted to approximate
ly $4,000. There are at present some
$4,000 informal docket cases pending
over 3.000 special docket cases and
approximately 2, 100 undisposed formal
cases now before the commission.
Construction of an additional lab.
oratory building at a cost of $40, ,00t
. for the national advisory committee
of aeroHautics 10 recommended. II
Is proposed that this new. building
: shall house the shops and drawing
rooms and provide space for storage
: thus relieving the congestion in the
research laboratory which is essen
1 TALLY an once building.
For the Smithsonian Institution q
' total OF $TSS,020 is recommended
which is a decrease Of $21,0S1.66 un-
, der the current appropriation, but ar
0 increase Of $4,000 over budget rec
concentrations. For the National Gal
lery OF Art a total of $21.o2S is rec
commended, which Is $1,028 above tn,
r budget figures. For the increase o,
E collections total Of $441.0S2 Is rec
. ommneded, which Is an increase o.
/. $500 over current appropriations oil
! an increase of s11,0s2 above the bud
get figures. .- -
For the Astrophysical Observatory
a total of 1,1S0 Is recommended
which is an increase of $500 above
! the current appropriation.
All of the increase for continuing
preservation of collections. whicf