Evening star., 1925-01-28
INADEQUATE PAY
ISSUE STRESSED
Increased Annuities to Re-
tired Federal Employees
Urged on Congress.

Additional facts bearing on the IN
adequate and unjust" amounts PAID
to retired employees of the Govern
ment under operation of the retire.
ment act were brought to the at
tention of Secretary Of the Interior
Work today by Secretary OF Labor
James ]. Davis Mr.. Work urged on
Congress the need OF increased an
nuities for retired Government en-
ployes in a letter sent Monday to
Senator Robert n. Stamfield OF ore
gon, chairman OF the Senate commit
tee on civil service. He declared his
had the unanimous
support OF all the members or the
Presidents Cabinet.
Secretary Davis took up specifcal-
ly the question of the present pur-
chasing price of the dollar, urging
increased pensions on the economic
ground that the drop in the purchas-
ing power of money since construc-
tion of the retirement bill in 1915
should be compensated by enlarged
annuities.
False Impression Created.
while it is true that the cost OF
living in the District of Columbia has
decreased since 1920. when the law
was put into operation" Mr.. Davis
said, this statement taken by itself
creates An entirely false impression.
The retirement bill was drawn and
all of it's computations made upon the
cost of living conditions as they
existed In 1916. He added that
although 1t is true that the bill was
not introduced until June 16, 1919,
the fact remains that the actuarial
computations and the amounts OF re-
tirement compensation to be PAID
were the same figures that were used
in the original draft of the bill made
in 1916 after most careful study OF
the cost of living figures at that time
The actual operation of the retire
ment act was begun in August, 1870,
and the deduction from the salaries
of civil service employees began at
that time
100000 Contribute TO Fund.
Mr.. Davis letter revealed that the
exact number of contributors TO the
announcement fund is not ascertain
able. but that there are approximate
ly 100000 contributors to the funo'
which totaIed s33,3S6.19S19 on June
40 1924 THAT amount has steadily
Increased until now understand
there is well over s35,000,000 in the
fund" Mr.. Davis added. This amount
has been deducted from the salaries
of Civil Service employees. the Gov
ernment having contributed not one
cent to it except as it has used this
fund for other Government purposes
and paid interest as II would upon
any other form of borrowed money,
which interest has been covered back
into the fund.
In other words this Is to the
last nickle the employees money
vi ox-f, +oIy n
tributoIs to the fund. l confess that
have discovered somewhat to my
amazement that the exact number
cannot be ascertained. The total
number of civil service employees is
something over 415,000. but there ap-
pears to be no record anywhere as
to the exact number paying into the
fund"
Cites Figures on Death Rate.
Quoting figures on the death rate
said: You will see that the death
rate among these pensioners is very
high, probably much higher than was
Consid cred in the actuarial figures
upon which the draft of the law was
based"
He appended a table on the pur-
chasing power of money, purportins
to show that only a little more than
a third OF those retired are receiv-
ing the maximum under the law.
which is s720 annually Even these
on the basis of the present purchasing
power of the dollar. are receiving but
S453.40, instead of the s720 that the
drafters Of the bill expected them to
receive. The next highest number
are those receiving between $3.50 and
1850. There are 1871 Of these"
Raising of the retirement amounts
so that "the Government will be able
to pay these retired employees out of
the employees own money an amount
at least equal in purchasing power to
the sums named in the bill was urged
by Mr.. Davis.
Secretary Answers Directors.
If it is claimed that to do so
would under falling cost of living
tend TO increase the value OF that
money as time goes on the answer
is that at the present rate of decrease
in the cost OF living 1t will take
long time to catch up with what they
have lost by shrinkage of the money
since the payments began. Another
answer is that the cost Of living is
falling so slowly that we are not
likely to make many miliionaires out
OI TIE IStI GU lhIOOSl tliC
advancement of the purchasing power
of the pension.
There are some other features
of this retirement bill that l would
like to discuss with you, but / will
confine this letter to the question Of
the propriety and justice of increasing
the payments to cover the drop in the
purchasing power OF money since
the construction of the bill in 1916