Evening star., 1925-03-11
PRESIDENT FACES PROBLEMS Il.
in LOWERING u. s.. EXPENSES
Third Step in Reducing Number of Employees Ap-
parently Presents alternative of Longer Hours
of Labor or CurtaiIing the Seruice

of labor at Washington are from
o'clock in the morning until 4:3O in
the afternoon. Half an hour is al
lowed for luncheon. Except for three
months during the Summer, there are
no Saturday half-holidays. Christ
mas, New Year. Decoration day and
the Fourth of July are full holidays
Occasionally there are others.
The suggestion has been studied at
the Bureau of the Budget that
half-hour increasesin the present day
of seven hours would be equivalent,
on paper, to adding about Is per cent
to the amount of work rendered by
the Federal force at Washington and
would make unnecessary any further
additions to the force. 1t might make
some reduction possible. The law on
the subject, while not entirely spe-
cific, appears, however, to prescribe a
seven hour day, and the idea, for the
time at least, has not been agitated.
Longer Working Day Probable.
There are many indications, how
ever, that Mr. Coolidge. who became
an elected President March 4, unfet-
tered by any policy of a preceding ad-
ministratiCn, will turn to a considera-
tion of longer working day for the
Federal force in the near future. To
make possible substantial reduction,
which seems to be a part of his policy
of continued retrenchment, he faces
the apparent dilemma of lengthening
the working day or having some work
left undone. Continued overtime work
on a general lscale-incidentally with
out overtime pay of any sort for the
salaried workers-is not his idea Of
ecc nomy.
The other alternative-that of cur
failing certain governmental activ-
ities--alSo would require the approval
of C< C<nSress. Mr.. Coolidge may take
that horn of the dilemma Or, con-
ceivably, he may in time modify his
policy OF further substantial reduc-
tions.
In all the i~lk of reducing the Fed
eral force t.S workers themselves
thus far have remained silent. This
correspondent went to the headquar-
ters of their organization, the Ma
tlonal Federation of Federal EN-
ployes, to ascertain their views. 1t
is robust and growing organization.
alert and vigorous.
Were for the taxpayers" was
the way President Luther M. Steward
answered the inquiry as to the work
ers attitude. Put US down as favor
ing any real economy in spending the
taxpayers money" He sire ssed the
word real"
Federation Regarded n Factor.
The federation is a constructive
agency to assist in bringing ahout
economy and efficiency in the onera-
tions of the Federal Government If
always has been 1t has a record of
never having tried to put surplus
employees on the Federal paw roll or
10 keep employees there when they are
round to be unnecessary. Its mem
oership takes pride in its record.
ANY steps taken to bring about
real economy meet with the approval
OF TINS organization, whose members
are not only employees, but citizens
and taxpayers as we'll They appre-
ciate fully that a thoroughly busi-
nesslike administration of Federal
personnel affairs benefits all classes
or people, including the employees
themselves.
with Federal personnel affairs, how
ever, the prediction is ventured that
no substantial reductions in the num-
Der of civilian Federal employees can
be effected unless some of the ex-
isting activities are curtailed below
the effective point, or else discon-
tfnued outright: and we believe, as a
simple business proposition, that If
the civil establishment is to be con-
siderably curtailed, 1t would be far
better to discontinue wholly certain
lines of work now being undertaken
by the Government than to skeleton
lie organizations. The latter method
could result only in negligible ac-
complishment with high overhead"
Copyright, 1921