Evening star., 1925-03-10

Assurance that a bill liberalizing
the Civil Service retirement law,
such as failed at the last session OF
Congress, will be enacted by the
next Congress was given to members
of the joint conference on retirement
by members of Congress at a get
| together dinner staged by the joint
conference last night in the Hotel
Continental
The bill that did not get through
the sixty-eighth Congress met disas-
trous end for two reasons, it was
Indicated; first, because of "mislead-
ing propaganda" disseminated by
certain annuitants who did not
understand the retirement law, and,
second, because of the introduction
of other retirement bills, to pass all
of which would have interfered with
the administrations economy program
Charges "AbsoIute FaI.ehoods."
The misleading propaganda" was
of the speakers. Representative
Frederick Lehlbach of New Jersey,
chairman of the Civil Service COM
mittee of the House, declared that
the liberaliZing measure had the sup
port of a majority of members OF
Con gTess until certain persons began
flooding the Capitol with "misstate-
mentS ana dDSOlute IdiseHoOuS "
the effect that the retirement law
would not cost the Government any
thing and citing as proof that a
largo surplus of employees money
had accumulated in the Treasury.
ANYBODY who knows the law knows
that the Government does have to pay
part of the cost, and when some OF the
members who were in favor of the
bill began to see the sort of misrep-
ha
rounds they naturally got sore" Rep
resentative Lehlbach declared.
He pointed out that the new bill
would have increased the annuities of
retired Federal employees by raising
the percentage of deduction from
their salaries from 21: to By per
cent. Despite the larger annuities, he
said, 1t probably would not have in
creased the Governments obligations
beyond the amount originally esti-
mated for the present law when 1t
was first projected.
Urges Proper Methods.
There are good enough reasons for
passing a liberalizing bill without re-
sorting to misstatements." Represent
ative Lehlbach asserted. "One of the
best reasons is that the present an
nuities are so grossly inadequate that
employees shrink from retiring. An
other is that increased annuities will
not cost the Government any more
money than was anticipated under the
original law. Go after 1t in the next
Congress with good. sound reasoning
and am certain it will pass"
Senator Robert n. Stanfield of Ore
gon, chairman of the Senate commit
tee on civil service during the last
session, held out hope for passage of
an even more liberal measure next
session than that which passed the
Senate but failed to get to the floor
of the House during the term just
ended. He stated that Joseph Nc
Coy, Government actuary, had in
formed him that to increase the maxi
mum annuities from $1,000 to $4,000.
as proposed In the dead bill would
result in benefit not only to the en-
ployes, but to the Government The
gain in efficiency would have profited
the Government about $1,000, ,000, Sen
ator Stanfield said he had been in
formed.
Favored by Cabinet.
Il had the assurance of the Secre-
tary of the Interior that the MEM
bers of the Presidents cabinet all
favored the larger annuities proposed,
but somewhere, somehow. there arose
opposition and misunderstanding that
killed the measure just as it was
about to win," Senator Stanfield
stated.
Former Senator Thomas Sterling Of