Evening star., 1926-02-14
MOORE DEFENDS
FEDERAL WORKERS
Calls Davey Charges mot
T.'uthfuI"- Question Ac-
CuSer'S Own Activities.

CharacteriZins the recent attack
hy Representative Davey of Ohio
upon Government employees in Wash
ington as mot truthful" and as "a
slander of the employees and OF the
Government itself" Representative
Moore, Democrat, of Virginia comes
20 the defense of the army of Federal
workers and incidentally accuses Mr..
Davey of being remiss in his congress
"ional duties.
Mr.. Moore's district lies across the
Potomac from Washington and is the
home Of many Of the department
workers, SO that Mr.. Moore probably
knows more Government employees
personally and for many years than
any other member of Congress. and
he vouCheS for their devotion to duty
IN no uncertain terms.
Il have waited for Mr.. Davey to
Withdraw or explain his wholesale at
tack on the employees of the Govern
ment, which was given wide publicity
week or so ago" said Mr.. Moore
last night ''hut as he has not seen
proper to do so. | think that a com
lnent Is due from some one who is at
least familiar as he is with the stu
alton involved. Among other things
he charges that the civilian employees
Of the United States Government in
cludc the largest number OF loaferS
time killers and buck pasSerS that I
have ever seen brought together
under one hammer. Further he says.
l will venture the assertion that
moro than half of the civilian EN-
ploves of the Government. not count
!nG letter carriers and clerks. are the
most expert loafers and time killers
In America. 1t is the present spirit
"i the Government service. Buck
passing is = favorite and ACCOMPLISH
"t practice. and he makes this
recommendation, We should get rid
of Il hundred thousand or more of
the taX-eating drones,' etc.
Absent at Roll Calls.
IF all of this is true, or approx
mately true, it is an indictment of
congress. which enacts the laws
creating the civil service. and of the
officials who administer the laws. But
The, simple fact is that ii is not truth
ful. and is nothing less than a slander
Of the employees and of the Govern
ment itself. ! happen TO know a
great many of the employees who
are necessarily included in the mum
her assailed by Mr.. Davey. who, al
though their compensation is small
compare favorably with him in the
faithful discharge of their obligations
To the Government.
When Mr.. Davey talks about
drones and time killers. he invites
the scrutiny of his own record. With
out going back of the present Con
gress, which would afford very sug-
gestive information, it is rather
significant that it appears he was
absent on 20 of the 81 roll calls which
have been had in the period from the
beginning of the session on December
up to February 10, and that he
has been present at but | of the
II meetings of the committee on for
eign affairs. of which he is a member.
which have been held during that
period. That is one of the important
committees of the House. and has
been engaged In considering subjects
which involve the interests of the
Government and the public
Charges by Mr.. Davey that Gov
elnment employees take 80 days sick
leave and 80 days annual leave every
year are not borne out by prelimi-
nary figures of a survey being con-
Quoted by the Bureau Of the Budget
from all Government departments
and establishments
The fact that such statistics were
being collected was disclosed for the
IA ~ lAiiic StSltl dilIOuSn II naQ
been ordered some time prior to the
recent charges by the Ohio Repre-
sentative.
First of It's Kind.
Some Government departments
themselves in the past had kept their
own statistics on the exact amount
OF sick and annual leave used by
the clerks, but the move by the
Bureau of the Budget to correlate
this information is the first of its