Evening star., 1928-05-08
PAY BILL TO PASS
SENATE IN 10DAYS
WeIch- -Smoot Measure, In
creasing Federal Wages, Ap-
proved in House.

The Welch-Smoot salary increase bill
for Government employees, passed by the
House by vote Of 28l TO IA under
suspension of the rules late yesterday,
was transmitted to the Senate today
and referred to the Senate civil serv-
ICE committee, with assurance that 1t
will be passed by the Senate within
10 days.
Senator Dale of Vermont who is chair
man of the Senate civil service COM
mittee. will call meeting the last of
this week. but hearings win not be held.
Senator Smoot. the features Of whose
bill were incorporated in the amended
measure that passed the House, viii
explain the bin and assure the Senate
committee Of the Presidents and the
Budget Bureaus support Of this meas
ure. which carries salary increases Of
$18, 100000 to $19.000,000. The Senate
committee, at the request Of Senator
Smoot, will substitute the bill as 1t
passed the House for the Smoot bill.
The Senate is ready to pass the meas
ure as soon as these formalities have
been disposed Of. and perhaps, by a
has been recorded. In fact, none of the
IL House members who voted against
the measure in the House yesterday did
so through hostility to the principle of
increasing the salaries of the Govern
ment workers but on the ground that
the increases in the bill were not large
enough In some cases and not dis
tributed as some individual members
thought they should be.
A Temporary Relief.
AS emphasized by Senator Smoot and
Chairman Lehlbach of the House CON-
mittee, and by Luther Steward, presi-
dent of the National Federation Of Fed
eral Employees, the bill as passed is in
tended simply as temporary relief pend
ing a thorough investigation by all
available agencies Of the Federal Gov
ernment with reports TO be made De-
cember next, in order that the next
session of Congress may at that time
have before Ii authoritative data upon
which comprehensive revision OF the
entire salary scale may be raised.
Answering questions In the House.
Chairman Lehlhach said: The increase
provided in this bill Is temporary
tlde-over until Congress can legisla:e
permanently on the subject OF salary
revision. 1t carries about SlS,OoOoou
annual increase, OF which II Is esu-
mated that about $6.000.000 is for ln-
crease in the District of Columbia and
about $l2.000000 distributed among
various field services"
He explained that employees In the
navy yards and arSenals are Specilcaiiy
excluded because they prefer to have
their pay fixed by wage boards IN ac-
eordance with the prevailing rate OF
wages III the communities in which they
are employed MIR. Lehibach told MS
colleagues that the purpose OF the Dill
Is that every Government employe IN
the classified service viii receive an In
crease in salary" and that "aS far as
humanity possible the bill has provided
. for that
Have Special Measures
The postal service and the foreign
service are specifically excluded taam
the provisions OF the bill because they
have had special salary measures re-
Gently enacted. The skilled workers In
the Government Printing once and the
Bureau of Engraving and Printing are
also excluded because their rates Of
pay are iixed by wage boards,
The bin was opposed on the floor oy
Representative Woodrum. Democrat, OF
Virginia, who argued that Il diSerlm-
mated against poorly paid employees IN
favor of those in high grades, lie con-
tended it would give a $S-a-month
raise TO a man drawing $500 year
and SITS month more to the man
drawing $1,000 yearly, AS a substitute
he proposed fiat $SO0,a-year raise to
every employc.
Chairman Lehlhaeh REPRESENTATIVE
Welch, Republican, California author
Of the bill, and Representative Rach-
Continued ON PAGE s. Column al