Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-02-24
Reductions, in Some Cases,
of as Much as $1,000
a Person involved.
RIDER FRAMED TO BEAT
PAY RULING BY McCARE
Galleries Crowded With Govern,
ment Employees During Fight
in Lower Branch.

After a bitter fight in the House
last night, by margin Of one vote, the
legislative provision in the second de-
ficiency appropriation bill directing the
Personnel Classification Board to re-
allocate salaries above $500 In the
professional and scientific service and
the clerical administrative and fiscal
service so as to effect a saving OF q
half million dollars in the District OF
Columbia and similar reallocation In
the field service. was approved in the
committee of the whole. It Is ready
for passage In the House on Monday.
II this provision is also approved by
the Senate and the bill signed by the
President. it will mean a reduction Of
salary, in some cases as much as $4,000
per person, for 2,805 Government en-
playes in the District
This legislative rider. which Acting
Chairman Wood of the appropriations
committee, in charge of the bill, stated
on the floor, is designed to overcome
ruling by the controller general on the
Welch pay bill because, Mr.. Wood said,
it Is generally understood that the
Lehlbach- -Brookhart-C -Celler salary relief
bill will not be passed at this session,
was ruled in order under the Holman
rule, by Chairman Lehlbach Of the
Civil Service committee, co-author of
the pay relief BILL who was presiding In
the committee of the whole.
Galleries Crowded.
The galleries were crowded with
Government employees interested in the
fate of the provision.
There had been tense feeling in the
House and galleries throughout the
afternoon and early evening as the
clerks raced through the reading Of the
bill and partisans on either side of the
aisle held their oratorical fire and par
liamentary strategy for two main
iSSues-the prohibition enforcement
item and the So-called pay reduction
rider.
When this latter provision was
reached. Representative Bachman, Re-
publican. of West Virginia, q member
OF the civil service committee, promptly
made point of order against 1t. He
declared that this Is legislation on an
appropriation bill. and Is not germane."
Representative Mapes. Republican, of
Michigan, one of the recognized pariia-
mentarians, agreed with Mr.. Bachman,
referring to it as permanent legiSla-
tion," and he objected stubbornly. Rep
resentative Wood, Republican, of In
diana, in charge of the bill, defended
the provision, saying that 1t came within
the Holman rule which allows q legis-
lafiV0 10 ffF,va -
when it Is designed to limit or restrict
appropriations.
A lengthy parliamentary wrangle en-
sued with Mr. Wood making q lengthy
statement to justify the committees
action. Mr.. Bachman broke In to point
out that this provision would permit
the Personnel Classification Board to
reallocate some positions so as to in
crease salaries, and that would be in
violation of the Holman rule theory. Mr..
Wood declared that there has to be
some central agency to carry out the
retrenchment policy and, therefore, the
committee decided to give the Personnel
classification Board authority 10 bring
about this retrenchment.
Garrett Objects.
Minority Leader Garrett also objected
to the provision, supported the point
OF oroer and declared that the rider Is
legislation and does not come within the
Holman rule. Representative Mapes
said that while he is in sympathy with
most of the actions of the appropria-
tons committee, he could not counte-
nance their committing murder, which,
he declared, Is being done through this
provision. He urged that the matter
was not germane and insisted it Is the
proper function of the civil service conn
mittee to pass upon 1t, and that It
should be handled by Mr.. Lehlbach's
committee.
Mr.. Lehlbach, presiding, made .
lengthy explanation in ruling on the
point OF order. He quoted at length
from precedents, previous decisions Of
speakers and from parliamentary giants
in the House. He explained that the
provision is designed to cut down
salaries of employees who have been re-
ceiving, under the McCarI ruling, more
than Congress intended they should get.
He held that the point of order was not
we'll taken and rejected it,
Here a touch of humor was injected
by Representative Dempsey of New
York. who at the close Of Mr.. Lehl-
bach'S lengthy ruling asked that he
repeat the first part of his decision.
Representative Bachman In q spirited
Continued on Page 6. Column a.
--------a-