Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-01-06
BY DONALD A. CRAIG.

uili appear tomorrow.
BY DONALD A. CRAIG.
While Government employees, organ
ICED and unorganiZed, ali agree that the
Dale-Lehlbach BILL passed in the Sen
ate today is a step in the right di-
erection from their point of view,
they are not all agreed upon the advis-
ability of accepting it as the best that
can be obtained in the way OF LIBERAL
izing the present retirement law at this
session of Congress.
Some want to fight for more. believ-
ing that Congress and President Hoover
are in the mood to be more liberal in
providing annuities for retired employees.
Others believe the bird in the hand
or almost THERE'S better than two
birds still some distance away in the
bush. These employees are willing to
accept gratefully what Congress seems
ready to give at the present session
without running what they regard as a
risk of defeat for the whole proposition.
either in Congress or by presidential
veto. if attempts are made to amend
the Dale-Lehlbach bill radically.
The bill as it stands grants increases
within limits heretofore described to all
classes of annuitants in proportion to
their length of service and their aver
age salaries during the last five years
Oh dIlOWdplc SCIflCG. LC 10
the same as the present law so far as
the method of computing annuities is
concerned.
There are strong indications that an
effort will be made to permit every
employe to choose as basis for COM
putting his annuity the five years of his
service during which he received the
highest pay.
Amendment by BroOkhart.
Already Senator Smith W. Brookhart
of Iowa, a member of the Civil Service
committee and a friend of retirement
legislation has introduced a proposed
amendment with this general purpose in
view. He would make the law read:
THAT any employe retired or to be
retired who was, through no fault Of
his or her own, transferred, reinstated
or reduced to a lower position, shall for
purposes of retirement be rated on the
highest classified service or services for
merly rendered by him or her"
A similar position has been taken by
the National Federation of Federal En-
ployes, which is advancing a proposal
to use, in computing the annuity, the
salary of any five years OF consecutive
service desired by the employe. OF
course, the employe would select the
period during which he was receiving
the highest average salary.
flGRdTQltSS VI bIlS VI ILLS pldll
of increasing annuitieS, present indica-
tions are that If seriously pressed at this
time it might lead to a controversy and
opposition in Congress and delay action
on the subject at this session.
R H. Alcorn, chairman of the joint
conference on retirement, which repre-
sents many classes of employees in
Washington and other parts of the
country. is backing the Dale-Lehlbach
fa;lT Sfa an hohoIf nf hic n
ization, hoping to gain more from Con-
gress at future session.
Mr.. Alcorn has made few computa-
tons to show how the Dale-Lehlbach
bill would affect annuities.
He points out that an employee re-
ceiving salary of 5000 a year who re-
tires after Is years of service will have
his annuity increased from the present
rate of 5000 to S225 year. With the
same length of service at salary Of
$1,000 a year the increase in the annu-
ity would be from $500 to 1888. For
the same length of service at salary
of ST 400 a year the increase would be
from $3.50 to $466.
Computations as Sample.
What the Dale-Lehlbach bill un-
changed will mean to employees retired
after 80 years Of service is indicated by
the following computations:
Upon the basis of 5000 annual SAL
airy the increase would be from 1899 to
$3.50; upon a basis of a 81 900 salary
the increase would be from $666 to
$3.50, and upon the basis of $l.400
salary the increase would be from 1898
TO s1O50.
While these rates show that the in
creases would not be very much" said
Mr.. Alcorn to The Star yet they would
help a little. and certainly Congress
should not hesitate to pass this legis-
lation."
The above instances are merely few
selected from computations made by
Mr.. Alcorn on the basis of various sal
aries and lengths of service to illustrate
what the pending measure proposes to
do. Retired employees receiving other
salaries and having different periods of
service would benefit in the same pro-
portion.
Among the organizations of employees
seeking to have the Dale-Lehlbach bill
amended in several important particu-
lars is the National Federation Of Fed
eral Employees, which wants some addi-
tional liberalizing features" incorporated
IN the measure, and believes this can
be done without arousing congressional
opposition or running the risk Of execu-
tive disapproval.
Another organized group of employees
Service, of which Mrs. Margaret Hop
kins Worrell is president. This organ
ization would make the maximum an
nuity 81 500, as compared with $1,000
in the Dale-Lehlbach bill and $1,000 in
the present law, and would take an
entirely new step by fixing minimum
for annuities at 1865. In other words
1t proposes that no annuitant, no mat
ter what his basic salary or length OF
service may be, shall receive less than
81 a day.
Other somewhat radical changes in
the Dale-Lehlbach bill are proposed by
the league of which Mrs Worrell is
president They are all in the interest
of the Government employe, and go fur
Their in some respects than the demands
of the other organized groups of en-
ployes.
Senator Dale, Representative Lehl-
bach and other members OF the Senate
and House have received various sug-
gestions not included in the above brief
survey of the outstanding suggestions
These and the details of the proposal:
from the larger organized groups Of en-
ployes will be explained more fully ir
later articles in this series.
The subject obviously is complicated
To the uninitiated it is often confusing
! and difficult to understand. Even mem
bers of Congress- with the exception o.
| few who have given it special study