Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-16
IL. S. SERVICE WAGE
| RAISE HELD LIKELY
Joint Congressional Group
Working on Details for
Early Report.
Continued From First Page)

Continued From First Page)
enough" declared Chairman Smell OF
the House rules committee, I'VE should
increase their pay. 1 have not yet
looked into the subject sufficiently to
say how much of an increase they
should have and / doubt whether any
body else in Congress has done so.
II believe that we should take ample
time and settle the matter right. and l
shall use my influence to that END.
1t is generally conceded that some
readjustment must be made. How far
we will 60 in granting increases in pay
no one can say at this time"
Confident of Fair Treatment.
Both Mr.. Tilson and Mr.. Smell say
Senators and Representatives on the
Joint pay committee and believe they
will do the fair thing by the service
men and the Government. AS the
situation stands at present, especially
with the legislative jam in the Senate,
they consider it doubtful that Con-
gress can enact any pay legislation be-
fore next Winter, but they indicated
that, If conditions should change, 1t
might be undertaken at the present
session.
Most Senate leaders are equally of the
opinion that the present pay act needs
amending or rewriting. The Senate
members of the joint pay committee,
like those of the House, are refrainlng
however, from expressing advance
opinions.
I'VE are gathering all the informa-
ton and data we can get with refer
ence to the pay situation" said Senator
Jones of Washington, chairman OF the
Joint pay committee. in an interview
with the representative of The Star.
1T is a very complicated subject and
will take a great deal of study 70 solve.
We are going into 1t just as carefully
and thoroughly as possible"
Senator Jones did not comment on
the recommendations Of the 1nterde-
partmental Pay Board for substantial
pay increases. nor on any Of the other
suggestions made by the board. He
said he and the other members OF the
Joint committee want to keep open
minds until they have heard all sides
of the question.
ut would be altogether impossible"
said Representative French Of Idaho,
vice chairman, for the joint pay COM
mittee to give out any statement touch
ing possible action upon the pay Ques-
ton. In fact, the committee Is studying
the problem. Here is a question that
involves certain broad principles and
multitude Of details. The committee is
assembling data from all the services
involved that must be considered.
mo questions have been asked that
indicate any possible attitude. The
committee is seeking facts. Later on
there may be problems that will require
the presence of those whose personal ex-
perience must be consulted"
Public Hearings Possible.
The present plan of the committee
is to hold executive hearings, after the
individual members have had an OPP
portunity to study the mass of data
which has been gathered. Among some
officers and men of the six services
fault privately with the committee for
not deciding to hold public hearings.
The present attitude Of the commit
tee is that it can make faster progress
by considering the matter in executive
sessions and hearing without a public
gallery" what the representatives of the
enlisted men and the officers of the diff
ference branches have to say. There
is a possibility that public hearings may
be held later, although they are not In
cluded in the present program.
The interdepartmental pay board has
new pay schedules which
would provide increases for all grades
Of officers and enlisted men, except the
lowest grades of enlisted men. The
board takes the position that the pay
of the enlisted men in the early stages
of their military career is adequate be-
cause their responsibilities are slight
and 1.-The increased cost of living for en-
listed men has been absorbed by the
itself by actually subSist-
ing and quartering them"
The increases recommended for all
other enlisted men and for officers of
the six services would cost the Govern
ment approximately $85 SOC, 900 for the
fiscal year 1880, according to the esti-
mate of the Budget Bureau. This an
nual increase, officers of the six Serv-
ices contend, is not out of proportion to
the increases that have been granted to
civilian Government employees and is
justified by the big increase in the cost
Of living and in salaries outside the
since the present scale of
service pay was fixed
Family Status Plan Hit.
The interdepartmental pay board has
also recommended that officers rental
and subsistence allowances and allow
ances for dependents be discontinued
and that an officer be paid "for his
value to the Government without re-
gard to his family status" and mot for
his expenses Of existence" 1t proposes
that pay and allowances should be con-
solidated into single item designated
pay"
Members of the joint congressional
committee have told the representative
of The Star that they want to examine
all sides of this question before altering
the basic principle of the present pay
law, in accordance with the recommen-
dations of the board.
Senator Hale of Maine, chairman of
the Senate committee on naval affairs
and of the naval subcommittee of the
Senate committee on appropriations, is
one Of the Senate leaders who believes
the existing pay law should be amended.
Senator Hale is not a member of the
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