Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-31
LOW WAGE SCALE
COSTS u. S. BRAINS
Young'S Resign milton Is Cited
as Example o. Business
Lucrative Pay.
BY WILLIAM HARD.

There Is no inner standard STOCK
story in Washington, and none more
deserving of public civic thought, than
the one that is illustrated by the resig-
nation this last week of Roy A. Young
from the governorship of the Federal
Reserve Beard, at $4,000 a year, to
accept the governorship of the semi
private Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
at salary presumably of some $4,000
year.
The Congress continues determined
to pay high public employees much less
money than they can earn in private
business, and private business continues
to take from the public service q steady
contribution Of valuable experts whose
brains are then diverted to private plir-
poses.
George Harrison, general counsel for
the Federal Reserve Board resigned to
become ultimately governor of the New
York Federal Reserve Bank at $4,000
a year. His successor in the position of
general counsel for the Federal Re-
serve Board Walter F. Logan, resigned
to become ultimately deputy governor
of the New York bank at large salary
advance.
Double and Triple Pay.
James F. Herson, chief examiner for
the Federal Reserve Board, at q salary
of $4,000, resigned to become the
president of q bank in New York City;
and his immediate subordinate, James
f.. Buchanan, resigned to become vice
president of bank in Chicago; and 1t
is calculated that each Of these gentle
men thus doubled or tripled his income
Yet the Federal Reserve Board is
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Federal governmental bodies. 1t is not
restricted by the iron rulings of the
Civil Service Commission or of the
Personnel Classification Board. 1t pays
as much as $4,000 a year to its secre-
tary, Walter L. Eddy. Mr.. Eddy is thus
lot luckier than the secretaries of
most other Federal enterprises.
The secretary of the United States
Tariff Commission, who is crowned by
the Personnel Classification Board with
the decorative and deserved title of
chief administrative officer" has been
getting q salary Of $4,000. The Con-
gress, in the course of enacting the
present tariff law, raised him in an
adventurous moment from $4,000 to
$500. 1t simultaneously took thought
Of the gigantic duties under which the
new law will confront the six gentle
men who will be the actual members
of the Tariff Commission and who will
direct the secretary in his labors. The
six present members Of the commission
have been getting $4,000.
Senator Was Shocked.
Arbiters in considerable degree of
the economic relations between the
United States and the foreign world.
and therefore in considerable degree
determiners of our domestic economic
conditions in problems involving hum
dreds Of millions of dollars, they
seemed to the Congress, in their own
persons or in the persons of their sue
cessors, to be worthy of large financial
consideration. The House Of Repre-
sentatives accordingly proposed to raise
their salaries from $4,000 to $4,000.
The President gave to this proposal his
earnest support. A Senator, however.
was shocked by the eXtravagant tend
encies thus disclosed. He felt intu-
itively that nobody was worth $12 900
a year. Under his circumstances the
proposed new salaries for members of
the Tariff Commission were cut down
from $4,000 to $l1 900.
The commission members. however,
can be regarded as receiving for their
remuneration, in addition to money, q
tige. They are political public charac-
tiers. Herbert Hoover, when he was
Secretary of Commerce, is said to have
put aside an offer of $200,0 900 year
from private interests in order TO keep
on bing Secretary of Commerce at $12,-
000 He was perhaps the more easily
enabled to pursue that course in con-
sideration Of his own personal financial
resources and in consideration also Of
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partment Building to the White House.
The White House is not so clos In pros
pect to the technical experts of the
Tariff Commission staff upon whom the
tremendous daily detail of the vast new
tasks of the commission will devolve.
They are paid at rates which make the
rival rates paid by private businesses
seem TO them often to be compellingly
attractive.
Others Get Raise in Salary.
Carl r. de Long, high chemical ex-
expert, resigned from the star Of the
Tariff Commission, while he was getting
something like $4,000 a year, to take
with a chemical business Arm a post
paying something likht $4,000 q year.
w. N. Watson, another high chemical
expert, left the commission stan and
some $4,000 year to serve chemical
association at some $4,000. Benjamin
B. Wallace of the foreign relations d.
vision of the commission grew tired of
$1,000 a year in the commissions en-
ploy and was willing to try to give "eco-
nomic advice" to the government, or
supposed government of China at $40
900 year and expenses
Hundreds of such instances can be
cited each year out % contemporary
Federal Governmental history. The
Congress has laid upon the Tariff Com
mission, through the new tariff Law,
burden Of duties not only crushmgly
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