Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-06
SENATE PROMISES
FIGHT FOR HIGHER
PAY FOR WORKERS
Dale and Brookhart Out of
Sympathy With Action
Taken by House.
HEAD OF FEDERATION
CONFIDENT OF VICTORY
Representative Wood Argues Con.
dition of Country Does Not
Warrant Increases.

The action of the House Yesterday
in eliminating from the Treasury Post
Office appropriation bill provision for
| salary increases within grades under
the classification law during the next
fiscal year will meet strong opposition
in the Senate, it was indicated today.
Senator Dale, Republican, of YER
mont, chairman of the Civil Service
Committee, and Senator Brookhart, Re-
publican, OF Iowa, also a member of
that committee, both declared they were
out of sympathy with the policy fol-
lowed by the House in passing this first
| of the annual appropriation bills. Both
Senators said they would oppose the
House amendment when the bill reaches
the Senate If, as they understand, the
proposed increases which the House
eliminated were intended to correct in
equalities.
The amendment which led to the
controversy in the House, and which
was adopted by vote of 139 to 80, was in
the nature of a limitation, providing
that no appropriations contained in
this bill could be used to increase the
compensation of any position within
the grade to which such position has
been allocated under the classification
act of 1923.
Dale for Measure.
"If Congress was sincere when it
passed the WEIGH law and the Brook
hart law, to correct inequalities in
salaries, 1t should go through with it,
Senator Dale said. 81 know perfectly
well, that the argument will be made
that we have to be careful with the
expenditure of money, and that we are
short on account of the financial de-
preston. but believe that such steps
as the proposed salary adjustment will
help to get us out of the depression. I"
Senator Brookhart, who has taken
an active part in salary legislation for
Government employees, said he intended
10 study this question carefully before
1t comes up in the Senate, but that
from what he has learned regarding it.
ne would be opposed to the restric-
ton placed in the House bill. Senator
Brookhart said that If the increases
within grades which the House amend
n1ent prohibits were recommended by
the Budget Bureau and the administra-
ton, he would be with the administra-
ton.
Senator Caraway, Democrat, of Arkan-
saS said that he did not believe this
was good time to hold down on salary
items. He said he was inclined to be-
lieve the Senate would not be sympa-
thetic to the limitation proposed in the
House.
For Recommends tons.
Senator Capper. Republican, of
Kansas also said he favored following
the budget recommendations for salary
adjustments within grades under the
classification law.
1t was announced today by Luther
G. Steward, president of the. National
Federation of Federal Employees. that
the federation, "aS the authorized
spokesman of the Federal workers
throughout the world, does not accept
the action taken in the House today
as final and will present the issue to
the United States Senate with the firm
belief that the final outcome will be
reflected IN a verdict for fair dealing
and not arbitrary abuse of power"
House action on the first of the big
Government employe in Washington
except the Postal workers and other
groups whose pay increases are pro-
vided by special mandatory law.
The action of the House knocks out
Of the budget recommendations APP
proved by the President for approx
mately 80 per cent of the $14,4OO, 900
estimated as required to bring all under
average salaries up TO the average.
LaGuardia Led Opposition.
Chairman Wood of the House Appro-
priations Committee led the forces
which emphatically declared for this
emergency" program of holding sal
aries during the fiscal year 1882 just
where they will be found on July
next. Representative LaGuardia of
New York led the brief, but spirited OPP
position in the interests of the Gov
eminent workers.
This fight came on the last section
OF the bill, written in by the commit
tee just before the bill was reported
to the House, but which followed ex-
tensive conferences, as follows:
mo appropriation available during
the fiscal year 1882 shall be used dur
ing such fiscal year to increase the
compensation of any position within
the grade to which such position has
been allocated under the classification
act OF 1928, as amended, nor to in
crease the compensation of any posi-
tion in the field service the pay of
which is adjustable to correspond so
far as may be practicable to the rate
(COntinued on page Coll1r1T1 o.