Evening star., 1930-12-12
SENATE TO VOTE
ON PAY NEXT WEEK
Treasury Position Made
Clear by UnderSecretary
Mills, Hearings Reveal.

The Senate will have its first op-
portunity to vote on the question Of
whether increases in Government en-
ploye salaries within grade Of the
classification law are to be allowed next
year, when the Treasury-Post once
appropriation bill is taken up for action
early next week.
The Senate Appropriations Committee
has cut out the House limitation and
put In the necessary funds to permit
these normal increases, but the Senate
will not take up the question until Mon
day or Tuesday The hearings held
several DAYS ago by the Senate appro-
priations subcommittee became avail
able today and show that Ogden l..
Mills, Undersecretary of the Treasury,
made clear to the Senators the posit1oan aa
of the Treasury Department on this
question. Mr.. Mills testified, in part,
as follows:
The Department takes the position
that it was our duty in the f1rSt instance,
and the duty of the President and OF the
kE4S@3nkoI. to submit to you gen.
tlemen of both Houses the amounts
that would be actually needed to carry
out the provision of the clasSihcatlon
= wisdom. the Congress decides to suspend
some of these provisions for given
fiscal year, we, Of course, are not going
to question your Judgment in the
matter"
Action for Increase.
After hearing the testimony of Mr..
Mills the Appropriations Committee
voted to allow the increases the Presi-
dent had recommended in his budget
message.
Mr.. Mills told the Senate committee
that the House restriction would have
prevented departments from using
money left over as the result OF resig-
nations Of persons receiving the higher
increase remaining employees who nave
been receiving lower salaries.
Friends Of the Government employees
In Congress feel very certain today
that the fight has been won against
the Wood amendment which would pre-
vent any salary increases within grade
during the fiscal year, beginning July /
next House members realize that the
Senate will insist upon striking this
provision out of each and every appro-
priation bill as it is brought before
them. There is growing majority
In the House who believe that the Gov
fering an injustice in the salary scale
for years should not now be denied the
increase which the administration
pledged to give them under a three
year program to bring under-average
salaries up to the average.
While Chairman Wood of the House
Appropriations Committee, who is the
aIthor Of this proposal to prevent any
salary increases during the unemploy-
n1ent emergency, is not ready yet to
eapitllate because he does not yet recog-
nize that members of his own COM
mittee are about ready to desert him
and vote against the Wood amendment,
other House leaders say that that Is
the present situation.
Favored ImpartiaIity.
Chairman Wood does admit that his
provision should not stick IN any Of the
appropriation bills unless it sticks in all
Of them. He believes that when the
Treasury-Post ONCE appropriation bill,
In which his amendment was included
when IL passed the House and was
promptly stricken out In the Senate,
goes to conference the question will
be thrashed out there and determine
ton reached which will rule In all the
other appropriation bills.
This question comes up for q vote
on the Interior Department appropria-
ton bill. It Is known that Representa-
tive Cramton of Michigan, who is in
charge of that bill, Is not with Chair
man Wood on his amendment and did
not vote with him when the matter
came up on the Treasury-Post Once
bill. Chairman Wood, however, claims
that only one member Of the Appropri-
ations Committee Is not in favor of the
salary incTease Y1rniailnftfoT that mem
Der being Representative Griffin, Dem
ocrat. Of New York.
La Guardia Confident.
Representative La Guardia, Repub-
hcan, Of New York Is leading the fight
IN the House against the Wood amend
ment and proposes TO raise the issue
when that fnal section in the Interior
bill Is reached today.
Representative La Guardia expreSScd
confidence today that he will be able 70
defeat the Wood amendment. Other
members Of the Appropriations Com
mittee were ready to admit that the
vote in support of Chairman Woods
proposal viii not be as strong as it
was on the Treasury-Post once bill
since members Of the House have come
to more thoroughly understand that
such action Is a repudiation of the
Administrations pledge to the employees
and that 1t also rejects President
Hoover's own recommendation.
Whether Representative La Guardia
wins his point today or on some subse-
quent appropriation bill. the friends of
the Government employees in the House
feel certain that eventually the Wood
provision will be stricken out on some
bill, and that it is the height Of ridicu-
lousness to have such a prohibition
apply TO any one department and not
to all, and that it is farcial to continue
constant wrangling on this subject or
each OF the big supply bills. For this
reason particularly they are inclined ia
give as decisive q vote as possible to-
day on Representative La Guardia's ef-
fort to strike out the Wood limitation