Brownsville herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1910-current, 1931-09-20
(sa1
By
The PoE6eal
AaAyst
BY THE POLITICAL ANALYST

State salary-cutting. except upon
a partial and incomplete basis. be-
came impossible Tuesday of this
week when several thousand state
workers began their duties under
contracts that could not be set
aside by any law afterward passed.
Professors and instructors Of the
University OF Texas and all the
other institutions of higher learn
ing are employed on contracts OF
n year or longer. All the teach
ers In public schools are on a strict
contract basis.
These contracts became opera
tive before the voluntary" salary
cutting proposal, or legislative eff
forts to reduce the ste budgets
had either been made effective.
Gov. Ross s. Sterling has inform
ed Chmn. Phil Sanders Of the
house appropriations committee
that he will not submit the budget
bills for trimming. The house had
asked him to do that before he
made the statement. The senate
asked him TO do 1t afterward: but
his declaration stood unchanged.
The fact that the educational
system employees IRE on contract,
and their compensation cannot be
changed during the contract period,
may have had much TO do with the
governors policy.
1t would leave for the so-called
voluntary" cutting-not voluntary
at all except with a few depart
ment heads. most OF whose salaries
ere constitutional an could not be
lowcred-only the clerks In some
OF the departments. The senate was
ted that the judiciary would not
" ats own salary. the ones par
ti-uiarly attacked by Rep. II. Fl
McGregor of Austin. Sen. Tom De-
Berry said the legislature would
not attempt TO cut highway de-
partment, educational or judiciary
salaries.
That left the low-paid workers
OF the eleemosynary institutions.
and the clerks in some OF the
state departments.
The public school teachers are
paid by the local GOV srning agen-
cies, but most OF their compensa-
ton comes from the state in the
S17.50 per capita 1pportionment
for all children listed in the
scholastic census.
Since probably t~hree-fourths of
the entire roster OF public en-
ployes, including the public school
teachers. were beyond the reach Of
any salary-cutting law, the ques-
ton was being raised among 9TH
ers whether an agreement by de-
partment heads not to pay the full
sums appropriated by the legis-
lature for specific jobs could stand
up in court.
1t was pointed out that many Of
the salaries r fixed by the sta
tutes creating the bureaus and de-
partments. No official could, II was
claimed. withhold any part OF the
sum provided by law to be paid
for a specific service.
The rest Of the Jobs. the usual
run OF s~tenographic and clerical
places, are provided for by specific
amounts In the appropriations bill,
Efforts 10 force an informal re-
duction OF pay could only apply To
these. 1t was claimed. and because
or the obvious discrimination in
volved, were questioned as 10 valid
ity, II attempted.
John L. DarrouZet. Galveston. a
supporter or Gov. Alfred r. Smith
of New York for anything that
Smith may want, Is authority for
the statement that a statewide or
ganization OF democrats Is being
perfected to oppose instrucring
Texas delegates to tho democratic
national convention next year.
The organization shortly will an
nounce a chairman for every coun-
ty In the state. Mr.. Darrouzet said.
He Is temporary chairman OF the
uninstructed delegation group.
Mr.. Darrouzet said the movement
was not a campaign effort in sup
port Of Mr.. Smith. in cas- Smith
should come back for another ef-
fort at the nomination. He insist
ed II was TO avoid a split within
the party before or during the con-
ventions, and to give a delegation
a free hand in casting the Texas
vote for the most available man.
Along with this, he holds the
belief that Gov. Franklin ID. Roose-
welt does not stand a very good
prospect Of winning the nominal
ton. He believes the nominee will
be Newton D. Baker, Owen Young
or Gov. Smith. or someone else