Evening star., 1932-04-13
Economy Committee Regards
Plan as More Than 8 1-3
Per Cent Flat Cut on Sal
aries Down to Lowest.
WOULD BE ABSORBED
ON 5-DAY-WEEK BASIS
Compulsory Furlough Hits Low
Salaries Hard, Considering Un-
limited Vacation Leave When
Congress Is Not in Session.
Fight Before House Tomorrow.
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.

President Hoover offered a new
drastic salary reduction proposal
today through Budget Director
Roop in an executive session Of
the House Economy Committee.
The President proposes a fiat
30-day leave without pay for all
Government employees, to be con-
sumed on a five-day week basis.
Members of the Economy Com
mittee figured that this means
more than 815 per cent fiat cut on
all salaries down to the very low
est, without any exemption allow
ance. When the ordinary 3O-day
vacation leave and 30-day sick
leave are considered, which are
included in the economy program
OF the committee, to be cut in
order to reduce Government ex-
penditure, this new 30-day COM
pulsory furlough without pay hits
With unexpected strength, particu-
larly at the low-salaried employees,
as many of the high-salaried en-
ployes, including both members of
the Senate and House, are given
unlimited vacation leave when
Congress is not in session.
Proposals in Statement.
NJ @xnAz
10 the Economy Committee on behalf
Of President Hoover regarding alterna-
tive proposals for savings on the saI-
aries OF Federal employees, upon which
agreement was not reached last Satur-
day, contained two proposals ito sim
pl1fy the suggestion offered by the ad-
mlnlstratiVe group so as to provide for
the coming fiscal year.
Il. The introduction of the principle
of the f1ve-day week or its equivalent
throughout the Government service
q. The elimination of all annual
leave with pay.
IS. The elimination of allowances to
rural mail carriers for vehicle main
tenance Gin lieu of No. above for these
employees.
For per diem employees the principle
Of the five-day week can generally be
applied directly by eliminating work on
Saturday morning and reducing pay
proportionately that is one-eleventh).
This amounts, in effect, to 26 days
furlough without pay in year.
For annual employees very close
equivalent can be reached by providing
a furlough without pay for one calen-
dar month. AS this furlough could not
always be made a continuous absence
for full month, provision should be
made to spread 1t into smaller units
when desirable, in which case the month
would be considered as equivalent to
"a working days Saturday being count
ed half day..
Rural Carriers Exempted.
THE application of either one or the
other of these two methods to be man
datory for every officer or employe of
the Government except rural mail car
riers and the enlisted forces of the
military services. Provision should be
made however for the President to ex-
cases where he finds that a suitable
substitute cannot be provided and the
public interest forbidS the absence OF
the regular employe.
1T is estimated that the saving bv
these simplified proposals (after al
lowing for the hire of substitutes when
necessary would be about the same
as was estimated under the three pro-
posalS for which these are now SUBJ
Stltuted-about $4,000, 900.
These slmplified proposals have the
further merit of maintaining the present
scale of salaries, establish the principle
of the five-day week and Of treating
everybody on practically the same basis.
In effect each man would receive pay
at the present rate for each day he
works for the Government, but would
be called upon to take his leave at his
own expense. This plan will furnish
some additional employment for sub
StituteS in certain cases and will 60 a
long way toward eliminating the other
wise necessary discharge of many en-
ployes.
ProvisO Against Reductions.
Further consideration is also being
given to the propriety of including a
provision which would prevent the re-
duction Of employees receiving S2.500 a
year Or less below the prevailing income
for some comparable occupations out
side the Government service. and which
would provide this in case the furlough
plan herein discussed does not effect
reduction in such comparable incomes,
then further adjustment by extension
Continued on Page 2, Column So
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