Evening star., 1932-06-12
Get the Matter Done With!

The economy bill, that started out
with its flags so proudly flying and
with its bands blaring forth the in
spring music of Balance the Budget"
has limped. at last. into conference, its
uniform bespattered and tattered and
torn. While it may come out partial
y revived by reStoratives administered
by conferees determined to make the
best of bad situation, 1t Is dif1cult to
see how it can now accomplish It's
original mission of closing the gap be-
tween what the revenue bill will
bring in and what the Congress will
spend If it does, the days OF miracles
will, in truth, have returned.
The governmental pay cutting issue
is easily the most difficult with which
the conferees will have to deal. The
House has approved pay cut with ex-
emptions. The Senate has approved a
furlough plan in place of the pay cut.
1t is difficult to understand how the
conferees can make much out Of what
has been put upon them to do without
exceeding the authority ordinarily given
them While majority Of the con-
terees may be said to favor the pay cut
principle over the furlough principle,
the House exemption Of $4,000 stands
in the way of extending the pay cut to
that army Of low-paid employees who
would furnish most Of the money to be
saved. And if the furlough plan is
favored by the conferees as las. re-
sort the wording OF the House bill
raises the question whether It's $2500
will not apply to the furlough As well
as to the pay cut.
But speculation on the outcome now
is idle. Conferees have been known to
cut the corners Of legislative precedents
and parliamentary rules before, and
the temper OF both houses now Is to
have done with the whole business and
get through.
That desire in addition, must be felt
by the country at large, and certainly
is felt by the harried and harrassed
Government employe. The latter has
become the foot ball in as heartless
game as ever was played. He has
been confronted with q succession Of
blows and encouraging pats until he
knows not where he stands. First his
pay, then his leave, then both, then
neither-and under such conditions he
could excusably become q fatalist and
calmly resign himself to whatever for
the embarrassing fact that he must
continue to eat, to clothe and pro-
vide adequate housing for himself
and for his dependents. The difnculty
that have threatened him In various
forms have made Of him an embattled
adversary. In a manner Of speaking,
he is fighting for his life.
The conferees have found the ma
jority Of both houses bitterly opposed
to fat pay cuts that reach down deep
into the pockets Of low-paid men and
women. There has been no overpower-
4Ils ociIlIIIIeAt lOl pay CULo 1lOIH lIlc
Nation. which slowly has come to the
realization of what it would mean, not
TO public servant alone, but to his kin
in private employment.
The conferees should drop the pay
cut plan as it affects the majority OF
workers. apply modified furlough
scheme and end their work. What
everybody desires, and what is wholly
important, is an immediate disposal Of
a question that has dragged along with
out settlement since before the Con-
gress met last December The un-
certainty has amounted to form of
mental torture TO the Federal employe
and has created a distrust of the
ability of Congress to act with any de-
gree Of speed and decisiveness.
Let the conferees end this uncer-
tainty now and close the issue.