The Indianapolis times., 1932-04-11
HOOVER, HOUSE
AT ODDS over
PAY SLASH|NG
Dissension Likely to Delay
Prompt Action on Plans
for Economy.
BIZ United Press

BIZ United Press
WASHINGTON, April l1.-Sharp
dissension between President Her
bert Hoover and the house econo-
my committee was apparent today
over their divergent plans for
sweeping government pay cuts
throughout the nation.
Members of the committee said
they intended to add direct salary
reduction rider" to the legislative
appropriation bill being reported
out today.
The fight centering around this
"rider" grew out Of the Presidents
"stagger employment system" and
his flve-day week for irregular gov
ernment workers.
Opposed to this was the COM
mittee's plan for a direct II per
cent pay cut on salaries above 81 1000
year.
The disagreement threatened to
delay prompt action on the national
economy program to pare $780,
100000 from the 1888 appropriations
in order to balance the budget
The economy committee met in
executive session this morning and
expected at the afternoon session
to decide one way or the other on
the controversial salary cut phase Of
the plan.
The net results of the all-day con-
ference of committee members and
the President Saturday can be sum-
married. as follows:
The committee learned that a
number Of it's economy plans will be
approved by the President if both
houses Of congress can be Induced
TO accept them.
1t learned that the President is
not willing even to discuss the plan
1t intended to offer for consolidation
OF war and navy departments.
FurIoughs Favored
1t learned that the President is
willing to have incomes of federal
employees reduced by some means,
although he prefers a plan Of fur
ioughs, without pay, rather than a
salary reduction.
While it is indicated that the
President favored submitting to
congress one bill containing all
legislative proposals for cutting gov
ernment expenditures, Chairman
John McDuffle (Dem., Ala) says
the committee will continue franz
ing a series of bills instead.
Statements given out after the
White House conference estimated
at all the way from $125,000,000 to
$200,000,0 900 the total savings to be
effected under this general plan.
The line of procedure to be fol-
lowed by the house committee does
not take into consideration the fiat
10 per cent cuts being made in all
appropriation bills by the senate
appropriations committee.
Members of the house group
pointed out that the senate econ
omy plan, by arbitrarily reducing
the amount given bureaus for the
coming fiscal year inevitably will
mean a large number of dismissals
from the government service.
They prefer, instead. to distribute
the economies and to reduce pay
of all rather than to throw any
workers into the ranks of the un-
employed.
Employees Fight Plan
The items in this program which
threaten to precipitate considerable
controversy follow:
Eleven per cent pay cuts for all
employees from the President down,
with $1,000 of each salary exempt;
retirement of superannuated en-
ployes; and suspension of all promo
tons and all overtime pay.
The National Federation of Federal
Employees says it will oppose this ito
the last ditch" 1t prefers Hoover's S
furlough plan, if some cut must be
made, according to its secretary,
Miss Gertrude McNally, but mem
bers of the house say they have been
told by individual workers that the
prefer the cut.
Reduction of payments to vet
erans while hoSpitalized, and limita-
tion of pay of emergency officers
and of retired army and navy Off
GERS employed by the government.
If veterans and government workers
unite to defeat these two proposals
they may be able to do so.
Suspension for year of all pay
ments to states for vocational edu-
cation except those for industrial
rehabilitation.
Twelve other propositions which
were discussed we're Of minor i'm
portance and probably will encoun-
ter little opposition.