Evening star., 1932-04-23
HOOVER ASSURED
LIMITED AUTHORITY
IN ECONOMY SHIFTS
Continued From First Page.

Continued From First Page)
and women of employment would be
inhuman.
In Mr.. Hoover's opinion, the man or
woman who has been in the Govern
ment service for any length of time has
| become more or less expert in his or her
particular work, and to throw these
workers out of Jobs would be unfair.
He stressed the point there would be no
work for them in their particular fields.
Favors FurIough Plan.
In this respect, the President was
represented as being convinced the
| Government in its handling of en-
| ployes should not fall behind private in
dustry but should lead. He is of the
| opinion his plan for a fve-day week
and staggering furloughs would be the
better way to reduce the cost of Fed
eral employees.
The White House has been advised
! there is some confusion between the
| Presidents plan and the direct pay cut.
The latter would save SGT 100000, it is
estimated and would fail to take care Of
certain administrative problems.
The Presidents plan would result in
a saving of $82, 900, 900 and would pro-
| vide sufficient efficiency for the proper
functioning of the Government, Mr..
| Hoover holds.
| In emphasizing the moral and social
responsibilities of the Government. it
was pointed out at the White House
| that private business has shown q
| great sense of responsibility to its en-
ployes. Private industry has endeavored
1 to distribute employment so as to give
at least part-time employment to all
its workers rather than slash the size
of the force, it was said.
The President is impressed by the
fact staggering employment has be-
come almost universal in business and
his viewpoint is that the Government
has a responsibility even greater than
that Of private industry.
First Bill Passes.
The first Of the appropriation bills
to pass with the 10 per cent slash was
the Interior Department measure. The
bill, the President has been advised,
will result in the dismissal of between
800 and 1000 employees throughout the
country At the same time it provides
for continuance Of the construction
Earlier, Speaker Garner told Secre-
tary Of the Interior Wilbur in a letter
that if the President had directed cab
met members last Fall to reduce Gov
ernment expenses 10 per cent, more
than S400,000,000 could have been
saved in 1888.
The Speakers letter was in answer
to one from Wilbur assailing Congress
| for the reduction from S56,000,000 to
s45,Ooo,O 900 in the Interior Depart
ment's supply bill.
When l spoke to the newspaper
men about you and other cabinet mem
bers as we'll as the President failing
to cooperate with the Congress, I re-
ferred particularly to your declining to
give information as to where a real cut
could be made in the cost of Govern
ment," Garner wrote.
In other words, my dear Mr.. Secre-
tary, it is clearly demonstrated that if
you and your co-laborers in the cabinet
had been as anxious to reduce the cost
of Government as Congress has demon
strated its disposition to be, you would
have reduced your estimates at least
S250,000 900 and our labors here would
have been reduced to that extent
Committee Marks Time.
Meanwhile, the subcommittee charged
by the Senate with the task of cutting
10 per cent from the 81 059 ,000, 900
Treasury-Post once appropriation bill
has decided to mark time for a few
days to see what may develop in the
House in the direction of economy
without the dropping of workers.
The subcommittee, headed by Senator
Oddie, Republican, of Nevada, sat in
executive session yesterday with Post
master General Brown and Secretary
of the Treasury Mills and heard both
officials elaborate on letters they had
previously submitted, outlining the ef-
IF n -
on top Of cuts which had already been
made by the House.
Secretary Mills has recommended
postponement of some of the Federal
post office building projects and adop-
ton OF the Presidents one-month fur
| Tough plan as a means of avoiding
dismissal Of employees The difficulty
is, however, that the building program
is the one feature of the bill which
the Senate told the committee not to
cut.
The Postmaster General also has en-
phasized that cut in the funds for
personal services, which represent a
large part of the total outlay of the
Post Ofdce Department, would result
in serious impairment of the postal
service.
McKellar FavOrs Cut.
Senator McKellar, Democrat, of Ten
nessee, who originated the idea of cut
ting all appropriation bills 10 per cent
below the House amounts as a means
Of meeting part of the sum necessary to
balance the budget, indicated following
yesterdays meeting that he still is
convinced the cut can be made.
Senator Oddie is emphatic in his op-
position to making the 10 per cent cut
in any part of the bill. believing il is
bound TO have serious effect on these
two important branches of the Govern
ment, and he has declared his intention
Of urging the Senate to reconsider its
order when the bill is taken back to the
floor
Sharp issue with the statement made
by Postmaster General Brown to the
Senate Appropriations Committee that
the rank and file of postal employees
prefer the Presidents furlough plan
to straight pay cut was taken today