Evening star., 1932-10-23
Economy Act Ruling Denies
Advance in Salaries to
1903 Postmasters.
THOSE IN LOWER BRACKET
AFFECTED PRINCIPALLY
2,100 Employees, Retired July 10,
Unable to Get Retirement Pay
for Rest of Month.

This is the first OF series OF
articles en- operation OF the drdS-
ticdlly cut budget in the Government
departments.
Legislation to correct two inequities
that have developed in the postal serv-
ice as the result of interpretations put
on the economy act by Controller Gen.
eral McCarl will be urged on the next
Congress by Postmaster General Brown.
In the one instance 1903 postmasters
have been denied statutory pay ad-
vances provided fer increases in re-
ceipts at their Offices.
In the other, approximately 2,100
employees, retired July 10, have been
deprived of retirement pay for the re-
mainder of that month, on the ground
that this grant could not start until
August /.
In both cases. postal officials declare
that unnecessary hardship is being i'm
posed on the workers, and the opinion
is expressed that the necessary legis-
lation will be forthcoming.
Pay Based on Receipts.
The pay of postmasters. and super
visory officers at post Offices is based
on receipts.
In a fourth-class Office, which is the
lowest class, the pay is on percentage
basis. When the receipts reach $500
fer year, the Office becomes third
class Office. and the salary of the post
master is sl,100. Up to receipts of
$1,000, when the salary becomes So 300,
the station rating is unchanged. then
it becomes second class. This class
takes in The establishments doing a
business of $4,000 to $40 900. and the
pay range is s2.400 to s3,000 Then the
station becomes first class with a min
imum salary of $4,000 and maximum
of $4,000, which is for those places
where the annual receipts are $4,000
600 or more.
These advances from class to class
have in the past been automatic. and
it has been a common occurrence for
a station to move up notch or two
one year, because of an unusual in
crease in the volume of the mail han.
died, and drop back the next, the grad
ing always taking place on July /, on
the basis Of the business for the pre-
ceding calendar year.
Advances Prohibited.
When the usual situation arose this
past July, concurrently with the passage
Of the economy law, Controller General
McCarl ruled that the advances con-
stituted automatic promotions. and as
such, were prohibited. At the same
time, however. where the business had
fallen off to the point where the rating
OF the Post ONCE was to be lowered.
the appropriate action was taken.
The consequence of this was that a
postmaster entitled to more salary. not
only did not get it, but. had the statutory
81s per cent deduction applied to the
lesser pay he was receiving. For those
postmasters whose rating was decreased,
the amount they lost was taken into
consideration in figuring the 8ls per
cent cut.
This turn of affairs is particularly
objectionable to postal officials. who
have held out for the principle of pay
ing salaries according to the receipts
at the post Offices to the extent where
they opposed legislation which came up
prior to the economy bill, to declare
q moratorium" on the reduction of
pay at post Offices over the country
facing lower classification because of
the slackenlng volume Of mail.
Lower Bracket Hurt Most.
AS might be expected, the postmas-
ters i'll second, third and fourth class
offices have been principally affected,
and the extent to which this condi-
tion has operated, postal officials say, is
shown by the fact that there have been
numerous cases where a station should
have gone from third to first class, with
pay boost of $1,000 to $4,000 for the
postmaster, where it has not been pcs-
sibie to allow the advance This in
the face of increased responsibility and
the requirement for higher bond to
protect against possible losses through
dishonest employees. an item which the
postmaster mus tpay, and which he
must make up out of his own pocket
If the bond IS insufficient.
Further. first-class postmaster re-
ceiving only $1,000 in such a situation,
is getting less than rural carriers, and
only Sl00 per year more than the en-
trance salary of clerk or carrier.
The miX-up over retirement came as
the direct result Of the delay which
characterized enactment of the econ
omy law. which was only passed on the
eve of the new fiscal year.
With employees scattered all over the
country. it required some time to ac-
quaint them ell with the new conditions
under which the service was to be con-
Quoted, and 2.l00 workers who should
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