Evening star., 1932-04-21
Mills Fights Flat Pay Cut
In Letter Setting Forth Views on Appropriation Re-
duction Policy of Senate, He Urges Adoption of
Presidents Fnrlongh Program for Saving

bill, his committee now had to cut 1t
under instructions from the Senate
Mills will testify tomorrow.
Disagreement with Mills proposal
that the building fund be cut came
from Oddie, who favored the majority
Of the points in the Secretary's letter.
From the standpoint of the Amer
ican people that building program can't
be stopped" Oddie said.
1T would add to unemployment ana
be unwise and uneconomic.
The Government has held out hope
and promise to the people and workers
Of the areas in which the structures
would be built"
Quoting Mills question. What is sa-
cred about new post Offices in times ike
these?" O1die said:
There's the sacredness OF giving
work. food and clothes to thousands"
approximately $5,500.000 is for rent
travel, etc.
over 81 1,Oo0,o 900 of the S34,oO0,oo0
represents pensions to retired Coast
Guard officers and men 1t is apparent
that there is no economy in curtailing
the adequate maintenance OF public
buildings and public vessels, and the
amount to be squeezed out OF the
S34, 900 900, short of inefficiency and
neglect. is small. The bulk of this
reduction, then, must be made by a
reduction in personnel, unless you
adopt a five-day week and some such
furlough plan as that suggested by the
President Provision for the furlough
plan should be written into this bill.
The alternative is shocking one.
"As nearly as we can estimate, with
out the furlough the 10 per cent cut in
the appropriations for personnel service
i ~ <@f arr1. ~
5000 employes-nearly 80 per cent
of whom are stationed outside of Wash
ington.
Il am not talking about placeholders.
I am not talking about political ap-
pointees. for practically all of the en-
ployes of the Treasury Department are
appointed from civil service lists. I am
talking of 5000 men and women whose
services are needed; who have, generally
speaking, decided to devote their lives
to the public service, and who would,
in times when 1t is impossible to find
another job, be turned out on to the
street by the Government of the United
States.
Presidents Program.
1.-The President, in conjunction with
the Economy Committee of the House,
has worked out a national economy
program which, as 1t stands today with
out such further study as you gentle
men may care to give it. promises
saving In excess of that which it is pro-
posed for all departments by the method
of a fiat cut without impairment of
Government efficiency and without the
intoierable hardship which dismissal
would infiict on thousands Of American
families.
"A fiat cut applied to every bureau of
the Treasury Department, without a
furlough provision and without grant,
ing any discretion to the executive as
to where the savings can best be made,
will not save money but will cost more
than the amount saved. 1t surely can
not have been overlooked that the pri-
mary duty of the Treasury Depart
ment is the collection of the public
revenues. The commissioner OF internal
revenue informs me that 10 per cent
have to be effected largely by the re-
duction of his field force.
ITO give somewhat extreme but
nevertheless pertinent illustrations, the
commissioner advises that II this re-
duction were effected by reducing the
number of deputy collectors throughout
the country 1t would mean dispensing
with some 300 deputy collectors. The
average amount of additional tax rec
commended by each of these employees
for the last fiscal year was S40,8l2. As
suming that the full amount of the tax
recommended could be collected, on the
face of it the reduction in the force Of
deputy collectors might result in loss
Of over $50 000, 900.
b THE commissioner Of Internal Reve-
nue. further informs me that II 10
per cent reduction in the appropriation
for his bureau Is to be effected through
reducing the force of internal revenue
agents an even greater loss of revenue
might result. The average salary and
expenses of revenue agents as Of March
81, 1882, was S3,716. The average
amount of additional tax recommended
by each revenue2agent for the last f1scal
year was S105 ,000 Assuming that only
so per cent of this tax was assessed ana
collected, in order to save S3,716 in sal
ary and expenses, we would 6acrlnce
S52, 500 in taxes. Assuming that 9O6
missed, the amount of additional taxes
recommended on the basis of the last
fiscal year might be reduced by $685.
900 900.
Work Facing Treasury.
ION July /, 1882, the Treasury De-
partment, in all probability, is to under
take the collection of over a billion dol
lars of additional taxes, some OF them
new taxes, others at rates high enough
to invite evasion. We cannot enforce
the new law and collect these taxes
without increasing our force. Yet, II
this resolution Is carried out without
modification, we are TO attempt this
new and difficult task with a reouceo
and demoraliZed force.
In my letter of March 20 to Sen
ator Jones I pointed out that II an
arbitrary reduction were to be mace IN
the amount of the Treasury approprla-
tions a blsinesslike and effective way
of making the saving would be to sus-
pend the letting Of contracts Tor
number of post office buildings through
out the country. At that time the flve-
day week and furlough plan had not
been worked out. The Senate resolu-
tion specifically excludes any savings
along this line 1t is pertinent to OBJ
serve that If towns and cities through
out the country have got along with
their existing post Office facilities up TO
the present time they surely can during
these trying days wait year or two
longer for a new building of monu-
mental character What is sacred
about a new post ONCE in times like
these?
II know that it is urged that the
building Of sl4,o00,000 worth of post
Offices will give employment 1t will
give some employment, but surely this
employment should not be secured
through throwing out of employment
more than 5000 men and women.
These dismissals will have to be made
l. -.,iAn nf thu rta lIia hla caruicaS ner-