Evening star., 1932-06-01
i. s. CLERKS FIGHT
PAY CUT PROPOSAL
Steward AssaiIs Appropria-
tions Committee Plan as
"OutrageouS.'
Continued From First Page)


do not have the welfare of the Nation
at heart"
His statement follows:
The proposal to impose a 10 per
cent pay cut upon all civilian Federal
employees is essentially an attempt to
saddle a disproportionate burden upon
the backs OF the already inadeQuately
paid Federal employees. This group OF
workers, deprived as they were of the
benefits of increased salaries when
living costs mounted SO rapidly. are
now, under the spur of panic fear,
made the targets for a proposal which.
if enacted into law. will not only throw
thousands of Federal employees beneath
the level of bare subsistence. but will
in addition render them the helpless
victims of complete loss of pay for
indefinite periods at the Whim of ad-
miniStrative Superiors, and. as crown
ing Injustice will have deducted, for
retirement purposes, percentage on
the amount which will be cut from
their present pay.
The wave of hysteria which has
within the past few months swept SO
many so-called leaders of business and
industry from the moOringS OF economic
common sense must not be permitted
to stiematize the United States Govera-
mcnt as having no regard for fair and
humane treatment of its employees, as
being blind to the destruction of morale
and as guided only by the arbitrary and
inhumane instincts Of a sWeat-shopper.
Public Aid Sought.
"The National Federation of Federal
EMPLOYEES refuses to believe that the de-
liberate Judgment CT the Congress OF
the United States will tolerate such an
outrageous proposal, Or that public senti-
ment will support such a disregard OF
the rights of the loyal and efficient army
of civilian employees who are dependent
upon legislative action for their working
conditions We shall oppose to the ut
most this attempt unfairly to discrim-
mate against the loW-paid Federal
workers. and in doing so rely with con-
fidence upon the support of all forward
looking legislators. who recognize that
indiscriminate slashing of the Federal
paw roll is economically unsound-is
violative of every correct business prin-
ciple and is inspired by selfish interests
which do not have the welfare Of the
Nation at heart
Fears Wage Deflation.
the wage losses claimed since 1913. was
based on figures compiled by Ulrey j.
Biller, vice president and actuarial eX-
pert of the federation, and Is offered,
President Steward said, "as incontro-
vertible evidence that wage cuts now
would have the effect of sharply accen-
tuating a wage defiation trend that has
been dong on for nearly two decades" J"
The study, Steward said, shows that
In all salary groups, workers have suS-
tanned continuing losses in real wages, "
based ON living costs. since 1913, the
pre-War year universally utilitized by
statisticians for comparative purposes. "
For example. taking a S90O-a-year
clerk, it is revealed that with the ad-
vance of the Governments own index
number for the cost of living from 100
in 1918 to 172.5 in 1924, the index
value of the 5000 salary was Sl,553,
while the actual salary was but Sl,028,
making the average salary lag $3.50,
and the 5000 clerks real wage scant
S674.
Now, using this same clerk as an
illustration after the enactment of the
classification act, the federation's study
shows that the index value of the $500
salary from 1925 to 1881 averaged
s1.5lO. while the actual salary received
was S1,191. Here the salary lag was
1919, with the real wage s713.
Furthermore, the study shows that
for each 5000 clerk, the salary lag, a
definite. actual loss to the individual,
was S6.518 from 1914 to 1881.
ANALYSIS of our tables will show that
the real wage of this 5000 clerk drop
ped to $50 in 1919, that for three years
it was below that of a laborer in 1913
and that the average annual real wage
for the whole period of 18 years was
below that paid to junior messenger
(S72O in 1918.
Declares Lag" General.
Moreover, what happened to this
5000 salary, in loss of purchasing pow
er, also happened to every other statu-
tory salary paid by the Government
during this period. The salary lag, or
loss in real wages, of all the employees
in the Government service during these
18 years is so vast sum that it is
seemingly unbelievable. and one hesi-
tates even to estimate the amount"
In the same connection, Steward also
pointed out the status of "the rela-
lively limited number of SIS 900 salaries.
1T is shown" he said, that the
average index value Of that salary va.