Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-03-19
No Salary Cutting Now.

One seeks in vain for the real ex-
PLANTATION of necessity that must be
advanced to justify a program of Fed
eral salary slashing.
It is stated from one quarter that
lobbying activities by certain postal
employees are responsible for h
changed attitude by House leaders. Is
it to be accepted, then, as fact that
proposals to reduce Federal pay are
dictated by q certain amount Of vim
dictive revenge? Is the fact that pos
tai employe lobbyists succeeded In de-
feating the measure barring pay in
creases to be seriously advanced as .
reason TO cut all Federal pay? Do
these lobbyists really bear the brunt
Of responsibility for the way the House
votes2 And II they do, are all Fed
,>eral employees to suffer from the lobby
ing Activities Of few? Who Is in the
best position to control lobbying-the
great mass Of low-paid and largely vote
less Federal employees, or the members
OF Congress?
1t is stated from another quarter that
the real motive in cutting Federal pay
is to produce q good psychological eff
feet throughout the country. What sort
of psychology is expected to result? Are
the millions Of working men and women
In this country to breathe easier, to
feel more confident OF their own jobs
and their own future when they learn
that the Federal Government Is setting
the pace for wage reductions? Is the
desirable effect one to be shown in &C
ceptance Of the theory that the way TO
fight the curse of depression IL further
to cut down the purchasing power Of
underpaid wage earners? : VIII any
confidence result from the Govern
nent's example IN telling its Thousands
of employees, with their triplsd thou
sands u dependents, That their pay 10
TO be cut and their taxes increased?
It is stated from another quarter that
the motive behind salary slashing is to
balance the Federal budget. But should
proposals to- cut pay come as the first
stens In balancing this budget? Salary
cutting should be the last resort-not
the nrst; Only one appropriation bill
has 50 far been enacted-the deficiency
bill. The agricultural bill, first to reach
conference between House and Senate,
is still in conference. The revenue bill
= Is now passing the gauntlet Of the in
come tax enemies, the sales tax enemies.
No one yet knows what the chances for
budget balancing will be until the ap-
preparation bills and the revenue bills
are in final shape.
It is true that the situation today re-
karding the Federal budget. as well ss
the budgets of industry, require dag
nosis and treatment by realists. and one
OF the plain facts to be realistically
dealt with is that before there car, be
sound recovery there must be general
readjustment OF production costs to q
new and lower level.
But the sane way Of going about this
matter Of Federal salary slashing is TO
regard the wage level in the Govern
ment Establishments wage level that
all-the statistics so far presented show
to be already low-as the last item to
be touched. The budget should first be
examined from the new perspective
created by other moves for economy
and revenue raising And when this is
done the business of cutting salaries
can be approached scientifically, by
- careful analysis of the actual amount
in dollars and cents that must be saved
by such a move, where the cuts can be
made with the least amount Of damage.
Consideration. at this time Of blanket
salary reductions made in the name OF
psychological effect" and under the
totally erroneous conception Of Federal
employees as a favored class yet to feel
/. any of the blight Of depression is wrong
! There are too many other steps that
: should come first.