Evening star., 1933-01-05
Carter Even Asks Reduction
in Daily Hours if Found
Necessary.
LOSS OF SICK LEAVES
BY EMPLOYEES SCORED
Annual Report of Public Printer
Cites Discrimination" as Com
pared With Other Offices.

Continued operation OF the flve-day-
week plan of spreading employment in
the Government Printing Office was
recommended in the annual report of
Public. Printer George H. Carter sub
mitted today to Congress.
Even further reduction, this time in
the daily hours of work, to further
spread employment II necessary, is
recommended by the Public Printer.
In submitting his report, Mr.. Carter
said:
I'm view of the satisfactory and sue
cessful operation of the f1ve-day work
week, the Public Printer again recon-
mends and urges that Congress author
ize its continuance in the Government
Printing Office, and that, if the flve-day
work week does not provide sufficient
spread of employment the daily hours
of labor be reduced to accomplish this
purpose"
Mr.. Carter reviews favorable COM
ment on the operation Of the plan from
the United States Chamber of Com
merce, the American Federation of
Labor, the American Telephone g.
Telegraph Co., and numerous other or
ganizations, including trade unions and
trade and civic organizations.
Criticizes Exclusion.
Exclusion Of employees of the Govern
ment Printing Office from the sick leave
allowed other Government employees was
criticized by the Public Printer. He
declared:
During the current fiscal year this
discrimination is an extra hardship. TO
the Government Printing ONCE en-
ployes who will not have any leave with
pay to compensate for sickness, al
though at the same time other Govern
ment employees will have sick leave
available as heretofore.
Notwithstanding the fact that they
will have no leave available during the
fiscal year 1888, employees of the Gov
ernment Printing Office were absent
161 1913 hours during the five months
from July to December l, 1892, and
thereby lost in salaries and wages a
total Of $l59,082.38. Practically all Of
this amount could have been charged
to the leave they, earned in the fiscal
year 1882 II the leave rights had not
been suspended by the economy act.
About rs per cent of the time lost was
due to sickness A uniform leave law
should be enacted for the entire Gov
ernment service to end the gross dis
ordinations against employees of the
Government Printing Office"
In another effort to distribute en-
ployment where it Is most needed, the
public printer reported that the num-
Der of apprentices in training at the
G. P. o. on December l, 1892, was 139,
81 less than the maximum authorized
by law. He said:
owing to the great number of
journeymen out of work in the printing
trades, the public printer has suspended
hn ftafv 1np1f AF
prentices for the time being and is
using the funds thus saved in the
employment Of qualified journeymen
in need Of work"
Deplores Size Of Record.
Mr.. Carter again complained Of the
size of the Congressional Record, QUOT
ing from a letter written by him last
March to the chairman of the House
Economy Committee as follows:
Approximately one-third of the
7,779 pages of the daily Congressional
Record for the third session of the
Seventy-flrst Congress were devoted to
matter other than the actual proceed
ings and debates in Congress The law
provides that the Congressional Record
shall be substantially verbatim report
of proceedings and that the Joint
Committee on Printing shall take all
needed action for the reduction of un-
necessary bulk However, it has al
ways been maintained by Congress that
each House is the sole Judge of the
matter inserted in its own proceedings.
Assuming that the Record for the
last Congress contained a fair average
Of extraneous matter. a saving of ap-
proximately $260,000 annually might be
made If the Record were reduced to
substantially verbatum report of pro-
ceedings,' as the law provides. I doubt
if the Joint Committee on Printing
would want to assume such a grave
responsibility unless and until there Is
more affirmative legislation by Congress
in this regard"