Evening star., 1933-11-20
LEGION MAY BACK
FULL PAY FIGHT.
District Legionnaires Present
'Three.FoId Plan for Ex-
ecutive Approval.

Plans for q Nationwide fight to re-
store the Is per cent pay cut of Fed
eral employees as . necessary part Of
the administrators recovery program
will be launched at the forthcoming
semi-annual meeting Of the National
Executive Committee of the American
Legion at Indianapolis
Edward F. Marthill, chairman of the
Veterans Preference Committee of the
Legion, who Is also alternate executive
committeeman for the Department of
the District of Columbia. has departed
for Indianapolis headquarters to present
to the governing body the three-fold
plan on behalf of Government workers
This program, adopted by the local
Legionnaires, proposes restoration OF the
pay cut, the replacement in Government
jobs Of all Civil Service employees with
good records who have been discharged
by reasons Of economy, and preference
for veterans.
125,000 Employed.
According to statistics gathered by
Mr.. Marthill's committee, there are in
excess Of ZOO veterans Of the wars
in the various Government departments
and independent establishments, so that
legislation to better the working condi-
tions of Government employees proba-
bly, effects as many veterans as almost
any piece OF legislation which comes
before Congress for action.
The Veterans Preference Committee,
according to John Arthur Shaw. its sec
retary, feels also that the national re-
cOvery program can be aided by such
action at this time because of the effect
it will have upon private employees
throughout the country
There is no way" stated Mr.. Shaw
in which the Federal Government can
prove its belief that the country Is well
on its way back to normal conditions as
definitely and as conclusively as by the
adoption of the very things which it is
asking OF private business.
The work of the National Recovery
Administration has undoubtedly put a
million or more men and women back
upon the Nations pay roll. The plan
OF the Public Works Administration to
put 100000 more men and women on
jobs will really result in 5000, 900 jobs.
because, of course, the added spending
power OF the Nations additional four
or five million workers will surely add
at least two million others to the pay
rolls" If the President or the Con-
gress will add to this the restoration
OF Government salaries to their former
status and the replacement Of former
Government workers in their jobs. the
effect upon the country at large will be
worth watching.
Ask Jobs Be Restored.
"At least as important as the res
toratlon of the rate of pay Is the
replacement in Jobs Of those Federal
workers who have been discharged as
a result OF the economy program. OF
the many thousands who have thus lost
their positions. probably at least
thousand have had from Is to 25 years
OF service and many Of them have had
as high as 20 years of service and
would in a few months be eligible
for a pension. Common justice re-
quires that these men and women. who
served their Government at small sal
aries during the boom times. shall with
out exception be placed in jobs of the
caliber which they have recently lost.
The Legion has always felt that vet
erans' preference was right and just
that no man had quite as much right
to expect to work for the Government
as the man who offered to lay down
his life in its defense and particularly
those men who left their health on
the battlefields of France or in the
camps Of America
During the years that those whom
we now call veterans were serving their
country for $50 a month. less about
half OF that sum deducted for one rea-
son or another, other Americans were
carving careers in the business world
and in industry. One way for our
country to make up for this sacrifice is
to give the veteran an opportunity to
continue in the service of the country
for which he fought"