The Washington times., 1936-02-27
SALARY DELAY
COMPLAINTS
SETTLED
BY J. EARLE MOSER

ny Js EAhAz W1OSEN
Works Progress Administration
officials believe they have finally
perfected their disbursement sys
tenn sufficiently so that complaints
from project employees over de
layed salary checks will hence
forth be ct a minimum.
The delay in salary payments
with its subsequent publicity
irked WPA moguls considerably
when work in carrying out prof
ects under the $4,S8O 100000 ap
preparation got we'll under way.
Red tape tie-ups and bookkeeping
snags brought kicks by wholesale
from relief employees on security"
wages, who could i'll afford to
wait for their forthcoming sal
aries.
The situation became so bad
the organization found itself in
as much hot water as the Reset
tlement Administration encoun
tered somewhat previously, and in
the words of one WPA officer
Administrator Harry Hopkins fl
na1ly cracked down." demanded
an immediate improvement of the
situation, and ordered disburSe
ment speed throughout the relief
Setup.
This, 1t Is said, has now been
completed. and personnel heads
do not anticipate any further ma
jor protests because of tardy
checks. II the condition should
crop up anywhere, they say they'd
like to hear about it.
Cupid Scores
n was revealed today that
Joseph p. Conlin, Labor Depart
ment statistical worker, and Miss
Gertrude Bradley. Reconstruction
Finance Corporation, have mar.
ried. The couple are now in At
lAnttc City for q brief honeymoon
before returning to their desks
Mr.. Conlin is a Brooklynite, q
graduate Of Holy Cross University
and a well-known union figure at
the Labor Department. His bride
is a Baltimore girl.
Gotham Again
Another of those trips to New
York will be suggested tomorrow
to the District Department of the
A. F. G. E. by Ira Balm, chairman
Of the groups ways and means
committee. Mr.. Balm will Sug-
geSt that the trip take place May
Is or 16, that the Hotel Taft be
headquarters for the Federal
SSightSeers, and that they have the
option Of either q two-day or three
day trip. Tomorrow'S meeting is
ut the Hamilton Hotel, 8 p. m.
Comptroller Rules
Two Of Comptroller General
McCarl's recent rulings directly af
feet Government personnel. One
deals with the retirement status
Of q lucky gentleman at Interior,
who on August a, 1888, had
served his fifteenth year and
reached the age Of 65. Under the
regulations he was forced to &C.
cept a retirement status, but the
heavens intervened. An "ad-
ministrative error" allowed him to
remain at work until July Is, 1885.
before it was found out. Per.
picked, Interior officials asked Mr..
McCarl If they should pay him
both retirement and salary during
the "error" period. The ruling al
lows him salary only, retirement
payments starting Immediately
thereafter, and will serve as a prec'
edent for future administrative
mistakes"
In the other decision Mr.. Nc
Carl directs that per diem work.
ers receive pay, computed on a
seven-hour day, when legal holi-
DAYS fall on Saturday or other
"nonwork" days. Incidentally,
both Decoration Day and Inde-
pendence Day fall on Saturdays
this year. to the disgust Of Federal
workers, and the ruling will affect
1O16 III NAVY o4Ao1 SONCAAAAAOA
Printing office and Bureau Of En-
craving and Printing, in the main.
Denied, However
However, one overdue pay"
comp laint Of recent date is
emphatical1y denied at WPA. This
broke at the Department of Labor
where a number Of relief workers
are ironing out the U. E. Employ
ment Services files to get them
in order. Employees there said
their pay was being held up I'm.
necessarily via red tape and WPA
was charged with the. crime. 1t
now develops that the complain.
ing personnel is paid with Labor
Department checks and was hired
by Labor, although the money to
nay them was shifted to Labor
from O WPA appropriation.