Evening star., 1941-04-22
D.C.Pay Boost
Bill Backed
DespiteCost
Ruise for Police,
Firemen Put at
$500, 900 Yearly

HOUSE subcommittee WAS IOlu
today that enactment of the Nc
Carran-Schulte bill providing a
blanket eventual increase of about
$500 annually in the salaries of all
police and firemen here would cost
local taxpayers an additional ST.
100000 a year.
The higher pay scale was repre-
eented as urgent, however, because
of the increased cost of living in
Washington, coupled with the war
emergency which requires that men
of ''unquestioned integrity" be at
tracted to the police and fire serv-
ices.
Merits of the pay increase bill
were discussed before the Police and
Fire Subcommittee of the District
Comittee. headed by Representative
Schultz, Democrat, of Indiana, who
sponsored the measure in the House.
Senator McCarran, Democrat, of
Nevada, introduced the companion
measure in the Senate.
Lusk Voices DiSapprOval.
Representative of police and fire.
mems organizations gave their gen.
eral Endorsement to the bill. The
only note of opposition was sounded
by Rufus S. Lusk of the Washing
ton Taxpayers Association, VINO
facetiously told the subcommittee he
represented the Tories and we'll
stocked clubs"
Mr.. Lusk declared the pay sched-
ule called for in the bill would raise
the budget by s1,5500O0 a year, in
Guiding increased pension annuities.
John L. Werheim, president of Lo-
cal So of the District Firemen's As
sociation "A. F. L., however, said
his calculations showed the added
cost would amount to $1,273,70 a
year.
Although Mr.. LuSk did not def
nitely register his objection to the
increased pay scale, he asked:
Where is the money coming
from?"
He pointed out that the higher
pay schedule would absorb the en-
tire collections from the 1910 local
income tax.
Cites Need for More Men.
Lets 60 a little slowly and care
fully with this proposal" he said.
This bill needs prayerful considera-
tion-it means drastic upping OF
costs"
Mr.. Lusk also emphasized the un-
precedented increase in the popula-
tion of the District necessitated
more police and firemen and addi-
tional equipment, which might have
to be sacrificed if salaries of police
and firemen are raised.
"A 100000 increase in the popu-
lation," he declared, has already
driven Police Chief Brown ragged"
Thank you,' remarked Maj.
Brown, who was seated at the COM
mittee table beside Chairman
Schultz.
Two charter members of the So
ciety presented to the assembly were
Mrs. j. w. Marsh, Pittsburgh and
Mrs. w. L. Mann, New York.
At the opening of the council last
night, Rear Admiral William H. P.
Blandy, chief of the Bureau OF Ord
nance, said that though the polit-
ical strategy of the United States is
defensive, for the reason that the
United States wants nothing from
other nations, this country cannot in
future war relic on purely de-
fensive naval strategy.
Proper pay attracts the proper
caliber of men," he declared, The
lob of a fireman today is more COM
plicated and more technical than 1t
was years ago"
Query on Politics"
Representative Sauthoff, Progress
sive, of Wisconsin, subcommittee
member, wanted to know if politics"
had any influence on the appoint
ment of fremen and policemen or
in cases III which they become in
volved before trial boards.
Mr.. Werheim said he had served
on the Fire Department Trial Board
and no member of Congress had
ever attempted to influence him.
Congress should keep its hands
off and mind its own business in
such affairs, remarked Mr.. Sauthoff.
1t. Walter H. Thomas, legislative
representative of the Policemen's
Association, also told the subcom-
mittee the increased cost of living
here justified the proposed pay
raises for police and firemen.
Extra Duty Discussed.
1t. Thomas outlined the extra
hours of duty served by policemen
without compensation and pointed
out that in one case an officer was
called into Police Court 26 times
because of continuances granted in
o certain case.
That's pretty lousy functioning,"
declared Representative Sauthof.
"No presiding judge should allow it.
I was a prosecutor, but l never al
lowed any one to get away with that
kind of stuff"
Chairman Schultz interrupted to
remark he had received complaints
from the wives of a number of police
and firemen that their rents had
been raised as much as $12 month,
and added, incidentally, that his
lunch bill had been hiked from rs
TO 95 cents.
George r. Richardson, secretary
treasurer of the International As
sociation of Fire Fighters "a. F. L.,
was the witness who told the sub
committee that men of "unquestion-
able integrity" are needed in the
Are and police departments because
of the wartime emergency.
The probability of an increase in
the local real estate tax to raise
added revenue to meet emergency
expenses was injected into the hear
ing by Representative Schultz. He
claimed the present real estate tax
of SITS is low" in comparison with
other cities, and said he recently
: