Evening star., 1946-11-15
Officials Fear
Proposal Would
lmpoir Efficiency
By Joseph YOUNG

vealed today that personnel re-
ductions In Federal agencies will
be comparatively small for the
first quarter of 1947, but they
expressed the belief that more
drastic cuts than have been an
ticipated may have to be ordered
In April as a result of the Repub-
lican economy policy.
Pondering today's statement by
Representative Taber of New York
who viii be the new chairman of the
House Appropriations Committee,
that at least 1,000, 900 Federal work.
ers are slated for dismissal, these
officials are prepared for the worst.
Under present requirements set
up by the last Congress, Federal
agencies must reduce their personnel
by 5000 employees by next July.
But Federal officials said additional
releases would result If the new Con-
greSs denies or slashes deficiency
appropriations that will be present
ed to 1t early next year by Federal
departments ana agencies.
2,2OO,OOO in Government.
The deficiency appropriations are
needed to make up the addeo costs
of the Federal Pay Act of 1916.
Failure to get the desired appro-
priations probably would mean that
agencies, beginning In April, would
have to fire more employees than re-
quired, in order to carry out their
programs.
Some officials expressed the belief
that the dropping of 1000, 900 en-
ployes, as proposed by Mr.. Taber,
would wreck the efficient operation
OF Government. At present the
Federal payroll numbers approx
mately 2,20o. 900 persons.
In the opinion of many Govern
ment executives, the proposed cut
can be obtained only at the sacrifice
of many essential Government sery-
ices. They point out that 1t takes
almost 100000 employees to operate
the Post ONCE Department alone.
Explicit Details Awaited.
Essential functions of the War
and Navy Departments would have
70 be curtailed. and many phases
o. the Veterans Administration ac-
tivities would be seriously hampered,
it was said.
These officials refused to predict
what was going to happen until
Mr. Taber goes into more explicit
details on how the cuts should be
accomplished. But the consensus
seemed TO be that drastic person.
mel slashes are inevitable.
The Budget Bureau win announce
next week the personnel reductions
In Federal agencies for the quarter
starting January l, but the slashes
are not expected to be very severe.
Quotas Anticipated.
Chief reason for this is that most
departments and agencies already
have anticipated the cuts by dis
missing more persons than they
were legally required to do so far,
it was said.
Figures furnished The Star show
that the total classified (white-col-
lar) employment in the Federal
agencies affected by next weeks or
der is now approximately 487, 900,
only 10000 short Of the 1900
figure that must be reached by next
July. The present employment fig
ure is about $4,000 less than the
501,771 employees the agencies could
have kept until January /, under
personnel ceiling requirements set
by the Budget Bureau.
According to the quarterly re-
quirements set up by the Federal
Pay Act of 1916, the total classified
employment Of all Federal agencies
and departments-with the excep-
tions Of the War, Navy and Post
Office departments and the veter-
ans ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS drop to
474 900 by April of next year. If
this figure is followed by the Budget
Bureau, the agencies must reduce
their stats by $4,000 employees be-
tween now and April.
Federal officials predicted that
while q few agencies might suffer
sizable reductions, really severe per-
sonnel cuts in most bureaus will
be few and far between.
The observation-disclosures provisions
of the Pay Act Jumped all Federal
agencies and departments together
IN determining personnel ceiling re-
quirements with the exceptions
noted above) and ordered the re-
ductions in personnel on quarterly
basis.
The War and Navy Departments
must reduce their personnel by July
to combined total of 276,000 classi-
(See CIVIL SERVICE, Page A-4.)