Evening star., 1947-08-03
The Federal Spotlight
The Federal Spotlight
~. S. EmpIoye Unions Will Aim
For Cost-of-LivinqPoy Raises
By Joseph Youpos

Oy SoSet
Temporary cost-of- living pa
will be the goal of the various
next January.
During this years session of
the pay-raise campaign, concent,
retirement bill. The retirement
the Senate is expected to pass it
The progress made on the re-
tirement bill has greatly encouraged
union officials, who now believe that
there is a fair chance that Congress
might come to the rescue of Gov
ernment workers and grant them a
$500 or s400 annual salary increase
until prices come down.
Spearheaded by AFL Unions.
Of course, this is an economy
minded Congress, but union leaders
say they hardly dared dream last
January that the House would go
for the retirement bill. And they
point out that the retirement meas
ure won the unanimous approval OF
the House.
The campaign is expected to be
spearheaded by the powerful AFL
postal unions who have always had
lot of influence in Congress. The
American Federation of Govern
ment Employees, the C1O United
Public Workers and the National
Federation of Federal Employees are
also expected to get into the thick
of the fight,
NOTHING NEW-The forthcom-
ing loyalty investigation Of Federal
workers won't be the first time such
thing has happened. A House
employe recently went through some
Congressional files and discovered
that in 1861, right after the Civil
War began, Congress established the
Select Congressional Committee to
Investigate the Loyalty OF Fed
eral Employees.
The object, sub, was to ferret out
those Federal employees vino were
sympathetic to the Confederate
cause. Unfortunately. the files did
not contain the information as to
how many, employees were found 70
be "disloyal." d.
JOIN CONGRESS AND SEE THE
WORLD - Hard hitting, sharp
tongued Chairman Clare Horman
of the House Executive Expenditures
committee is very angry at the
treatment accorded his commlttee
by the House in alloting money Tor
various committee junkets during
the recess.
Although more than 81 ,000, 600 has
been allotted to committees Tor IN
vestigative trips to almost every part
of the globe, Mr.. Hoffmans COM
mittee received only 81, 500. In these
times, this wouldn't be enough
money to take committee past tne
outskirts of Chevy Chase.
Mr.. Hoffman took the House moor
in the closing minutes of this years
session of Congress and oelaooreo
some of his Republican colleagues.
please believe me when I say we
will endeavor to be as careful OF tnat
precious $500 as would the most
efficjent miser," he said. I'VE Will
refrain from looking with envy at
those committees travelling abroad"
AS his colleagues squirmed, MI.
Hoffman continued sardonicaly,
"Permit me now to say to you gen.
tlemen of the House that If there
are any of you who have not been on
a junketing expedition somewhere
or if YOU have a staff member who
has not been on junketing expe-
dition somewhere, just let me kno"
and I am extending the same in
vitatior1s to the members OF the Sen
ate-join us and help us avoid vast
ing any part of the $500 given us"
II n X
INGRATITUDE-A man who re-
Gently applied to the Treasury De-
partment for a job became very
indignant when he was told that
no positions were available.
AS he went out the door, he was
heard to mutter: when I think OF
all the war bonds I bought during
the war from these guys
BRASS UNDER FIRE-Chairman
Rees of the House Civil Service Com
mittee has written blistering letter
to Secretary of War Royal.
Mr.. Rees charges in his letter that
the brass hats in various Army de-
pots and installations through the
country are attempting to intimi-
date War Department civilian en-
ployes.
What particularly aroused Mr..
Rees' ire Is a situation at the At
| lanta Army depot. Recently he ap-
pointed a subcommittee to investi-
gate reports that there were irreg-
ularities going on in the hiring and
firing of civilian employees at the
depot. The subcommittee reported
that these reports were true.
No sooner did the committee re-
turn to Washington, than the Army
command at the Atlanta depot dis
tributed questionnaires among the
civilian employees, asking them
whether they felt that they were
being treated unfairly. Obviously.
any worker who wished to remain on
the Job would have to state that the
Army command was as fair as could
be.
Word Of: this has reached Mr..
Rees and he Is now demanding that
| MIR. Royal remove the officers at the