Evening star., 1948-03-16

Washington, but fair size proper
ton would be. The Army and Navy
Departments also would expand
somewhat under the programs they
now have in mind.
X II X n
TOPS IN TOWN-We received
81, ,O34 postcards and letters request
ing copies of the civil service retire
ment booklet, which are more than
were received by any other news
paper or radio station in town.
It was real privilege to be able
to aid our readers in getting copies
of this very informative and impor-
tant booklet. BY now, most Of you
should have received your copies.
The rest will be mailed out in q
few days.
Incidentally, a few readers will
wonder why they haven't received
their booklets. Well, some of you
failed to include your name or ad-
dress when you wrote to us. If you're
in this category, drop me post card
with your name and address in
cluded, and I will see that you get
your copy.
BEST BET-The $480 temporary
pay raise bill now before the House
Civil Service Committee is the Fed
eral pay raise measure that stands
the best chance Of passage this year.
Despite all the hoopla about the
Flanders pay bill on the Senate
side, it doesn't appear to have much
of chance Of passage in its present
form.
In fact, the strategy of pay bill
supporters appears to be to get
House passage of the $480 pay raise
bill and then seek to have the Senate
liberalize it somewhat, perhaps to
$500 year.
What hurts the Flanders pay bill
chances is the mounting objection
OF various members of Congress to
combining cost-of-living pay raises
with revsiions of the Classification
Act.
These members contend that each
element should be treated separately
that modernization of the 25-
year-old Classification Act has no
direct bearing on the separate prob
lem of granting Government en-
ployes some relief from high prices.
+ Then, too, the Flanders measure
Is being criticized for the iYfeuuities
in its pay raise scales. Many lower
bracket employees would get only
$500 or even less of an increase,
while other workers would get more
than $500. s-rr +-s a4.+a 3
Il y ~
DICTRICT OF COLUMBIA SAL
ARIES LOWEST - Speaking of
wages, survey conducted recently
by the Senate Civil Service Com
mittee shows that employees of the
District government have the lowest
salaries of all government workers.
The average District government
employees annual wage is $2,541. On
the other hand, the highest average
salaries are made by Capitol Hill
employees. Senate employees average
IS ,292 a year, while those on the
House payroll average $5,232 an
nuauy.
Here are average annual salaries
in some of the Government depart
ments: Civil Aeronautics Board,
$4,373; Civil Service Commission,
$3,453; Federal Trade Commission,
$4,792; Federal Works Agency, ST.
706; General Accounting Office, $3,-
$50; Veterans Administration, s., ,842
X X X n
PRESIDENTIAL VETO? - II
worse comes to worse, Civil Service
Commission officials will recon-
ment to President Truman that he
veto legislation which would per-
NIT all Government agencies to fire
employees summarily.
The House already has passed the
legislation, and commission officials
are pleading with the Senate Civil
Service Committee to strike out the
provision in conference.
The history of the bill Is rather
complicated. 1t was passed several
months ago by the Senate as q