Evening star., 1952-11-09

here today is much better than 20
years ago-when the Democrats
were returning to power after Il
years out.
The depression had done its
work. and on July l.. 1882, the
Hoover administration, in an effort
to tighten up the Government
belt, had applied an 8Ks per cent
across-the-board pay cut, by in
Ivoking payless furloughs. The
famous section 213 also came into
operation, designed to prevent
both husband and wife from hold
ing Government jobs. Retirement
regulations also were frightened, to
Iget the older generation out OF
Service.
Franklin D. Roosevelt, cam
paigning for the Presidency, had
promised a IS per cent cut in
Government expenditures, and
when his economy plan went into
effect on April Is. 1888, it carried
another 625 per cent pay cutie
bring the total to Is per cent
Within two years. in two INSTALL
ments. the cut was restored. Mr.
Roosevelt also cut veterans pen
sions.
! The economy ak also was work
ing in the old line departments
and independent agencies, but
while civil service personnel was
being Topped from these, thous.
ands of new workers were being
brought. into the mushroomine
alphabetical agencies which
were set up outside civil service
and the classification act.
! Only 5000 Jobs Cut on.
As Of June 80, however, in spite
LOT ali the manipulating, Tfie star
carried q story reporting thai
while accurate figures could not
lhe assembled, litseemed that the
10 executive aeencies and princi.
pal independent establishments
had cut out only something more
than 5000 jobs. The Interior De-
partment expected to "severa,
hundred" more, and Agriculture
anticipated cuts Of undetermined
size. When the Roosevelt Admin.
istfation came to power, there
were about $4,000 jobs in the Dis.
trict. For a brief period, there wa.
a brief slump, then the build-ur
started to show. This figure hae
more than doubled when the re.
armament program started ir
mid-1940, and the trend with littl,
exception, has been upward.
OF the approximately 250,00(
employees here now, the 95 PEI
cent in civil service jobs include.
thousands who have come mostly
from civil service registers, bu1
have only temporary indefinit.
appointments, because no perma.
nent appointments have beer
made since September, 1850, whef
the Korean war was getting under
tway.
i Any of the people taken from
registers who might lose out in {
reduction in force would be eligi.
BILE for civil service re-employmen
'lregisters-juSt as were others simi
|larly situated 20 years ago. Thos'
without any claim whatever t,
civil service status would have t,
look elsewhere.
i Aside from the dismembermen
of old line civil service agencies
and the creation Of non-civil Serv
ice organizations such as the ney
administration resorted to in 1888
!. there is always the chance tina
in inter-agency organizations tn,
letter of the civil service law will
be evaded, and in this area too
incoming administrators will hay,
to believe strongly in the policies
enunciated by Gen. Eisenhower i
abuses are to be avoided.
/ Veterans have good protection
within their own employment
categories. But non-veterans lacl
safeguards.
l OUTGOING Presidents can lsl
blanketing-in orders in an effor
to protect their appointees-bu
these are useless If a test comes
Anything that can be done with
an executive order likewise can bt
undone.
AE[M