^■*k. 
 
 U. S. Congress. House. Committee on Interstate 
 and Foreign Commerce. 
 Civil service retirement. 
 
 J^lSt 
 
 -i" 'V,. 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF THE 
 
 NEW YORK STATE SCHOOL 
 
 OF 
 
 INDUSTRIAL AND LABOR 
 
 RELATIONS 
 
 AT 
 CORNELL UNIVERSITY 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT 
 
 HEARINGS 
 
 BEFORE THE 
 
 COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE 
 OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
 
 SIXTY-FIFTH CONGRESS 
 
 SECOND SESSION 
 ON 
 
 H. R. 11352 
 
 AUGUST 7, 1918 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
 (.|]\ KU.NMKXT PRINTING OFFICE 
 
 1!)I8 
 
COMMITTEE ON INTERSTATE AND FOREIGN COMMERCE. 
 House of Repkesentatives. 
 
 THETUS W. SIMS, Tennessee, Cliawman. 
 
 FRANK E. DOREMUS, Michigan. 
 DAN V. STEPHENS, Nebraska. 
 ALBEN W. BARKLBY, Kentucky. 
 SAM RAYBURN, Texas. 
 ANDREW J. MONTAGUE, Virginia. 
 PERL D. DECKER, Missouri. 
 CHARLES P. COADY, Maryland. 
 ARTHUR G. DEW ALT, Pennsylvania. 
 HARRY H. DALE, New York. 
 JOHN S. SNOOK, Ohio. 
 JARED Y. SANDERS, Louisiana. 
 
 W. ALVA 
 
 2 
 
 .lOHN J. ESCH, Wisconsin. 
 EDWARD L. HAMILTON, Michigan. 
 RICHARD WAYNE PARKER, New Jersey. 
 SAMUEL B. WINSLOW, Massachusetts. 
 JAMBS S. PARKER, New York. 
 CHARLES H. DILLON, South Dakota. 
 BURTON E. SWEET, Iowa. 
 WALTER R. STINESS, Rhode Island. 
 JOHN G. COOPER, Ohio. 
 
 Taylor, Cleric. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 
 
 Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, 
 
 House or Representatives, 
 Wednesday, August 7, 1918. 
 The committee this day met, Hon. Thetus W. Sims (chairman), 
 presiding. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. Mr. Chairman, I desire to introduce as the first 
 speaker Mr. George T. Keyes, secretary of the National Civil Service 
 Reform League. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. GEORaE T. KEYES, SECRETARY OF THE NA- 
 TIONAL CIVIL SERVICE REFORM LEAGUE, NEW YORK CITY. 
 
 Mr. Keyes. Mr. Chairman, I will only take a very few minutes of 
 your time. Mr. John Joy Edson, of Washington, was to appear for 
 the league, but he is detained in connection with his duties on the 
 District draft board, and I want to ask, on his behalf, for an oppor- 
 tunity to have him heard at the adjourned hearing after the con- 
 gressional recess. 
 
 The Chairman. Certainly. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. The next speaker will be Mr. Ryan, president of 
 the Railway Mail Association. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. EDWARD J. RYAN, PRESIDENT RAILWAY 
 MAIL ASSOCIATION, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 Mr. Ryan. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, it is not 
 my purpose to enter into any lengthy discussion of this subject of 
 the retirement of civil-service employees. I prefer to leave the 
 details of it to men who have made a greater study of it than I 
 have, those who may be referred to as experts on the subject. 
 
 I just wish to say a word or two in behalf of the men whom it is 
 my duty to represent, namely, the railway postal clerks, men assigned 
 to the distribution of mails on trains. Singularly enough, in our 
 service, within recent years — -I will say within the last two years, 
 men have been removed for no other reason than because they were 
 old. Some of them had served as much as 35 or 40 years in the 
 Government service as railway postal clerks. I thing that statement 
 itself is sufficient to indicate unfair and unreasonable treatment of 
 Government employees. Many times it has been stated that despite 
 the fact that these men grow old and become inefficient, nevertheless 
 the Government can not possibly take the attitude of dismissing them 
 from the service, and I make this statement to show that it has 
 already been done. I believe in our service that there were some 37 
 
4 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 men dismissed just for that simple reason, because they were old, 
 no recognition being given whatever for the manj- years of service 
 that they had rendered. 
 
 Dr. JoEDON. How recently did that take place ? 
 
 Mr. Etan. Within the last two years — ^I think 37 have been dis- 
 missed within the last two years. I may say in this connection that 
 I saw a copy of the subjects to be considered in connection with 
 the advisability of dismissing these men, and out of about a dozen 
 items to be considered age was the first and efficiency was the last. 
 I believe I could produce a copy of those items and submit them 
 later on if you desire to have them to insert in the record. 
 
 The Chaieman. You can make them a part of this hearing if you 
 desire. 
 
 Mr. Eyan. I will do that, Mr. Chairman. 
 
 [Confidential.] 
 
 Chief Cleek Railway Mail Seevice. 
 
 (List of names of clerks under his jurisdiction.) 
 
 Herewith find a list of clerlis in your district who have been reported by 
 post office inspectors as being tlie least efficient. It is desired that you go over 
 this list carefully and submit a consolidated list for your entire district, insert- 
 ing any additional names you may desire, showing the clerks in the order of 
 least efficiency and value to the service. Following the name of each clerk 
 .should be furnished a concise paragraph stating clearly the reasons for your 
 conclusions. The evidence in this office indicates that practically all of these 
 listed should be dropped from the service because of inefficiency. If in your 
 ■opinion any should be reduced in grade instead of being dropped you should 
 so indicate, giving full and explicit reasons. 
 
 This matter should be treated as confidential, and your report in detail 
 regarding each of these clerks should be rendered immediately upon receipt of 
 this letter, and should be forwarded under cover marked " Personal and con- 
 fidential." 
 
 (Issued through the official channels of the Railway Mail Service.) 
 
 (Date, about July 1, 1917.) 
 
 EAILWAT MAIL SEEVICE. 
 
 Items to be considered (in rating railway postal clerks) : (1) Why is clerk 
 on list, (2) age, (3) health, (4) physical condition, (5) attendance — that is, 
 frequency of absence on account of physical condition due to Injury in the 
 service, or illness, or for personal reasons — (6) work in car, (7) habits, (8) 
 application, (9) examinations, (10) executive ability in directing the work 
 of the crew to best advantage (11) clerical ability, (12) efficiency rating. 
 
 Mr. Eyan. Briefly, I may say that in my humble experience and 
 jny humble ability to observe conditions or comparisons, it strikes 
 my mind that this is more of a business proposition than anything 
 else, and I get that opinion from the fact that private corporations 
 have inaugurated pension systems for their employees. I do not 
 believe that these big private corporations, which we are apt to 
 criticize because they are attempting at all times to put their hands 
 in the pockets of poor people and take out of them everything they 
 can possibly get, are so liberal, if our criticisms are true, as to be 
 establishing retirement systems for their employees. In other words, 
 they would not be inclined to permit their employees to put their 
 hands into the treasuries of the corporations and take out some relief 
 in the form of a retirement system. I believe that those corpora- 
 tions have made a study of superannuation among their employees 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIREMENT. 5 
 
 and have established these systems purely upon the basis of business 
 and purely because it is a business proposition. 
 
 As for the railway postal clerks, I must say that I know of no 
 other class of Government employees whose occupation is as haz- 
 ardous, and it is significant to us that this Congress has already 
 passed retirement laws for the Coast Guard service and, I believe, re- 
 cently included the Lighthouse Service men. I think statistics will 
 bear opt the statement that the occupation of the railway postal 
 clerks is more hazardous than even that of the Life Saving Corps or 
 the Lighthouse Service. I merely make that as a statement of com- 
 parison to show that if it is Just to provide some sort of relief for the 
 superannuation of those services it must also follow that the railway 
 postal clerks are deserving of like consideration. And yet the rail- 
 way postal clerks are not asking for any special favor or what we 
 might call class legislation. We have cooperated with other em- 
 ployees in the civil service ; we do not desire to place ourselves ahead 
 of them and whatever is agreeable to them in the nature of a retire- 
 ment bill is also agreeable to us. We would be perfectly willing to 
 accept whatever measure of relief this Congress may see fit to grant 
 to the clerks in the departments, to the other postal clerks and em- 
 ployees in the other branches of the Government service. But I feel, 
 Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, as I stated before, that 
 a thorough study of the subject will show conclusively that it can be 
 placed on a paying basis, or, as T might say, that it can be instituted 
 on a basis that will be equally satisfactory to the Government, to the 
 people, and to the employees. We do not ask for any special consid- 
 eration. Our men are in that frame of mind where they are willing 
 to pay something as their share for the operation of a retirement law. 
 I know that in the years gone by they did not feel that way. 
 
 They felt that the burden of the operation or the cost of the 
 proposition should be maintained wholly by the Government. They 
 realize now, however, that the day has come in our service when the 
 old men must step aside without any relief whatever. As I stated 
 before, it has actually happened, and rather than to see any more of 
 our older men dismissed — many of them thrown out in life without 
 any opportunity whatever to make a living, because the experience 
 they gained in the Railway Mail Service is not salable outside of 
 that service — as I say, they realize that this condition confronts the 
 men as they grow older and are willing, therefore, to accept almost 
 any kind of a proposition which will give them even a meager amount 
 to get along on, just barely enough to keep them out of the poorhouse. 
 But I may say in that connection that we feel that $600 a year, as 
 proposed in this McKellar-Keating bill, especially under present 
 conditions, is hardly enough. 
 
 The Chairman. You mean as a maximum? 
 
 Mr. Etan. As a maximum, yes ; and it is hardly enough as a mini- 
 mum, for that matter. I will put it that way- but we are willing to 
 accept that as a start. We know that any bill that will be enacted, 
 after being in operation for some years, will show imperfections, and 
 we have the utmost confidence in Congress. Our experience with 
 Congress has taught us that the Members of the House and the Senate 
 always strive to be fair and honest and to do what they think is 
 right, of course, having in mind the fact that they are serving the 
 
6 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 people as well as the employees who make the direct appeal to them. 
 And so we are perfectly willing to rest our case in the hands of this 
 committee and the Members of Congress, knowing right well that 
 anything that is done will, in the judgment of the Members, be the 
 best possible conclusion that can be reached under the circumstances. 
 
 We pray that this matter will receive early consideration and that 
 some early action will be taken upon it. 
 
 I thank you, Mr. Chairman. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. What do you think would be the proper age of retire- 
 ment for the railway mail employees? 
 
 Mr. Etan. Answering that. Dr. Jordan, I have never made, in our 
 conferences on this bill, any special claims for the railway postal 
 clerks. It has been a matter of common talk in our service that the 
 nature of the work shortens a man's life at least 10 years, and there 
 is no doubt but that there should be some difference. From what 
 little study I have made of the matter I have about reached the con- 
 clusion that not only should age be considered but also years of 
 service. For instance, in our service the men usually come in at a 
 very young age. They are eligible to take the examination at 18 
 years of age, and most of them come in before they are 25. If you 
 put the age limit of retirement, we will say, at 60, a man coming in 
 at 20 years of age must work 40 years before he is eligible for retire- 
 ment. It is also true that if a man did not come into the service 
 until he was 30 years of age he has only rendered 30 years of service 
 when he is eligible for retirement, and under the same conditions as 
 the man who has served 10 years longer in the Government service. 
 I think that fact is worthy of consideration in the enactment of a 
 retirement law. Under the provisions here the railway postal clerks 
 are in a special class that gives them the benefit of the three years 
 difference, _ but I have already received suggestions or complaints 
 from men in our service who point out that when they come in at 20 
 years of age, or even 25 years of age, that they will have to resign or 
 give up before they reach the age of retirement as provided in this 
 bill. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. The age of 65? 
 
 Mr. Eyan. Yes ; because you can see that if a man came into our 
 service at 20 years of age and must wait until he is 65 years before 
 he is eligible for retirement he would have to render 45 years of 
 service, when the fact is that very few men in our service ever com- 
 plete 45 years of service, because the work is too hard. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. You think 60 would be better than 65 ? 
 
 Mr. Eyan. Much better; yes. 
 
 The Chairman. You spoke of some instances in which you knew 
 there had been dismissals of railway mail clerks simply on account 
 of age. In cases of that kind, where the clerks had served for a long 
 period of years and their retirement has not been voluntary do you 
 think that the bill ought to be amended so as to give such men the 
 benefit of it? 
 
 Mr. Eyan. I certainly do. 
 
 The Chairjiax. I think it might be very well to consider that 
 matter. 
 
 Mr. Eyan. I will be very glad to prepare such an amendment 
 However, it opens up quite a field, because the moment you begin 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 7 
 
 to go back you do not know how far back you are going. But in 
 this particular instance these men were removed without prejudice. 
 Those words were in their removal notice, and I think their cases at 
 least should be covered. 
 
 The Chairman. I had reference to cases of especial hardship, in 
 which the removed employee would be entitled to the benefits of this 
 bill had he remained in the service and would have remained had he 
 not been removed. 
 
 Mr. Eyan. I will be very glad to prepare an amendment along 
 that line. I certainly do believe that those men ought to be entitled 
 to it after those years of service. 
 
 The Chairman. I do not know whether the numbers are sufficient 
 to justify general legislation, but if the field is not too wide I think 
 it might be covered. 
 
 Mr. E.YAN. I ought to be done to that extent at least. What I 
 meant by saying that it would open up a wide field was that if you 
 should go back to the last two or three years, then the question might 
 arise whether you ought to go back farther. However, the cases I 
 have referred to might be covered by a recommendation from the 
 committee, after the names of all the men affected were listed ; that 
 is, a recommendation to the Executive that they be reinstated by 
 Executive order, and then, of course, they would be entitled to the 
 retirement privilege, but I certainly had it in mind that those men 
 should be included somehow or other. 
 
 The Chairman. Your suggestion is that they be reinstated to the 
 extent of being entitled to the benefits of the law ? 
 
 Mr. Ryan. Yes. And if the committee should recommend it I am 
 sure the President would see the justice of it and approve it. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. The next speaker will be Mr. Morrison, secretary of 
 the American Federation of Labor. 
 
 STATEMENT OF ME. FRANK MORRISON, SECRETARY OF THE 
 
 AMERICAN Federation of labor. 
 
 Mr. Morrison. Mr. Chairman, I will state that the American 
 Federation of Labor, in 1909, favored an old-age pension for all 
 the citizens. The bill was introduced by W. B. Wilson. 
 
 The Chairman. The present Secretary of Labor? 
 
 Mr. Morrison. Yes. The theory and position of the American 
 Federation of Labor is this: That if we desire a reasonably con- 
 tented people, we want to remove from their minds those worries 
 that create discontent and unhappiness. There is nothing that causes 
 greater worry to the worker and his family than the danger of being 
 out of employment and the fear of not being able to earn sufficient 
 to take care of himself in his old age. 
 
 The Government has recognized the right of superannuation to a 
 pension by granting it to the Army, the Navy, and to the judiciary, 
 and it is recognized, to an extent, among the school-teachers, not so 
 much by the Government as by the general trend of legislation. 
 We feel that if the Government recognizes the principle as to the 
 Army, the Navy, and the Judiciarj^— which usually is much better 
 paid than Government employees en masse — that it should extend 
 it to the various men and women who are working in the Government 
 
8 CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 
 
 departments, particularly because the trade that they learn or the 
 occupation they may follow is peculiar to the Government itself. 
 It is not like a carpenter. If a carpenter is working for the Govern- 
 ment and gets out of employment, he immediately proceeds to do 
 carpentering work for other employers. But you take a railway- 
 mail clerk, a postal clerk, or any of the men working for the Gov- 
 ernment. If they get out of employment, they have no other place 
 to go where the particular information and skill they have acquired 
 afters years of employment can be used to advantage. 
 
 As to this particular bill our convention at St. Paul in June 
 adopted the following ; and as it is short, I will read it : 
 
 Whereas the retirement of superannuated civil-service employees upon service 
 annuities is now generally recognized as justifiable from both a humane and 
 a business standpoint ; and 
 Whereas the United States Government Is one of the few in the world that 
 makes no provision for the retirement of its aged civil-service workers, 
 resulting in one of two conditions — men are heartlessly dismissed after years 
 of faithful service or they are retained upon the pay roll when no longer 
 able to render efficient service ; and 
 Whereas the compensation of Government employees is insufficient to permit of 
 
 adequate savings for voluntary retirement in old age; and 
 Whereas all political parties in their platforms have pledged their support for 
 the enactment of retirement legislation : Therefore, be it 
 Resolved, That this Thirty-eighth Convention of the American Federation 
 of Labor does hereby go on record as favoring an equitable retirement law for 
 superannuated Government employees as contemplated by the McKellar- 
 Keating bill now pending before Congress, and that the executive council is 
 hereby instructed to use every means at its command to secure the enactment 
 of such legislation by the Sixty-fifth Congress. 
 
 I will also submit, without reading, a resolution that was adopted 
 at the Baltimore convention in 1916 : 
 
 Whereas there are employed by the United States and the District of Columbia 
 several thousand workers who have grown old in the service, who are no 
 longer able to render services commensurate with the salaries paid to them, 
 and who are absolutely dependent upon the said salaries for their support, 
 because the cost of living has Increased of late years to such an extent that 
 comparatively few of them have been able to accumulate any savings ; and 
 
 Whereas the efficiency of the service of the United States and of the District 
 of Columbia is impaired to a very great extent by the retention in the serv- 
 ice of these superannuates and the continued requirement by the United 
 States that they shall render service despite their physical disability is an 
 inhumane treatment, but to discharge them, as is sometimes done, with abso- 
 lutely no provision for their old age is even more inhumane and unjust, as 
 they have devoted their lives to the service ; and 
 
 Whereas the experience of the commercial and industrial world has shown the 
 wisdom and economy of retiring superannuated employees, as is indicated by 
 the fact that several hundred of the largest corporations now have provi- 
 sions for the retirement of their superannuates, even though in many cases 
 the promise of retirement to the employees is in the nature of " strike 
 insurance " ; and 
 
 Whereas the United States has heretofore shown it concurrence in this view 
 by providing for the retirement of the officers and enlisted men of the Army 
 and Navy and Marine Corps, the judges of the Federal courts, the members of 
 the Life-Saving Service, the Coast Guard, the Revenue-Cutter Service, and 
 various other special classes of employees, a great many of whom perforin 
 services no more dangerous than the work of the civilian employees of the 
 United States ; and 
 
 Whereas there is a widespread and prevalent belief in the wisdom of providing 
 a law under which the civilian employees of the United States and of the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia who are superannuated may be retired, a great many of the 
 officials of the United States and Members of Congress being outspokenly in 
 favor of the plan ; and 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIKEMENT. \) 
 
 Whereas the sentiment and views of Congress in regard to this matter are such 
 that there is only required a strong impetus, such as could be furnished by 
 the American Federation of Labor, to induce Congress to enact a law that will 
 be a model retirement system upon which private employees may be induced 
 to base their systems of retirement; and 
 Whereas the Democratic Party is now in power and in control of the House 
 and Senate of the United States, has incorporated in its platform a plank de- 
 claring itself in favor of the enactment of a retirement law for the employees 
 of the United States: Therefore, be it 
 
 Resolved, That the president and executive council of the American Federa- 
 tion of Labor be, and hereby are, instructed to use every available means to 
 secure the establishment ' of a retirement system for Federal civil employees 
 which will not either directly or indirectly cause them to suffer a reduction in 
 wages during employment. 
 
 I believe that this class of legislation should be given the most 
 careful consideration. The trend of legislation is to bring about a 
 civilization in which all workers can live in reasonable comfort. Now. 
 you might ask what is reasonable comfort ? Eeasonable comfort is a 
 condition in which a man and his family can live as citizens of this 
 country should live and educate his children, so that they should have 
 a common-school education and a vocational edvication, so that they 
 will be trained to take up, when they become 18 or 20 years of age. 
 their share of the world's work. I believe our boys and girls should 
 be educated to do the world's work and the Federation stands for a 
 vocational education in order to do that. The old idea was to edu- 
 cate our boys, after the grammar school, for professions, but we hope 
 to see the day when there will be more workers and fewer professional 
 men — not that we have anything against professional men — law- 
 yers, doctors, and ministers, because they are doing a splendid 
 work; but as this legislation advances and the minds of men get 
 to a point that they are willing that everybody should live in reason- 
 able comfort there will be less need for doctors and lawyers, because 
 men will live right, and if you live right there will be little, if any, 
 illness. 
 
 If a man working for the Government realizes that when he reaches 
 a certain age and is unable to do as much work as the Government 
 feels he should do that he will be retired on a pension immediately is 
 removed from his mind the fear of what is going to happen in his 
 old age, and his family looks forward to the fact that no matter what 
 happens the Government will pay him a certain amount, an amount, I 
 take it, that will permit him to live in reasonable comfort. He will 
 have no family, probably, at that age but himself and his wife. 
 
 We feel the Government should do that and set an example, and 
 feel that the time will come when every industry will take care of its 
 aged and that there will be a pension for every worker who does his 
 share of the world's work because, in the last analysis, if a man has 
 to work he must be taken care of by charity or the poorhouse. 
 
 Now, how much the better would it be, in the construction of the 
 laws of the country, instead of leaving a man to charity and the work- 
 house, if a Government enactment should be made so that these men 
 and women would be entitled to a pension and not be objects 
 of charity, which is obnoxious to all free men and free women, and 
 not subject to the poorhouse— something that the people of all coun- 
 tries dread more than anything else. So the labor unions, recognizmg 
 the necessity of taking care of men from the cradle to the grave, have 
 adopted pensions for their members. I am a member of the Inter- 
 
10 CIVIL SERVICE EETIBEMBNT. 
 
 national Typographical Union, and, after I am 60 years of age and 
 unable to follow my occupation and secure employment, I am en- 
 titled to $5 per week from the International Typographical Union' 
 as long as I live, and Chicago Union No. 16, of which I am a member, 
 will pay me the additional sum of $3 per week. Therefore, after I am 
 60 years of age, if I am unable to secure employment, I will receive 
 a pension from the printers of this country. I will receive it because 
 I will be entitled to it. I have paid for it in the form of dues. As 
 I say, I would receive $8 per week. But we feel that it should apply 
 to the whole citizenry or to all of the citizens of the country who are 
 benefited by the men who do the world's work, or who do the real 
 work — who build the homes and take care of the homes, who do the 
 work that is necessary to carry on our business — we think that all of 
 them should be taken care of in the same way. There should be no 
 preference shown as between citizens. 
 
 I hold that the man who runs the train, the railway-mail clerk — 
 and I have seen them work, and I ha^e seen the men in the post offices 
 work long, continuous hours — I hold that they are entitled to equal 
 consideration. The railway-mail clerks, unless they have changed 
 the laws of late, have long hours and then lay off for a day and a half. 
 These people perform hard and irksome work, and thej' are equally 
 entitled with the judiciary, if not more so, from the equitable stand- 
 point, to receive pensions. They are more entitled from the equitable 
 standpoint than the judiciary, because the judiciarj' receives a higher 
 rate of wage or higher salaries than these employees. The Govern- 
 ment is not a respecter of persons, but it is supposed to deal out even- 
 handed justice to all of its citizens, and for that reason, then, an effort 
 should be made to the end that all should receive pensions in their 
 old age for the purpose of taking away the worry and anxiety, and 
 for the purpose of having a happy and contended people. That is 
 what laws ai'e passed for. They are passed for the benefit of the 
 people and for the purpose of having a happy and contended people, 
 Mr. Chairman, if this Congress should enact a retirement law for 
 the Government employees. you would secure in the aggregate more 
 satisfactory returns. Therefore, without taking any more of your 
 time, I want to say that the American Federation of Labor, repre- 
 senting 3,000,000 wage workers, urge upon you to give favorable 
 consideration to this bill and to use yoixr influence to secure its enact- 
 ment, to the end that it will be a stepping-stone to further legislation 
 that will bring about such conditions that we will .have 100,000,000 
 people with higher concepts of citizenship than ever before. 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. Morrison, Mr. Hamill would like to ask you 
 some questions. 
 
 Mr. Hamill. You spoke about the matter of corporations and 
 industrial enterprises taking care of their men, and referred to the 
 fact that there should be a law to that effect in the future. Now, it 
 is a fact that a number of them do at this time take care of their 
 men by pensions, is it not? 
 
 Mr. Morrison. Yes, sir; or, that is, they promise to do so. The 
 only trouble is that, with respect to some of them, just before the 
 pension period arrives they sever their connection. 
 
 Mr. Hamill. The point t wanted to bring out was that, at any rate, 
 it indicates a disposition, whether it is from motives of justice or 
 from motives of policy on the part of corporations to help their 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIREMBNT. 11 
 
 men, and in that respect they have gone a little bit ahead of the 
 ■Government in taking care of their employees. 
 
 Mr. MoREisoN. Yes, sir. That is usually in companies that refuse 
 -to allow their men to be organized, and it is for the purpose of 
 making the men contended. It is for the purpose of keeping them 
 or holding them in their employment. If the Government grants 
 retirements, it would be for the purpose I have indicated. Then, 
 there would be the additional surety and confidence that a man would 
 have that in his old age he would receive his pension. But where a 
 man is working for a corporation there is the danger that through 
 lack of work he may be laid off, and then when he ceases Avork he 
 loses his pension. In other words, he is tied right onto conditions 
 that are not as satisfactory as they might be, and then, without his 
 own volition and without any act of his own. he may be cut off. 
 As inthe case of the Pennsylvania Co., the United States Steel Cor- 
 poration, and other companies who give pensions, it is a voluntary 
 act of their own, and there is no law compelling them to do it. 
 
 They could change it. But the Government says, " Here, you work 
 for us or work for the Government, and we will take care of you in 
 your old age by giving you this pension," and if it also says that the 
 people working in any industry, no matter how they work or in what 
 industry, shall receive pensions, the worker's mind is at rest. He 
 knows that the Government in his old age will be back of him, and 
 with that knowledge the mind is satisfied. Both the man and his 
 family feel that the old-age problem will be taken care of. There is 
 :a great deal of worry among people about what will happen to them 
 in their old age. It is something that is lurking there in what is 
 called the subconscious mind. You know what that is, Mr. Chairman. 
 Tt is the thought that is in the heart and mind of the man. It comes 
 to him every once in a while. He tries to forget it, and does not want 
 to think about it. He does not want to think about what will happen 
 to him in his old age, but he sees what is happening to people in their 
 old age. He sees men living on charity, or doing little jobs here and 
 there, getting just sufficient to buy bread. That is not how any citi- 
 zen should be taken care of. The Government of the United States 
 should pass this bill and should set at rest the minds of their em- 
 ployees for all time. 
 
 The Chairman. All people who have worked all their lives have, 
 •of course, contributed to the production of wealth, that wealth, you 
 think, when those people cease to be able to further contribute to it, 
 should be used at least, for the maintenace of its own creators? 
 
 Mr. Morrison. Yes, sir; for the maintenance of the men who 
 helped to create it. 
 
 The Chairman. The workers do create wealth in fact. Capital is 
 the most helpless thing on earth without the labor of men, and can 
 not create itself. 
 
 Mr. Morrison. No. sir; that is true. 
 
 The Chairman. Without the labor of men no return could be paid 
 on capital. No interest could be received on capital unless there were 
 workers to use it. You believe, then, that there is a universal obliga- 
 tion upon accumulated wealth to take care of its producers when they 
 are no longer able to further produce by their labor? 
 
 Mr. Morrison. Yes, sir. It is the same as the workmen's compensa- 
 tion bill, and that is the principle upon which you based the compen- 
 
12 CIVIL SEEVIOE BETIEEMENT. 
 
 sation bill. That principle is that if a man is hurt or injured in his 
 occupation, the only thing necessary for him to prove is the fact that 
 he was injured, and he receives compensation. This is a charge on the 
 industry. Prior to that, when men refused to pay compensation for 
 those injuries, the matter went into the hands of lawyers, and some 
 people never went into court with their claims because they were 
 helpless. All of that has been cleared up by the passage of the 
 workmen's compensation laws. When a man is injured or out of em- 
 ployment through injury, he gets his compensation. There is usually 
 a representative of organized labor on the commission that is taking 
 care of it. Therefore, we are making progress along these lines. It is 
 progressive legislation, and I am glad to have lived to see it. I think 
 I will live to see a law enacted that will take care of men who are 
 working in the various industries. I think I will live to see a law 
 enacted so that they will be taken care of as well as the judiciary and 
 the representatives of tlie Navy and representatives of the Army. 
 Of course the men in the Army and Navy, or the men who are pro- 
 tecting the country, should be taken care of. It its natural that they 
 should be taken care of, because they put their lives in the balance. 
 They put their physical lives in the balance. 
 
 At the same time, let me call your attention to the fact that in 
 carrying on the industries of this country before the Avar 30,000 
 people were killed every year and 700,000 people were injured and 
 the injuries were of a character that kept them out of work more 
 than two weeks in that year. This shows that industry is dangerous 
 to life and to health. There is danger to life and health in the in- 
 dustries, as well as the more apparent danger to which the man who 
 is a soldier is exposed in battle, as appears to-day when a great and 
 fearful war is being carried on for democracy — for the democracy 
 that we are struggling to get through legislation so as to make a 
 happier and more contented people, and so that the people may 
 govern. I believe that when we have 2,000,000 of our people over 
 there in the trenches, with our merchant fleet augmented, we will 
 drive the Germans back out of Belgium, back out of France, back 
 oyer the Ehine to Berlin, and in that city I believe a peace will be 
 signed tliat will mean much for the people of this country and for 
 the people of every other country. I believe that we may look for- 
 ward to a time when the millions of people that populate the earth 
 that have been called the submerged people will come up out of their 
 present condition, and the efforts of the Government, through future 
 legislation, will bring about a condition which will enable them to 
 live m reasonable comfort, so that every child that is born will have 
 an equal opportunity for an education to carry on the world's work. 
 
 The Chairman. We thank you for your statement. 
 
 Mr Alcorn-. Mr. Chairman, I would like to have the committee 
 hear Mr^ Edward J. Gamor, president of the National Association of 
 L/etter Carriers. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. EDWARD J. GAINOR, MTJNICE, IND. 
 
 Mr. Gainor. Mr. Chairman, I wish to avail myself of this oppor- 
 tunity simply to record the indorsement of the National Association: 
 ot l^etter Carriers, an organization representing 35,000 members,^ 
 
CIVIL SEEVIOE EETIKEMENT. 13 
 
 upon the general provisions in the pending measure, the McKellar- 
 Keating bill. Later, during these hearings I hope to be granted 
 the privilege of including in the record a more extended brief, setting 
 forth the arguments favoring this legislation and the attitude of this 
 association on the question. 
 
 As I see it, Mr. Chairman, there is one fundamental principle in- 
 volved in this proposed legislation and that is whether or not it has 
 grown to be a recognized social obligation on the part of the employer 
 to care for the aged employee after a life of useful service. If this 
 social obligation is admitted — and no careful student of public 
 opinion can conclude otherwise — ^then a law should be enacted carry- 
 ing this principle into effect. If to care for the superannuated in 
 industry is not a social obligation, then there is no place for this 
 legislation. 
 
 Originally, when this Government was established, we were a peo- 
 ple almost entirely devoted to agriculture. Ninetj'-five per cent of 
 the population lived on farms, they largely supplied their own wants, 
 and individual notions prevailed so generally that even the Govern- 
 ment in it relation to the people was expected to do little more than 
 to use its police power so that each individual citizen, unaided and 
 imdisturbed, could work out his own destiny. 
 
 A great change has come over our way of doing things in the inter- 
 vening 150 years. The functions of Government have been widely 
 extended and society has grown so interdependent that it now takes 
 a million hands to prepare a breakfast. We realize that we can 
 not live alone and we understand now that the Nation is simply a 
 large family, one depending upon the other. Consequently the 
 natural trend of legislation in keeping with the economic and politi- 
 cal development of our country has been to add new duties and new 
 obligations to the State, and in the end each of these added responsi- 
 bilities have turned out well for all concerned. The State demands 
 more and more of the individual and in return manifests increasing 
 ■concern for his welfare. 
 
 In keeping with this natural trend, public sentiment has grown to 
 favor an equitable retirement system for Government employees, 
 until now there is a remarkable unanimity of opinion on the sub- 
 ject. This is indicated by the indorsement of more than 100 city 
 ■councils and a great number of State legislatures, as well as by ap- 
 proving declarations inserted as planks in all the leading political 
 party platforms, including that of the dominant party. The people 
 are ready for this legislation, public sentiment favors it, and there 
 is not a single valid argument in opposition. Not one. 
 
 In the first place no one will challenge the assertion that a retire- 
 ment plan will increase the efficiency of the service. The superan- 
 nuated employee is with us now in alarming numbers and an awak- 
 ened public conscience will quite properly not permit the discharge 
 ■of old men and women although they maj^ be little able to render 
 ■efficient service. The enactment of a retirement law would furnish 
 a means to definitely care for these deserving employees, provide 
 young blood to fill their places, arid immediately the service would re- 
 spond to the newer strain. 
 
 Again, the argument of cost carries little weight because older em- 
 ployees contributing lesser service are displaced by young and active 
 
14 CIVIL SERVICE EETIREMENT. 
 
 ,.es. But this is but one phase of the cost argument — an argument: 
 ^Aich was similarily advanced when the workmen's compensation, 
 law was up for consideration. Experience has shown that when an 
 employee is injured in production he must either fall back on his 
 own meager resources or call upon charity. The case of the super- 
 annuate is just the same. Should the aged employee be discharged 
 on account of disability, and left without a means of support, ulti- 
 mately society, in one way or another, must pay the bill. A pension 
 plan as contemplated in the pending measure simply proposes to 
 place upon a well-established workable order a burden which is now 
 borne by society but in a helter-skelter fashion. 
 
 Again, the effect of this legislation upon human character will be 
 profound. Henry George, in his Progress and Poverty, calls atten- 
 tion to the fact that much of human misery arises from the fear 
 of want. Once the worker realizes that his old age will not be 
 afflicted by penury he takes a new attitude toward society and a new 
 feeling of cheerfulness reposes within him. As in all similar legisla- 
 tions, whether the eight-hour day, the child-labor law, the compensa- 
 tion law, or what not, when once put in operation the effect has been 
 beneficial, so will the enactment of this bill result in unmixed good 
 to both the Government and the Government employees. 
 
 Primarily, I believe that the cost of a retirement plan should be 
 borne entirely by the State. I believe that the chairman in the ques- 
 tion he asked touched the crux of the issue. I believe that all the 
 burden involved in caring for superannuated employees should be 
 borne by the State on the principal that when a producer who has 
 spent his life in useful production can no longer produce for society, 
 then it becomes society's duty to care for that producer. 
 
 The same principle is involved in the workman's compensation law. 
 AVhen a workman or producer has been injured in the performance 
 of duty this law provides that he shall be cared for until he is able to 
 Avork again. It is a social obligation. The same obligation exists 
 Avhen we ask the Government to provide for its aged employees, and 
 the experience with compensation laws which have been so favorably 
 received will be exactly the same if retirement legislation is passed. 
 
 Therefore, Mr. Chairman, I wish to place the seal of approval of 
 the National Association of Letter Carriers upon this proposed 
 legislation and the principle involved therein and I trust it will meet 
 with your approving consideration. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. Mr. Chairman, Congressman Hamill has made quite a 
 study of this subject, and we would be glad to have him heard. 
 
 The Chairman. I was just going to suggest that, as Mr. Hamill is 
 a Member of the present House and will be in the next House, we 
 would be glad to have his views on this matter of legislation. 
 
 STATEMENT OF HON. JAMES A. HAMILL, A REPRESENTATIVE IN 
 CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY. 
 
 Mr. Hamill. Mr. Chairman, I am very thankful for the invitation 
 so graciously extended to me to say a word or two on this subject, 
 which is the one of prime importance at the present time, outside of 
 the winning of the war. I have had quite a little to do with the 
 subject of pension legislation. At the request of several of the great 
 
CIVIL SERVIOE BETIREMENT. 15 
 
 organizations of Federal employees I introduced a pension bill, Euad 
 we have held meetings throughout the country for the purpose^ 
 advocating the granting by the Government of a pension to the 
 Federal employees. While I believe my own pension bill is the best 
 introduced and will endeavor to have it enacted, I will, nevertheless, 
 support any bill which contains a proposition to pension civil-service 
 employees. So thoroughly convinced were the people of the country 
 as to the justice of a pension measure that the matter was reflected 
 m public sentiment, which was so strong ihat the dominant party 
 to-day adopted in its platform a provision promising the enactment 
 of an equitable retirement law. I well remember the committee hear- 
 ing, or the hearing of the platform committee, at which this subject 
 was discussed. Mr. Morrison was there, with Mr. Gompers, myself, 
 and some others, notably Senator Hughes, now gone to his long rest, 
 and who was a most ardent friend of pension legislation. 
 
 Therefore, I wish to say, Mr. Chairman — and this is important to 
 you and to me as members of the dominant party, because we are in 
 a measure charged with the responsibility of this mattei- — that our 
 platform provides for the enactment of an equitable retirement law. 
 Now, what is an equitable retirement law? There have jjrobably 
 ' been a dozen pension bills introduced. I have introduced one myself 
 called a straight pension bill. I have always said, and I repeat it 
 now, and I think every other man ought. to take the same attitude, 
 that, no matter what happens, we want some kind of a pension bill 
 enacted — a pension bill that will be equitable to the employees, no 
 matter what are the provision of it. 
 
 Now, I do not know that I can say anything on this subject that 
 has not been said by Mr. Morrison and that will not be said by the 
 several well-informed gentlemen who will follow him. The import- 
 ance of a pension bill, the necessity of it, and the justice of it appear 
 on a very little reflection. I take it for granted that you will agree 
 with me that a man is entitled to a decent living, provided, of course, 
 he has not squandered his life. That is to say, if a man during the 
 days when he can toil puts forth all of his energy in useful labor, 
 certainly he is entitled to a living to the day of his death and during 
 the time when he can no longer labor. He has given all that is in 
 him, and in the days when he is helpless, he is entitled to be cared 
 for. Now, take the case of the Government employee. I see instances 
 of it in the case of the letter carriers. 
 
 For instance, in my own town, Jersey City, old men are doing that 
 work, and it is a shame, and it is an injustice, I was going to say, on 
 the part of the Government to let men like that walk through the 
 streets carrying bags of mail on their backs, all bearing proof to the 
 people of this country that this Government is willing to work a man 
 regardless of his condition and regardless of his health, down to the 
 very time when he dies. Now, that is a matter of sentiment, but it 
 is sound, strong, and healthy sentiment, backed by reason and by 
 justice. Now, take the case of any one of these Government em- 
 ployees. Take the case of a man holding a clerical position in one of 
 the departments. He passes a civil-service examination, and it is 
 hard for him to get into the service. He gets a very small salary at 
 the beginning, and he walks up the ladder slowly and painfully, re- 
 ceiving promotions only on account of merit. After 30 years of serv- 
 
16 CIVIL SEBVICE RETIBEMENT. 
 
 ice, he reaches a state of mental and physical exhaustion where he can 
 not properly carry on the work. Will any man say that the Govern- 
 ment ought not to keep that man to the day of his death ? He has 
 given all that is in him to the Government. Now, on what principle 
 would the Government do that ? You say, or you might say, that it 
 would do it on the principle of justice and humanity, but there is 
 another and more material principle, and that is on the principle 
 that this man has already heaped up wages which were never paid at 
 the time that they were earned. Those wages are deferred, and they 
 ought to be paid to him in installments after he is physically and men- 
 tally incapable of working for the Government. Pensions, I have 
 always maintained, are not gratuities, but they are the deferred pay- 
 ment of wages that have been earned but that were not paid at the 
 time they were earned. That is the position, and it is a thoroughly 
 sound one, on which this Government, if it does not listen to the 
 argument of justice, ought to proceed in the matter of granting pen- 
 sions. 
 
 Now, we have an example in the case of some big corporations that 
 Mr. Morrison and I talked about. I suppose it is true that in most 
 cases they give the pensions in order to bind the man to his position 
 and in order to get the best that is in him. Well, if that be a sound 
 policy for corporations, merely on the ground of self-interest, or 
 merely because it will make money for them and will be good busi- 
 ness, why is it not good business for the Government? The Gov- 
 ernment of the United States would bind its employees and it would 
 have contented employees. You would then have the sentiment ot 
 loyalty. They would be helping the Government, and they would 
 be assured that after they were worn out a pension would be paid 
 them and that they would be kept in reasonable comfort to the end 
 of their years on earth. I have heard a great many arguments ad- 
 vanced on this subject, and it has always been a matter of wonder 
 to me that America did not grant these pensions. Other countries 
 of the world, like Great Britain and France, have granted such pen- 
 sions for years. They have seen the justice of it. Yet this country, 
 which is the most enlightened, the strongest, the richest, and the 
 most open-handed country in all other things, seems to hesitate in 
 doing justice in this very important, and at this time immediate 
 matter, because, depend upon this, Mr. Chairman, the wages that 
 are paid by the Government according to the present scale are not 
 any too high. Industrial concerns are paying higher wages and 
 there may come a time when the Government will be glad to give 
 pensions or inducements for men to enter its service. When that 
 time comes it will probably have to be done hurriedly. It will 
 probably have to be done hurriedly if not done now deliberately, and 
 somethmg m.ight be passed that would not be satisfactory to the 
 Government nor satisfactory to the emplovees. Now, we have the 
 best time of any to pass this bill. It can be considered carefully. 
 It IS now possible to draw it after mature and painstaking delibera- 
 tion. 
 
 We can get a measure now that will be satisfactory to the Govern- 
 ment and satisfactory to the employees. As I said at the outset, 
 the matter of prime and present importance at this time, outside of 
 the prosecution of the war to a victorious finisli, is the granting of 
 pensions to the great army of civil-service employees, who as well 
 
CIVIL SERVICE BETIBEMENT. 17 
 
 as the legions in uniform, will help to the full extent of their power 
 in the magnificent accomplishment of the great enterprise we are 
 now engaged in of beating down the hordes of the German Empire 
 and establishing democracy throughout the world. 
 
 Mr. Alcoen. Mr. Chairman, we now desire to hear Mr. E. S. 
 Sexton, legislative representative of the American Federation of 
 Labor. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. R. S. SEXTON, LEGISLATIVE REPRESENTA- 
 TIVE, AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 Mr. Sexton. Mr. Chairman, I will not take-up any more of your 
 time this morning, since there are perhaps other committeemen here 
 who will be more edifying on the subject, and I will just allow the 
 position of the American Federation of Labor as represented bj?^ Sec- 
 retary Morrison to answer in my stead this morning, as I am not 
 quite conversant Avith many of the points of this bill, just recently 
 having come into the emploj' of that department of the American 
 Federation of Labor, and therefore would prefer not to address the 
 •committee on the subject this morning. 
 
 The Chairman. I will state that I understand that this is only a 
 preliminary hearing held by consent without a quorum of the com- 
 mittee being present, and perhaps some of those in favor of this bill 
 would be better satisfied to make their statement before the full com- 
 mittee, or at least before the committee when there is a quorum here. 
 I am simply trying to accommodate those who desire a hearing as 
 €arly as possible, and that is the only reason why we are proceeding 
 in this way. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. Mr. Chairman, I would like to have heard next Mr. 
 Beach, representing the National Federation of Federal Employees. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN S. BEACH, ACTING PRESIDENT NA- 
 TIONAL FEDERATION OF FEDERAL EMPLOYEES, WASHINGTON, 
 D. C. 
 
 Mr. Beach. Mr. Chairman, just about a year ago exhausttive hear- 
 ings on the subject of retirement were held before the Senate Com- 
 mittee on Civil Service and Retrenchment. At that time I pre- 
 sented to the committee a carefully prepared statement outlining my 
 views on this question which has been printed in the hearings, and 
 consequently I do not deem it necessary to cover the same ground 
 again. 
 
 The Chairman. Do you want your statement that you refer to 
 included in the statement which you are now making ? 
 
 Mr. Beach. A part of it, if you please, sir. 
 
 The Chairman. Then that will enable you to be perhaps briefer in 
 your present remarks. 
 
 Mr. Beach. Exactly. 
 
 The Chairman. If you prefer to do so you can submit the state- 
 ment as a part of your present statement, of course modifying or 
 supplementing it in any way you think proper. 
 
 Mr. Beach. Thank you. The conditions are almost identical at 
 this time and the line of argument which I presented then would 
 
 79180—18 2 
 
18 CrVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 
 
 hold now. It appears there has been a question raised as to whether 
 or not retirement legislation at this time should be considered as 
 war legislation. I desire to say, briefly, that, in my opinion, it is 
 entirely competent to consider retirement legislation in connection 
 with the prosecution of the war, because war work in nearly all of 
 the executive departments and governmental establishments requires 
 the maximum efficiency at this time. Such maximum efficiency can 
 not be obtained under present conditions when the service is clogged 
 with superannuation. In some offices it has been shown that 20 
 per cent of the employees are superannuated. I am employed 
 in the Bureau of PensionSj and one year ago, I compiled certain 
 statistics in connection with that bureau. It was found that 
 on the 1st day of July, 1917, there were 1,013 employees in the 
 classified civil service in that bureau. Of that number, 191 or some- 
 thing more than 19 per cent, were over 70 years of age; 23 were 
 over 80 years of age; and the average age of all employees in that 
 bureau was 57 years. It might be pointed out that this is an exag- 
 gerated case of superannuation, but it must alSo be pointed out that 
 it is only a question of time when all bureaus in all departments 
 Avill reach the same stage. 
 
 Referring once more to the question of the enactment of retire- 
 ment legislation as a war measure, I desire to bring out this thought: 
 The question of the distribution of our soldiers when they shall 
 return from the field of battle and be taken once more into our in- 
 dustrial and commercial life is a vital one. No doubt great pressure 
 will be brought upon the civil service at that time, not only to retain 
 in the service those who are here at present, helping with the work, 
 but also to provide places for others in order that the country may 
 adjust itself to the new industrial conditions. Therefore, and I de- 
 sire to emphasize this fact, provision should be made now to care 
 for the civil service on account of this extraordinary pressure which 
 will be brought upon it at the close of the war, and which will 
 undoubtedly result in forcing out of employment thousands and tens 
 of thousands of civil-service employees, 'it is reasonable to sup- 
 pose that those who will be forced out of employment will be the 
 ones who are the least efficient or those who are superannuated. So 
 it would appear that we might well consider, in connection with the 
 prosecution of the war, the conditions which are likely to obtain in 
 the civil service at the conclusion of the war. 
 
 In regard to the McKellar-Keating bill, which we have under 
 consideration, I desire to say that the organization which I repre- 
 sent stands solidly back of that bill. I understand that since its intro- 
 duction it has been submitted to actuarial inspection and it is found 
 that there are certain inconsistencies in the bill. We have no objec- 
 tion to having those inconsistencies eliminated provided alwavs that 
 the underlying principle in the bill is maintained, namely,- the "deduc- 
 tion of not more than 2^ per cent from the compensation of the 
 employees. I believe that these inconsistencies can be eliminated and 
 that this principle may be maintained without injustice to the 
 employees. 
 
 In the consideration of any retirement measure we can not and 
 must not eliminate the humanitarian factor. It has been stated here 
 before, and it is true, that there are hundreds and thousands of 
 
CIVIL SEBVIOE BETIREMENT. 19 
 
 employees who have been in the civil service for years. It is found 
 upon examination that some of them have served for more than 50 
 years. They are compelled to remain in the service to-day because 
 of dire necessity. -They dare not resign in the face of present condi- 
 tions. 
 
 It is also true that these employees will be satisfied to retire upon 
 the modest stipend provided in the McKellar- Keating bill. It will 
 not provide for them existence in luxury but it will supplement 
 their savings, and it is presumed the average Government employee 
 will have saved some small amount of money. The annuity in itself 
 is not large. It is hardly adequate; but it has been the desire of 
 our organizations to present something to Congress which would 
 attract attention rather than repel, and, therefore, w-e indorse the 
 principle as outlined in the McKellar-Keating bill of a maximum 
 annuity of $600 per annum. This will afford relief to the employees, 
 will bring relief to the service, and, by removing superannuation, 
 will provide for more rapid promotion, and will undoubtedly bring 
 about a better morale in the service. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, as indicated before, I have covered this 
 ground very completely in a former statement. It is not my desire 
 to take up the time of the committee and I shall conclude by urging 
 upon this committee that they can well, in view of the conditions I 
 have outlined, consider this as a part of the war legislation, and I 
 trust they will take this view of the question. 
 
 I thank you, sirs. 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. Beach, indicate such parts of your former 
 hearing as you want to become a part of this hearing and hand it to 
 the stenographer. 
 
 Mr. Beach. Yes ; thank you. 
 
 (The statement referred to follows:) 
 
 [Excerpts from statement made by John S. Beach, chairman of the Committee on Retire- 
 ment of Federal Employes' Union No. 2, before the Senate Committee on Civil Service 
 and Retrenchment on July 12, 1917.] 
 
 That Congress should enact an equitable retirement law has been so often 
 reiterated as to become a maxim. The need for such legislation was first 
 brought to the attention of Congress more than 30 years ago, aud bills have 
 been repeatedly introduced in Congress since. In 1912 President Taft gave his 
 unqualified approval to a retirement plan. Heads of departments and chiefs of 
 bureaus have incorporated in their annual report.s from year to year recommen- 
 dations for a retirement law. The Democratic Party in 1916 inserted a plank 
 in its national platform recommending the passage of a retirement law ; and, in 
 their last annual reports, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, 
 the Secretary of Commerce, and the Secretary of Labor, and other department 
 officials strongly urged retirement legislation. Hearings have been held by 
 committees in Congress, facts and figures have been marshaled in support of 
 various plans, and a great mass of matter has been contributed by students of 
 the subject. Senator Pomerene, in submitting a report from the Committee on 
 Civil Service and Retrenchment, on February 13, 1917, stated, " Present condi- 
 tions in the civil service, due in large part to superannuation, have become almost 
 intolerable, and each year they are growing worse." It would, therefore, appear 
 that the time has arrived for definite action; that a concrete plan should be 
 determined upon ; and that a retirement law should be enacted at an early date. 
 
 There are but three types of system to be considered when the retirement 
 question is under discussion— the wholly contributory system, through which 
 the employee is required to contribute the entire amount for the purchase of 
 his own annuity ; the noncontributory system, through which the Government 
 pays the whole amount of pension or annuity ; and the partly contributory sys- 
 tem in which the employee and the Government share jointly in the cost of 
 
20 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 maintenance. The most advanced thought upon this subject is now practically 
 unanimous in favor of the partly contributory system. These various systems 
 are very ably discussed in a monograph recently published by Mr. Paul Stu- 
 densky, of the bureau of municipal research of New York City. 
 
 Having in mind the scant consideration which other bills providing a scale 
 for large annuities have received in Congress, and rather t;han to try to attain 
 the impracticable and the impossible, the organization which I represent decided 
 to indorse a schedule of annuities which would appeal to Congress as being fair 
 both for the Individual employee and for the Government. 
 
 Tlie schedule of annuities provided in the Wadsworth bill fixes a maximum 
 of $600 per annum for those who have been 30 years or more In the service, and 
 other annuities graduated both in relation to the number of years in the service 
 and the average salary, pay, or compensation received during the last 10 years 
 of service. 
 
 It can not truthfully be said that the employees are unanimously in favor 
 of this schedule. Probably no other phase of the retirement question causes 
 so much difference of opinion as the amount of annuity to be paid the retired 
 employee. This is quite natural. The employee who is in receipt of a good 
 salary, say $2,000 or more, does not regard with favor a plan which will compel 
 him to retire on an annuity of $600 or less. The large mass of employees, how- 
 ever, are included in the classes in which salaries range from $720 to $1,400 
 per annum, and such employees are more enthusiastically in favor of annuities 
 as provided in the Wadsworth bill. 
 
 As a test case, in March, 1917, I compiled statistics concerning employees in 
 the Bureau of Pensions who would be eligible for retirement on July I, 1917, 
 under the provisions of the Wadsworth bill if enacted before that time. It was 
 found that if all should live until July 1, 197 would be eligible for retirement. 
 Of this number exactly 100, or nearly 51 per cent, would receive the maximum 
 annuity of $600 ; that the lowest annuity would be $180 ; and the average for 
 all annuitants would be $509.40. It is believed that the average annuity under 
 this bill for the classified service, as a whole, will be about $500 per annum. 
 I am frank in stating, as my personal opinion, that such annuities are fair to 
 the employee and that they will afford a great measure of relief to those who 
 iinist sooner or later be compelled to retire from the service ; also that the 
 Govei-nment should not, in justice and in equity, enact a retirement law provid- 
 ing a lower schedule of annuities, particularly under a partly contributory 
 system. 
 
 The following is a sample table of annuities : 
 
 Average salary, pay, or compensation. 
 
 Class A, 
 
 30 years, 
 
 50 per cent. 
 
 Class B, 
 
 25 years, 
 
 40 per cent. 
 
 Class C, 
 
 20 years, 
 
 30 per cent. 
 
 Class D, 
 
 15 years, 
 
 25 per cent. 
 
 $1,800 or more 
 
 81,600 
 
 $1,400 
 
 «1,200 
 
 Sl.OOO.-.' 
 
 S900 
 
 $800 
 
 $700 
 
 $600 
 
 $600 
 600 
 600 
 600 
 500 
 450 
 400 
 350 
 300 
 
 $540 
 540 
 •540 
 480 
 400 
 360 
 320 
 280 
 240 
 
 $480 
 480 
 420 
 360 
 300 
 270 
 240 
 210 
 180 
 
 Note. — The MfKellnr-Keating bill provides the same scale of annuities. 
 
 $420 
 400 
 350 
 300 
 250 
 225 
 200 
 175. 
 150 
 
 The number of vacancies caused by the retirement of superannuated em- 
 ployees and subsequently filled by appointment or promotion is an unknown 
 quantity, difficult to estimate, and a problem which must be solved by experi- 
 ence. 
 
 The vacancies remaining unfilled become an asset to the Government. One 
 system of retirement will have no great advantage over another when this 
 feature is considered. If there is any force to the argument that a young em- 
 ployee will do more work than one superannuated then it must necessarily 
 follow that there can be, and should be, a material reduction in force follow- 
 ing the enactment of a retirement law. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE BETIKEMBNT. 21 
 
 If this plan is followed in the branches of the service where practicable, 
 then the saving to the Government will amount to millions of dollars annually. 
 It is my opinion that upon the enactment of a retirement law restrictions should 
 be placed on the filling of vacancies. This could not be done In all branches of 
 the service ; if a letter carrier is retired his place must be filled ; if a lighthouse 
 keeper is retired, some one must immediately take his place ; but it is safe to 
 say that under normal conditions in the departmental service in Washington 
 and in many branches of the service throughout the country not more than 
 50 per cent of the vacancies caused by retiring superannuates need be filled 
 during the first five years under the operation of any retirement system ; and 
 in some branches of the service I believe not more than 25 per cent of such 
 vacancies need be filled. This would result in a direct saving to the Govern- 
 ment amounting to millions of dollars annually. 
 
 I have a concrete example to illustrate this point. As before stated, there 
 were in March, 1917, in the Bureau of Pensions 197 employees, or more than 
 19 per cent, who were over 70 years of age and consequently eligible for retire- 
 ment. The salaries of these employees aggregate $253,260 annually. If re- 
 tired under the provisions of the Wadsworth bill the annuities would aggre- 
 gate $99,842 annually, a difference of $153,418. There is already restrictive 
 legislation in regard to filling vacancies in this bureau. Assuming that the 
 commissioner would fill such vacancies as he is permitted under the law, the 
 expenditure on account of original appointments and promotions would amount 
 to $55,100 the first year. The contributions from those remaining in the serv- 
 ice would amount the first year to $20,832, and the net saving to the Govern- 
 ment would equal $119,150 — an amount more than sufficient to pay all annu- 
 ities for the second year without taking into consideration the contributions 
 . for that year. 
 
 It may be pointed out that the Bureau of Pensions furnishes an extreme 
 example of supei-annuation, but it also teaches the lesson that it is only a ques- 
 tion of a few years when similar conditions will exist in nearly every branch of 
 the service unless a retirement law is enacted. 
 
 Still another distinctive feature of the Wadsworth bill will be found in 
 section 3, which provides that employees in the civil service who have also per- 
 formed service under the authority of the United States beyond seas or honor- 
 able service in the Army, Navy, or Marine Corps of the United States, either 
 Regular or Volunteer, shall receive credit for such periods of service wheik 
 computing their total service for the purpose of classification. This will include 
 service in the Philippines, in Porto Rico, or in other branches of the service 
 beyond seas, also temporary service in the Military or Naval Establishments. 
 
 The wisdom of such provision is apparent at this time when so many of the 
 employees in the civil branches have been mustered into the military and naval 
 service of the United States. It will be noted, however, that in the case of an 
 employee who may be eligible for, and elects to receive, a pension on account of 
 disability incurred in the line of duty, the period of his military or naval service 
 shall not be included for the purpose of classification. 
 
 Employees of the Library of Congress and the Botanic Gardens are also 
 included in the provisions of this bill. These employees, coming as they do 
 under the legislative branch of the Government, have a peculiar status. While 
 they are not in the classified civil service, yet their duties, rights, and privileges 
 are analogous to those of civil-service employees, and their tenure of office is 
 reasonably certain; therefore it would appear to be an act of justice to give 
 them the same benefits of a retirement law as will be received by the employees 
 in the classified service. 
 
 In conclusion I desire to state that I would not appear before this committee 
 and urge retirement legislation at a time when so many other matters of moment 
 are engaging the attention of Congress if I were not firmly convinced that the 
 interests of the Government would be subserved by such legislation. It has 
 been pointed out that there can be an actual and immediate saving to the 
 Government through reduction in the clerical force due to the retirement of 
 the superannuated and disabled employees! If the partly contributory system 
 on the basis of a 2 per cent contribution as embodied in the Wadsworth bill is 
 .adopted, no immediate outlay on the part of the Government will be necessary 
 for the payment of annuities as provided therein. 
 
 Efficiency is the watchword of the day in all commercial and industrial enter- 
 prises, but the Government through its present method of administration in 
 
22 CIVIL SERVICE KBTIKEMBlirT. 
 
 the civil service has hardly kept pace vi'ith the times. We can no more 
 expect an efficient civil service which is clogged with superannuation than we 
 could expect an efficient Army or Navy under the same conditions. There is 
 just as much reason for retirement in the civil branch of the Government as 
 there is for retirement in the military and naval branches. It is ectually sure 
 that In the Immediate future the utmost economy will be demanded and the 
 maximum efficiency will be needed in the civil branch of the Government. The 
 enactment of a retirement law will, more than any other measure, accomplish 
 these things. 
 
 I can not close this statement without making a plea for the employees whom 
 I represent and of whom I am one. When the retirement question is being con- 
 sidered the humanitarian factor can not be ignored. In the civil service to-day 
 are hundreds and thousands of employees who are waiting anxiously for the 
 enactment of a retirement law; men and women who have rendered faithful 
 service, some of them for more than 50 years, and who would like to retire and 
 spend their few remaining years in peace and comfort. An employee in the civil 
 service has little opportunity to accumulate a sufficient competence during 
 his period of service to enable him to separate himself voluntarily from the 
 service when his earning capacity has become impaired. The fact that Gov- 
 ernment employees have not been enabled to save a competency is accentuated 
 when we consider the constantly increased cost of living during the past 10 or 
 15 years and the abnormal cost at the present time. Salaries have not kept pace 
 with these conditions. 
 
 Many superannuated employees would like to retire from the service, but 
 either can not afford to resign or dare not take the step In the face of present 
 conditions. They would be only too glad to retire if the Government would 
 supplement their meager Incomes with a modest stipend such as the Wadsworth 
 bill provides. So anxious are the employees to have a retirement law enacted 
 that they now come to Congress and offer a contribution toward establishing 
 and maintaining a system. The plan may not be perfect, but if enacted into a 
 law it is sure to result in a real saving to the Government, it will give increased 
 efficiency to the civil service, and it will afEord a great measure of relief to a 
 •very deserving class of faithful servants. Will not Congress, in the Interest of 
 economy, in the Interest of efficiency in the service, and in the Interest of 
 humanity, give this question their earnest consideration? 
 
 Mr. Alcoen. Mr. Chairman, I wish now to be heard Mr. M. F. 
 O'Donough, on behalf of the civil service employees. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. M. F. O'DOWOGHUE, SPECIAL WRITER, THE 
 CHIEF, THE GOVERNMENT WEEKLY, UNITED STATES PATENT 
 OFFICE, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 The Chairman. Mr. O'Donoghue, you may proceed in your own 
 way. 
 
 Mr. O'DoNOGi-iuE. Mr. Chairman, some of the subjects I had in- 
 tended to touch upon have been covered by previous speakers. I had 
 the honor, with Kepresentative Hamill, soon after the present Presi- 
 dent of the United States was inaugurated — I was then president of 
 the United States Civil Service Retirement Association — of waiting 
 on the President, and we had a conversation with him on this sub- 
 ject, and he told us he was in favor of retirement, and at the earliest 
 opportunity he would take the question up. Things have happened 
 since that have so far prevented that being done, but the necessities 
 of the case now require that it should be done. There is not much 
 need, I think, of arguing why retirement should be granted. The 
 facts are that it exists in the world in every civilized country • and in 
 this country in very large part retirement has been granted 'so that, 
 there is only left out of the entire civilized world a remnant of the' 
 United States in which the employees have not been retired on annui- 
 ties at the close of their career. Consequently, we come now to the 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 23 
 
 closing of the chapter. The Army and the Navy, the judiciary, the 
 paymaster clerks of the Army, and most recently the Coast Guard 
 and the Lighthouse Service have had retirement. 
 
 The Chairman. I think I ought to know something about the 
 latter, as the legislation came from this committee. 
 
 Mr. O'DoNOGHTiE. The President signed that legislation just a 
 few days ago. That slipped through, you know, quietly, because 
 it was for a small body. Now, my predecessor argued" why this 
 should be passed now as a war measure, and that is for the reason 
 that every act, Mr. Chairman, that takes place in the United States 
 to-day is either for us or against us in the winning of the war. 
 Every act that favors the allies, that promotes their activities, that 
 makes it easier to transmit the weapons of war to them — no matter 
 in what shape they may come — is for the winning of the war, and, 
 Mr. Chaii-man, nobody should know better than you that the em- 
 ployees of the Government in Washington and in every part of the 
 country are a very large part of this Government. When you gen- 
 tlemen want information you send to the departments for the infor- 
 mation. When your letter comes to the department the head of the 
 department never sees it. He sends it to the bureau to which it be- 
 longs. The head of the bureau never sees it. It is sent to the di- 
 vision to which it belongs. The chief of the division never sees it, 
 or at least does not see it at that time, but perhaps sees it later, if at 
 all, and it goes to the individual employee — the clerk having it in 
 charge. He is the one, when you come down to the last analysis, 
 upon whom ultimately the carrying on of this great Government 
 rests. Outside there has been an hallucination that the Government 
 employee did not have much to do ; that his position was a " cinch," 
 so to speak. That may have come from past performances, but I 
 assure you that at the present time they are a very hard worked and 
 a noble working body, because there is a tenseness in the air, and 
 their hearts are in the war, and riglit here in Washington their con- 
 tributions to every fund is a proof of their patriotism. 
 
 There is an article in one of the papers — The Scientific American — 
 this week which speaks of war as a scientific proposition, and a matter 
 of specialties, not of one specialty, but of a thousand special- 
 ties. Formerly the Infantry was the entire feature of the Army. 
 Now, it is not only the Infantry, but the Artillery and the thousand 
 and one things behind the Infantry and the Artillery. You come first 
 to the munition workers, and then you go from the munition workers 
 back to the food people, and you go from the food people to agri- 
 culture, naturally, and then to the Department of the Interior, 
 which has charge of land, and then to the Patent Office, which has 
 charge of patents and inventions, and you go to the trade-mark di- 
 vision, which has charge of trade-marks, every man wanting his 
 trade-mark to push his goods in the market. Every one of those 
 things that is well and perfectly done adds to the perfection of the 
 machine of this great Government and hastens the winning of the 
 war. Mr. Chairman, it is not only now, but in the years to come, 
 when the war is won, and when the great, crucial economic crisis 
 comes, that you need capable employees, need men of intelligence, 
 men of culture, men who can take their places against the trained 
 men of other nations. 
 
24 CIVIL SERVICE EETIE.EMENT. 
 
 For instance, take Japan; Every Japanese who is in the foreign, 
 service has to speak four languages perfectly— his own language^ 
 English, French, and it used to be German; but after the war, I 
 trust that German will be eliminated. The same thing is true of 
 other nations, and we have to go up against them with trained men, 
 and the case I alluded to a while ago applies to the individual clerk 
 at his desk. If he is able to take hold of that case as he is expected 
 to, if he is able to take it at the beginning, and touch every fiber of 
 it, and in his first letter cover every feature of the case, and it goes 
 back written in grammatical and legal phraseology, and then comes 
 back answered, there is no delay such as there will be. if he is halt- 
 ing in his work, if he is aged, or if he is illiterate, as he may perhaps; 
 be, because a great many of the very best men are being taken away, 
 and to-day you have to nurse the civil service, and you have to nurse 
 the old men and women in the civil service, because they are the ones, 
 who will have to do the training now, Mr. Chairman, of the number- 
 less young people who are coming in just raw from the fields, from 
 the schoolrooms, and just barely able to do a little typewriting. 
 Who else is going to train them ? You can prolong the longevity of 
 the old man 10 years by offering him a reasonable amount to retire 
 upon. I spoke to a man yesterday and he asked me if this bill would 
 oust him immediately. I said, " No, John, it will not. You will 
 have 10 years in which to retire." He brightened up immediately 
 and a new light seemed to dawn upon him. 
 
 It was like a promise of a hereafter when the man saw that he was: 
 not going to be thrown out at once, but would have 8 or 10 years left. 
 He arose to new possibilities. He saw that there was ^t the end 
 something for him, and that when he was thrown out he would not 
 be absolutely and utterly dependent. However, it is not for the 
 benefit of the man entirely ; in fact, my argument almost always has 
 been on the other side of the matter. It is for the benefit of the 
 Government of the United States, for the benefit of the men who pay 
 the taxes, because the quicker the work is done the better for them. 
 
 If you knew, Mr. Chairman, how people come to us over and over 
 again, and you gentlemen are responsible for it sometimes, because 
 you send your telephone message down to the chief of the bureau, or 
 the head of the department, and you want to know about such and 
 such person's case, how it stands, and why it is not acted upon; and 
 then things begin to hum, and we have to take hold and rush the 
 thing through, whereas we ought to be able to do that without any 
 pressure from anybody. Good men, well paid, who can look forward 
 to something in their old age, and not have to look forward to being 
 thrown out, which is an awful thing to contemplate, would benefit 
 the country, and things would be done better, and would move more 
 smoothly, and there would be no delay. 
 
 For instance when a man is waiting for his patent there should 
 be no delay. A nian is waiting for his trade-mark, and has his con- 
 tracts ready and has the copy ready to put into the press for his ad- 
 vertisements and all that sort of thing and is only waiting for his 
 trade-m.ark to be issued-and I am only speaking of this because I 
 have personal knowledge of it, and the same thing is true in all other 
 lines of work--consequently, it is the Government that benefits by 
 having the work performed promptly. The man works better and 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIREMENT. 25 
 
 you get a better class of men, who work without fear and Avithout 
 favor. You will get better men because when people see old men 
 thrown out on the street, and hear people say, " Oh, he is a Govern- 
 ment clerk who has been thrown out," they are not desirous of going 
 into the service where things like that occur. The people of the 
 country who are back of the clergy have seen that and most of them 
 have provision for retirement. The Episcopal Church especially has 
 recently established an elabrate system of retirement; and conse- 
 quently I point to that, and in the last analysis, to the necessity that 
 there is for retirement being granted civil-service employees both 
 as a matter of justice and for the winning of the war. • 
 
 I thank you very much. 
 
 Mr. Alcokn. Mr. Chairman, I think there are some three or four 
 men who have not had any sleep overnight and if there is no objection 
 we would like to have them heard now and give them a chance to 
 get a little rest. 
 
 The Chairman. The order- of the hearing, of course, is in your 
 hands. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. I will now call on Mr. McKinney, chemist and master 
 mechanic at the navy yard, and I would like to ask, Mr. Chairman, 
 your permission to ask a few questions of Mr. McKinney. 
 
 Mr. McKinney, in your opinoin, what effect would this legislation 
 have on the service of the navy-yard force ? 
 
 STATEMENT OF ME. P. McKINNEY, UNITED STATES NAVAL GUN 
 FACTORY, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 Mr. McKinney. Mr. Chairman, in answer to the question of Mr. 
 Alcorn, we have in the naval gun factory a condition somewhat dif- 
 ferent from that existing in the executive departments. We are, as you 
 know, a manufacturing and industrial plant. We have conditions 
 which require the maximum effort from each employee, particularly 
 at the present time when tlie product of our plant is being utilized, 
 in large measure, for maintaining our forces abroad in munitions and 
 the necessities for carrying on the present war. 
 
 We have down there not as large a percentage probably as in a 
 good many of the executive departments, but we have a considerable 
 percentage of employees who have served faithfully for a number of 
 years. We have there in the foundry departiuent a molder SO years 
 of age who has been in the service 32 years, I believe ; and in "those 
 places at the present time these men are actually attempting in every 
 way possible to produce the maximum amount of Avork to keep up 
 with the younger blood, and it seems punishment really to be com- 
 pelled to require men of that age and after years of faithful service 
 to maintain this standard which must necessarily be maintained at 
 the present time; and at the same time it is probable, and, in fact, 
 I know that it is a fact, that in a number of cases the only reason 
 these men have not retired and given up is because they are not able 
 to live without the support that their position affords them. 
 
 Now, we know that in most of the industrial trades, particularly 
 in the lines of work I am particularly interested in, the foundry, 
 the forge shop, the casting of brass and the working of brass into car- 
 iridges, and so on, occupational ailments are a serious factor, and 
 
26 CIVIL SERVICE EETIREMENT. 
 
 these men are really working to the detriment of their health when 
 they are required to work in their old age at these occupations. It is 
 one of the things that has killed off molders before their time in in- 
 dustrial plants. I do not know whether that is the reason we do not 
 have such a large percentage of old men, but it appears that the effi- 
 ciency of the Government's operations would be very materially 
 aided by a provision whereby these men could be let out, with sonie 
 v/ay of providing for them and allowing the younger blood and the 
 men who can with much less effort turn out the needed production 
 with the facilities that are at hand. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. You are satisfied, Mr. McKinney, that it will bring 
 about greater efficiency in the service by retiring these men, who are 
 old and disabled, I take it ? 
 
 Mr. McKiNNET. I think so, undoubtedly. I think that is the one 
 thing that is lacking in the organization. We have, as everybody 
 knows, a number of veterans of the Civil War, men who have fought 
 for their country; and, in addition to that, have served faithfully 
 practically ever since the termination of the Civil War, and they are 
 still there as mechanics or in other lines of work. They are not 
 being carried along as pensioners, but they are really attempting to 
 do what the younger and more able man is doing. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. And what they are not able to do. 
 
 Mr. McKiNNET. And it is not only working a hardship on the in- 
 dividual, but — from the standpoint of maximum efficiency in our 
 organization, at a time when every man's efforts should count, when 
 you have limited facilities and more work to do with the facilities — 
 the quicker you can provide for active young men who can work 
 with the minimum effort, to take the places of old men who can only 
 produce with the maximum effort and then probably lag behind, the 
 greater will be the efficiency of operations in a plant of that kind. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. Mr. Chairman, I would like to ask the witness one 
 question. You spoke about occupational diseases. To what extent 
 are the employees in your branch of the service affected by occu- 
 pational diseases? 
 
 Mr. McKiNNET. Well, probably, to a smaller extent than in the 
 average foundry on account of the fact that we attempt to guard 
 against it by precautionary measures, medical inspection, and an ex- 
 cellent wash-room system. For instance, during the hot weather, 
 when the men are particularly subjected to the dangers of gas fumes, 
 we permit them, after coming from the furnace, to go into the wash 
 room and recuperate. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. And take every precaution to minimize the danger? 
 
 Mr. McKiNNET. We try to minimize the dangers, but there is no 
 foundry, no forge shops, or no brass-working shops where occupa- 
 tional ailments and troubles can be eliminated, because it is one of 
 the risks that goes with the trade and you can not eliminate it unless 
 you eliminate entirely the work that is being done. It is well known 
 that no matter how well a molder takes care of himself in his old 
 days he is subject to what is known as molder's asthma.' Working 
 his lifetime or his active, individual lifetime of, say, 30 or 40 years, 
 in a foundry, he accumulates dust in his lungs to such an extent that 
 he does suffer from these troubles in his old days. We have two 
 or three of our old men down there, that I have absolute knowledge ' 
 
CIVIL SEEVICE BBTIEEMENT. 27 
 
 about, who are suffering from the effects of that sort of thing in 
 years gone by. It is not such an ailment that comes within the pro- 
 visions of the compensation act, but yet their efficiency as employees 
 to a certain extent is being destroyed through the results of their 
 long years of service. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. It hastens their superannuation, in other words? 
 
 Mr. McKiNNEY. I think it does ; sir. 
 
 Mr. Alcoen. Mr. Chairman, I would like to have you hear from 
 Mr. E. H. Howard, master mechanic at the navy yard, who can give 
 you some facts in connection with his own shop. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. E. H. HOWARD, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 Mr. Howard. Mr. Chairman, so much has been said along this line 
 that I hardly feel there is anything left for me to say. HoAvever, it 
 may be interesting to you to have me state that in my experience of 
 about 12 years as master mechanic in the foundry it appears that 
 some such bill as this should be enacted, looking to the retirement 
 of faithful old employees, if for no other reason than a purely 
 efficiency proposition. Looking at it from an outside manufacturer's 
 viewpoint — we live in an age of specialties — in order to compete we 
 have to specialize in every branch ; we are tying to compete with the 
 outside, and in order to compete with the outside we have to be on the 
 alert for the most efficient methods to produce results most desired. 
 Now, if we get a boy — and I am looking at it purely from the foundry 
 standpoint — ^and he comes into the shop to learn a trade and knows 
 that he has something to look forward to besides merely learning a 
 trade, that boy is going to put forth every effort in him to do his 
 best. I know from my experience that when you have a satisfied work- 
 man, and a contented workman, you get the very best in him, but 
 when you have a discontented workman his efficiency immediately 
 drops. The foundry business particularly, to say the least, is rather 
 hazardous, and it would look to me as though the industrial world 
 of civil service employees should have its quota as much as the other 
 fields and should be included in this bill. 
 
 It is understood many of the foremost corporations of the outside 
 industrial world, having seen fit and deemed it advisable, have pro- 
 vided for the faithful and aged employee. Why ? There is good rea- 
 son for it. These corporations are not in the business for the purpose 
 of maintaining a charitable institution. They certainly can not be 
 accused of conducting these great arteries of industry for the pleasure 
 they derive from it. 
 
 These corporations, it would appear, are conducted for business, 
 on the best and most efficient legitimate principles it can employ to 
 maintain the highest efficiency and produce the best possible financial 
 results. In view of this, it would seem good business if the United 
 States Government would adopt some such plan for its army of civil 
 service employees. 
 
 I do not think there is any thing further that I can add to this be- 
 cause I did not know anything about it until yesterday, and it is only 
 a matter of the mere expression of opinion more than anything else. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. To what extent does superannuation prevail in your 
 branch of the service in the Navy?_ What percentage of old people 
 have you in your branch of the service ? 
 
28 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 Mr. Howard. In my particular shop, sir, there are comparatively- 
 few (14 men over 66 years of age in classified service) because the 
 labor is hard and they can not stand the work. However, among 
 those few we have- a man, as was stated a moment ago, who is 80 years 
 of age. Men of this age can not be expected to maintain a high stand- 
 ard of efficiency such as is now required. The high standards must 
 be maintained and under present conditions it presents a problem. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. Do they die before the age of 60 or retire from the 
 service voluntarily ? What is your experience and observation along 
 that line ? 
 
 Mr. Howard. A molder does not live, as a rule, to be much over. 
 60, but that, of course, depends a good deal upon a man's physique 
 and the conditions of shops in which he has worked. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. You think, then, that the retirement age ought to be 
 fixed at 60 for your class of employees ? 
 
 Mr. Howard. Yes, sir. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. Is it not a fact, Mr. Howard, that a number of old 
 men have died in the last few years who, according to your idea, 
 would have lived much longer had they been retired at a reasonable 
 age? 
 
 Mr. Howard. Most assuredly. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. They would have lived much longer and the service 
 would have been much better off ? 
 
 Mr. Howard. That is true without question. Several men who 
 come to my mind now would have been living in all probability to- 
 day if they had been pensioned at a reasonable age, and somebody 
 younger and more efficient would have filled their places and that 
 would have promoted the general efficiency of the Goverment plants, 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. I would like to have you hear Mr. Deviny, secretary 
 of the National Association of Civil Service Employees. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. JOHN J. DEVINY, SECRETARY OF THE NA- 
 TIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES. 
 
 Mr. Devinx. Mr. Chairman, as one of those mentioned as having* 
 stayed out all night properly engaged in the Government's business, " 
 I take particular pleasure in the honor of being here this morning to 
 say a word in behalf of this retirement bill. There are two incidents 
 connected with this bill which, to my mind, augur well for its early 
 passage. One is that it has been referred to a new committee in con- 
 sidering retirement measures, that is, general retirement measures, 
 and, secondly, because of the fact that we representatives of the Gov- 
 ernment employees come here this morning united in purpose and are 
 now working with a concert of action which we had not experienced 
 in the past. We have appeared before various committees, the Com- 
 mittee on Civil Service and Retrenchment in the Senate and Civil 
 Service Eeform in the House, and, as a general rule, we did not agree 
 on essentials. But to-day we are here working together united in a 
 common cause for the very best possible results. 
 
 The principal thing that can be said in favor of a retirement law, 
 in my opinion, is that it will increase the Government's efficiency, 
 and during these war times we need to have the maximum of effi- 
 ciency. The retention of old meii, worn out old men and women in 
 
CIVIL SEEVIOE EETIEEMENT. 29 
 
 the Government's' service does not make for the greatest efficiency 
 and the passage of a retirement bill would tend to bring about a 
 state of affairs which would make it possible to replace these old 
 men and women and thus maintain the efficiencj^ Avhich is so necessary 
 at this time, in order that we may properly support the armed forces 
 of the Government in this war. 
 
 A strong sentiment prevails throughout the country in favor of a 
 retirement law. The people have expressed themselves in favor of a 
 retirement law and that expression has found form in the passage of 
 resolutions by 11 State legislatures, scores of city councils, boards of 
 trade, and civic organizations of all kinds. These resolutions favor 
 particularly the bill fathered by Congressman Hamill, which is a 
 noncontributory bill and is more liberal in its provisions than the 
 present one. It is known that the people of the country will wel- 
 come the passage of a retirement law with open arms, that they 
 will welcome it with the idea that it will increase the Government's 
 efficiency and at the same time render justice to old and faithful 
 employees who have given their best to the service. 
 
 Another thing in favor of the passage of a retirement law is the 
 fact, as has been stated, that a man in the Government service is a 
 specialist. It is seldom that the Government employee can use the 
 knowledge gained in public service in private industry. I went to 
 the Bureau of Engraving and Printing 18 years ago as an apprentice 
 to a plate printer. I learned the trade of plate printing, and it is 
 obvious that if I engage in the trade of plate printing outside of the 
 Government service, as a counterfeiter, that the Government would 
 take care of me for the rest of my days, but not in a manner par- 
 ticularly to my liking. We in the Government service are, as a rule, 
 specialists, and the work done by the employees in the various 
 branches of the service bears the trade-mark of efficiency; we want 
 to maintain it at that standard, and I am sure that the passage of 
 this bill, the early passage of this bill, will greatly assist in securing 
 that very desirable result. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. Miss Thomas, who has had 42 years of service, desires 
 to file a statement. 
 
 The Chairman. It will be printed as a part of the hearing. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. Just within the last few months, just recentlj^, she 
 has gone to pieces, and there is no provision by which a case of this 
 kind can be cared for at present. 
 
 (The statement filed by Miss Thomas follows:) 
 
 Miss Maria Thomas, 1704 M Street NW., appointed copyist Rebellion Keeorcl 
 Office August 7, 1876; transferred Surgeon General's Office August 22, 1888; 
 passed civil-service examination by order of Secretary Endicott ; have been 
 under Secretary of War 42 years of faithful service. Now have lost sight of left 
 eye and right eyesight dim. My health is so bad that I am .not able to attend 
 to the duties of my desk as in the past. Chief Clerk of Surgeon General's Office, 
 War Department, in charge of my records will indorse my faithful service and 
 statement. 
 
 I am appointed from District of Columbia. My mother and father were from 
 Maryland. I am needy; have always assisted my family and earnestly beg 
 your charity and attention to my case. 
 
 Maeia Thomas. 
 
 (Thereupon the committee took a recess until 2 o'clock p. m.) 
 
30 CIVIL SEEVIOE KETIEEMENT. 
 
 AFTER RECESS. 
 
 The committee reassembled at the expiration of the recess. 
 Mr. Alcorn. Mr. Chairman, I would like you to hear Mr. Hyatt, 
 president of the Federation of Postal Employees. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. GILBEUT E. HYATT, PRESIDENT OF THE 
 NATIONAL FEDERATION OF POSTAL EMPLOYEES. 
 
 Mr. Htatt. Mr. Chairman, the subject was opened up this morn- 
 ing by Secretary Morrison, of the American Federation of Labor, of 
 the peculiar situation of postal employees in this respect, that 
 they follow a caUing which is, more than any other callmg, a Gov- 
 ernment profession. More so, even than men in other branches of 
 the civil service, for the reason that stenographers, bookkeepers, and 
 men in the strictly clerical branches of the service perform duties 
 which have some common ground of meeting with occupations out- 
 side, and that is more true of the printer and of course the men 
 employed in the navy yard and so on than it is of the postal em- 
 ployees. 
 
 The postal employee is, I think, peculiarly an employee of the 
 Government in the sense that he learns a calling that has no other 
 market than with the Post Office Department, and he learns a pro- 
 fession whose purchasing value is not worth $1 to him, however 
 expert he may be, when he leaves this service, and for that reason 
 postal employees are peculiarly lifelong employees of the Govern- 
 ment. Almost every man who enters the Post Office Department 
 enters it with the idea that he is going to make it his life occupation 
 and those who leave the service are those who have found conditions 
 such as to disappoint them in the desirability of this expectancy of a 
 lifelong occupation. Now, that means that the Government is pe- 
 culiarly in the position of having to take care of these men. I do 
 not mean to take care of them in the way of charity or gratuities, 
 but to see that their living conditions are such that make for efficiency 
 and are in the interests of humanity ; and, obviously, there are only 
 two ways that that can be done so that the man will be in reasonable 
 security through the entire period of his life, and one of them is that 
 the wage scale shall be sufficiently high so that he can live according 
 to the American standard of living, one befitting an employee of the 
 Government, and provide a margin over that whereby he can pro- 
 vide a reasonable surplus for his old a^e ; and' the other is that he 
 shall receive a living wage and in addition to that a pension which 
 will assure him of competency and ease in his declining years and 
 releve him from this constant load of anxiety and worry, which 
 is the most debilitating thing in the world, as Mr. Morrison pointed 
 out, wondering what is going to happen to him when his energies 
 are no longer capable of keeping pace with the strenuous requirements 
 of the service. 
 
 In this respect the postal employee is in an unfortunate position, 
 because it has been clearly established by voluminous evidence in this 
 session of Congress that "the postal employee has been underpaid for 
 a period of 10 years. The only relief he has received was a rather 
 inadequate one of a bonus for one year only of $200, which was 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 31 
 
 granted to him by this session of Congress, and the scale of wages 
 under which he has been living was set 10 years ago and was not 
 considered 10 years ago as being a munificent salary or anything but 
 an ordinary living salary, and so it stands to reason that in the 
 face of the facts presented the postal employee has been unable to lay 
 up any surplus that would provide for his old age. Therefore we 
 find that most of the old employees of the Post Office Department 
 are simply working as long as they can work, flogging their declining 
 energies to keep pace with the increasing requirements of that de- 
 partment until such time as they finally break down and either go out 
 to a dependent old age or die. 
 
 Almost every one Avho has come in contact with the post office em- 
 ployees in all three branches of the service have noticed the numbers 
 of old men, obviously physically decrepid, who are hurrying to keep 
 up. One gentleman, I believe it was Representative Hamill, called 
 attention to the scandalous fact that aged letter carriers were stagger- 
 ing on the streets under loads of mail, and almost every railway mail 
 crew had in its personnel some old man working right alongside of 
 younger and more vigorous men, trying to hold up his end in order 
 that he may not be discharged for incompetency. 
 
 In the post office in which I worked for a number of years I recall 
 now with distinctness two examples. One of them was especially 
 pitiful, an old man who had been in the service for 40 years and was 
 a Civil War veteran, who was a man of unusual vigor of mind and 
 body and a man of indomitable pride. He was a distributer of mail, 
 which is an assignment that requires an intricate knowledge of 
 thousands of post offices; and in addition to that the work requires 
 unremitting attention and accuracy and considerable physical exer- 
 tion. 
 
 It is a line of work that is wearing on even a young man, and this 
 old gentleman was endeavoring to memorize facts with a mind which 
 • was not as ready in picking up new facts as of course that of a 
 younger man, and trying to keep in mind the thousands of changes in 
 this complicated scheme of distribution to which he was assigned, 
 and in addition to that was endeavoring to do just as much work as 
 any of the younger men, and we used to comment on his failing vigor 
 from day to day and from month to month, until finally — there was 
 nobody, thank heaven, in that service in a supervisory position who 
 was brutal enough to kick the old man out — his powers waned so 
 that they had to make a special job for this old gentleman so that he 
 could sit at a table and arrange in proper order labels for the pack- 
 ages and sacks of the other distributors. In a little while even this 
 became too strenuous for him and he went home and almost imme- 
 diately died, practically died in the service, and I think his life was 
 considerably shortened by the fact that his last years were spent in a 
 losing race with the machine. 
 
 Another instance I have in mind along the same line was another 
 Civil War veteran who had been assigned to a particular detail that 
 placed him in supervision over a group of youngsters and this re- 
 quired alertness and decision and all that sort of thing, and the old 
 gentleman, as the city grew and the requirements of his job grew, 
 was unable to keep pace with the work and finally in the evening 
 of his days was placed on a tour of duty that was less exacting btit 
 
32 CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 
 
 which compelled him to work at night, and he is an aged man. I am 
 stating these two instances as being typical of the situation m almost 
 every post office in the United States with which I have come in 
 contact ; and it is plain to anyone that such a condition of affairs is 
 not only inexcusable from the human angle— from the angle ot 
 common, ordinary humanity— but it is inexcusable from the stand- 
 point of efficiency, because, obviously, these old men with waning 
 powers are a drag on the efficiency of the service, and the service 
 M'ould be in a great deal better condition if their places were iakeri 
 by men capable of 100 per cent work in the course of a day. 
 
 Now, I have not gone into the question of a civil-service pension 
 from the standpoint of statistics and have not taken it up with any- 
 thing like thoroughness in regard to actuarial reports as some of the 
 other gentlemen have, because I did not think it was necessary. I 
 considered that the proposition was so plain that men who had not 
 been properly provided with a good wage during their lifetime and 
 who had reached a point where they were unable to any longer per- 
 form maximum service, should be retired, that nobody could discount 
 the facts, but I would like to insert in the record a letter from an 
 old railway-mail clerk which illustrates what does happen to a great 
 many of these old men who, not having a pension, are forced out. 
 They do not die in the harness but are forced to retire. It is a very 
 pitiful case of another Civil War veteran who could not stand the 
 pace any longer and much to his regret was forced to leave the 
 service. 
 
 AMES'S KETIEEMENT INVOI.UNTAKY — CIVIL WAE VETERAN FORCED OUT. 
 
 In a pathetic letter to the Leominster, Mass., Enterprise, T. J. Ames, railway- 
 mail clerk and war veteran, tells of tlie inhuman treatment awarded him by 
 the postal administrators, who forced him out of the service : 
 
 Mk. P]ditor: May I ask for a little space in your paper to set my friends 
 right in regard to my severing my connection with the Railway Mail Service,- 
 I am receiving very many congratulations on my retirement, supposing I have 
 done so with a pension, but such is not the case. I should feel much better 
 were it true. 
 
 The facts are that the Post Office Department is reorganizing the mail service, 
 much to the detriment of the service, and much more so to tlie postal clerks. 
 The department seems bound to force these changes, law or no law. The 
 second assistant postmaster, under whom comes the railway mail, seems to 
 have no consideration for the old clerks — and none others so far as that goes — 
 so they are curtailing the service to a great extent. 
 
 The short runs ( one man ) are being taken off almost entirely, going back to 
 close-pouch service of 40 years ago. Much of this service is placed on the 
 large railway post offices, and they are reduced from four crews to three, which 
 increases the running time of these clerks 50 per cent, which of itself is a 
 reduction in salary of $150, if not considerably more, on account of expense 
 in being away from home 50 per cent more time. Then, in addition to that, a 
 cut of fflOO on each clerk's salary, and tbls in these times of high cost of every- 
 thing, and when most everyone is asking, in fact is receiving, an advance 
 in wages rather than a cut. 
 
 As I was the oldest clerk, as well as the oldest man on the Boston & Albany 
 railway post office, the assignment given or offered me was one of tbe worst to 
 be handed out under these conditions, which were that I had got to run six days 
 on and only three days off, not being able to reach home during the six days on 
 duty, and run on night trains at that. Thus I concluded I had been a slave 
 long enough, as I desired, if permitted, to live a few years longer, to enjoy 
 my home, witli family and friends, and not be subject to the dictates of a 
 Kaiser, in what we call free America, and for which I gave three of the best 
 years of my life. 
 
OIVIL SEEYtOE BETIEEMENT. 33 
 
 I was the last Civil War veteran left on tlie Boston & Albany, and with over 37 
 years in the mall service, I feel I have faithfully served Uncle Sam over 40 
 years, and thereby done my little bit, trusting I have so conducted myself to at 
 least gain the respect of my fellow citizens, so many of whom I count my 
 friends. 
 
 I thank them for their congratulations, and wish my services in the Railway 
 Mail Service could have deserved better treatment. 
 
 Thomas J. Ames. 
 
 Leominstek, November 5, 1917. 
 
 It is astonishing to learn that the English Government took up 
 the matter of a civil-service pension by appointing a board of in- 
 vestigation as long ago as 1786 and had a pension act in 1810, and the 
 Parliament of New Zealand, according to a statement I read, I 
 believe, was established in 1856, and almost the first act that they 
 considered was the passage of a civil-service retirement bill; and, 
 on the findings of a commission appointed at that time, a general 
 pension bill was passed in New Zealand in 1858. In the English 
 postal service they have, at the present time, a postal act which is 
 amplified and made general under an act of 1909, which retires a 
 man at about 50 per cent of his salary and a bonus in addition, and 
 it is a noncontributory pension. 
 
 The stand of the organization which I represent has always been 
 against a noncontributory pension for several reasons, and one of 
 them is this: The experience of civil-service employees — pensioned 
 in other countries long enough to be able to see the real effect of that 
 sort of thing — is that the tendency is to assume that the pension is 
 given in lieu of wages and that all that is necessary is to give them 
 any sort of a living wage, because they have this pension, which 
 costs them nothing, and it is considered by them to be a very severe 
 drag on the already great handicaps that they are under in keeping 
 pace with men outside of the civil service ; and, another thing — which 
 IS obvious to any man who takes at all a sympathetic viewpoint to- 
 ward the civil-service employee — is this : 
 
 Being, as I have said, under a great handicap in fighting the 
 battle for better conditions and keeping pace with the constantly 
 improving conditions of other people, the fact that they have 
 a pension and that they put in a certain number of years in the 
 service and have an equity in that pension, operates against aggres- 
 siveness, so it would really produce a state of mind which would 
 make a man prone to accept almost anything he found in the 
 service rather than endanger his discharge and the loss of that pen- 
 sion. This danger is removed by some form of contributory pen- 
 sion; and, inasmuch as the civil-service men have been able for the 
 first time to unite on this McKellar-Keating bill as a 50-50 proposi- 
 tion, we are perfectly willing to indorse it for that reason, because 
 we are thoroughly cognizant of the fact that the crying need for 
 civil-service retirement is growing every year. It is not only recog- 
 nized now, but it has been recognized for a long period in the past, so 
 much so that a great many officials of the Post Office Department, 
 have recommended pensions ; and, in this connection, I would like to 
 insert in the record a few statements, collected by Representative 
 Tague in connection with some testimony which he gave previously 
 on the subject of retirement, in which the recommendations of the 
 various post-office officials are given : 
 
 79180—18 3 
 
34 CIVIL SEEVICE EEHEBMENT. 
 
 The Postmaster General's report for 1909 states : 
 
 KETIEEMENT OF SUPERANN DATED EMPLOTEES. 
 
 In recent years the subject of making provision for tlie retirement of super- 
 annuated employees in the civil service has received much consideration. It is 
 believed that the interests of the employees and of the Government alike de- 
 mand legislation to this end. 
 
 The work of the Postal Service, like that of every great business institution, 
 public or private, requires special training. Years of experience are necessary 
 for the attainment of a high degree of proficiency in the discharge of the duties 
 devolving on postal employees. The department's policy is, therefore, to recruit 
 its force from young men and to retain them until such time as their usefulness 
 is impaired by advancing age. 
 
 In view of the increased cost of living the salaries paid are barely sufficient to 
 enable the employees to meet current needs, and the opportunity to make pro- 
 vision for old age is small. These conditions suggest the adoption of measures 
 that will insure Government employees against want after they pass the period 
 of active service. Private business establishments in this' and foreign countries 
 find that such a course brings practical returns in the increased loyalty and zeal 
 of employees. 
 
 Experience has shown that in default of such provision administrative officers 
 hesitate to recommend the dismissal or the reduction in salary of superan- 
 nuated employees who have spent their lives in the Government service. The 
 drain on the national finances by their retention at full pay after they have be- 
 come incapacitated for efficient service is far greater than would be the cost of 
 a reasonable system of civil pensions. 
 
 The First Assistant Postmaster General for the same year, in his 
 report, states: 
 
 A KETIEEMENT FUND FOE SUPERANNUATED EMPtOYBES. 
 
 The question of retiring superannuated employees on a pension has confronted 
 the executive departments and has been discussed in Congress for many years. 
 The present law prohibits the maintenance of a civil pension list and makes it the 
 duty of executive officers to drop from the rolls all employees who are perma- 
 nently incapacitated for performing service. This law, however, is most diffi- 
 cut of enforcement, and it is undoubtedly a fact that there are many employees 
 in the Postal Service who should be retired on account of age and physical in- 
 firmities. Many of these men have spent their lives in the service. On account 
 of the long hours and exacting nature of their duties they have not been able 
 to add to their meager savings by outside employment nor to lay up a compe- 
 tence for old age. To remove them from the service for incompetency when 
 their period of active usefulness has passed is in contravention of the spirit of 
 our institutions. Good administration and humanity alike demand that some 
 provision be made to care for these veterans of the service when overtaken by 
 old age or disability. 
 
 The First Assistant Postmaster General, in his report for 1910, 
 
 says: 
 
 PENSIONS FOE SUPERANNUATED EMPLOYEES. 
 
 Nearly every country of importance makes some provision for pensioning its 
 civil employees when they are overtaken by old age, and many of the large cor- 
 porations in this country have devised a similar plan for the retirement of their 
 aged employees. From the standpoint of economy alone it would seem that this 
 Government .should do likewise. In the Postal Service, on account of the long 
 hours, the small salaries, and the exacting nature of the duties performed, the 
 employees rarely are able to lay up a competence for old age. It is hoped, there- 
 fore, that Congress will take action looking to the retirement in some suitable 
 manner of its superannuated employees. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 35 
 
 The Postmaster General, in his report for 1911, says: 
 
 PFNSIONS FOE SXJPEKANNUATED EMPLOYEES. 
 
 Almost without exception foreign nations provide for the pensioning of civil- 
 service employees when they become superannuated. Large corporations in this 
 country are rapidly adopting the same prinlcple in the retirement of their aged 
 employees. On business grounds, if for no other reason, the Government should 
 do likewise. 
 
 While the compensation of postal employees has been considerably increased 
 during the last few years, it is hardly more than sufficient to meet necessary 
 living expenses, and consequently does not permit the putting aside of any con- 
 siderable savings against old age. It is believed that a civil pension bill based 
 on length of employment should be granted by the Government. Benefits to 
 the service far outweighing the expense of such pensions would undoubtedly 
 result. 
 
 The First Assistant Postmaster General, in his report for the same 
 year, says: 
 
 PENSIONS FOR STJPEKANNUATED EMPLOYEES. 
 
 Nearly every country of Importance makes some provision for pensioning its 
 civil employees when they. are overtaken by old age, and many of the large cor- 
 porations in this country have devised a similar plan for the retirement of their 
 aged employees. From the standpoint of economy alone it would seem that this 
 Government should do likewise. In the Postal Service, on account of the long 
 hours, the small salaries, and the exacting nature of the duties performed, the 
 employees rarely are able to lay up a competence for old age. 
 
 At post offices of the first class the employees number about 50,000, and less- 
 than 1,200 of this number have reached the age of 65 or more, many of whom 
 are in nowise superannuated. It is believed, therefore, that less than 2 per 
 cent of the employees of classified post oflices would be retired under a pension 
 system. 
 
 In the Post Office Service a large sum of money accrues annually from the 
 lapsed salaries of employees absent without pay where no substitute is employed 
 or where the substitute receives less than the salary of the absent clerk or 
 carrier and also on accovmt of failure to fill vacancies immediately or where 
 the force is reduced temporarily during the dull season when vacancies occur. 
 The employees themselves, In a measure, contribute to this fund, since the ab- 
 sence of regular employees throws additional burdens on those remaining on 
 duty. This fund is more than sufficient to cover the cost of pensions for the 
 superannuated employees among the 60,000 clerks and carriers at first and second 
 class post offices. There is another source of revenue that might properly be 
 used to constitute a pension fund, and that is the money turned into the Treas- 
 ury each year from money orders issued and never presented for payment. 
 
 The Postmaster General, in his report for 1912, says: 
 
 PENSIONS FOE SUPEEANNUATED EMPLOYEES. 
 
 Civil pensions, based on length of service, should be granted to postal em- 
 ployees when they become superannuated. It is likely that the expense of such 
 a system would be more than offset by gains in efficiency. Although the com- 
 pensation of postal employees has been considerably increased during the last 
 few years, it is still insufliclent to permit adequate savings against old age. 
 Foreign nations pension their aged employees as do also many corporations, 
 and on business grounds, if for no other reason, the Government should do 
 likewise. 
 
 The First Assistant Postmaster General, in his report for 1912, says : 
 
 IN.JUEED AND RTIPEEANNt'ATED EMPLOYEES. 
 
 In the Postal Service the employees rarely are able to accumulate savings, 
 and the injury of an employee in the line of duty, necessitating his absence 
 without pay or resulting in death, is a serious hardship to his family. The 
 
36 CIVIL SEBVIOE BEiriREMENT. 
 
 Government should take the lead in dealing fairly with employees who are in- 
 jured while in the performance of duty and those who, when burdened with 
 years and worn with faithful service, are forced to relinquish their positions 
 because no longer able to work. 
 
 The First Assistant Postmaster General, in his report for 1914, says : 
 
 SUPERANNUATION. 
 
 It is said that the loss sustained by the Government on account of super- 
 annuation aggregates many millions annually. A careful canvass of first and 
 second class post offices seems to indicate that this loss is probably less propor- 
 tionately in the Postal Service than elewhere. Alertness, dexterity, quickness 
 of hand and eye, and other qualities of youth are peculiarly required for the 
 performance of post-office work and tend of themselves to assist in reducing 
 superannuation in the service. However, superannuation is an important prob- 
 lem in properly reorganizing the Post Office Service, and the increasing volume 
 of parcel-post traffic accentuates the need for an early and definite solution. ~ 
 
 Some postmasters refrain for humanitarian reasons from recommending de- 
 motions and removals in accordance with the declining efficiency of employees. 
 The result to some extent is that tenure of office in the Government service 
 does not now depend on the law nor on the uniform needs of the service, but 
 upon the varying temperaments of the postmasters and their varying concep- 
 tions of their public duty. This condition is wrong and works injustice to the 
 employees and loss to the Government. 
 
 The First Assistant Postmaster General, on March 1, 1915, in a 
 communication to Senator Bankhead, which was printed in the Con- 
 gressional Record of March 4, said that — 
 
 Superannuation, however, remains a pressing and urgent problem, and a 
 practical plan for dealing with it efEectually should be accepted and advocated. 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, there is just one thing more and that is this: 
 The occupation of a post-office clerk is, of course, mainly that of dis- 
 tributing the mail. The public never sees this man. They know very 
 little about his conditions, and consequently they draw the impres- 
 sion of the post-office clerk from his title, which is one of the most 
 misleading titles ever given to a group of men. Post-office clerks 
 are not clerks. They are distributors of the mail ; and, as such, fol- 
 low a very arduous occupation, one in which most of them work 
 nights, and work under insanitary conditions; many of them work 
 in ill-lighted basements, and in basements so poorly constructed for 
 the purpose that they Avork under artificial light even during the 
 daylight hours, and the health statistics of the Post Office Depart- 
 ment prove that it is a wearing occupation. It is one which is 
 detrimental to health and detrimental to long life and long efficiency. 
 The claims that are made by the railway mail clerk in regard to 
 the hazards of his occupation are met by the extra-health hazards 
 under which the post-office clerk labors, and a handicap to which 
 the letter carrier to a certain extent is free from, so that the claims 
 of the post-office clerk for consideration owing to the peculiarities of 
 his occupation are, I think, at least on an equal footing whith those 
 of the other branches of the service, and he should receive equal 
 consideration when the question of a pension is brought up. 
 
 Here is a short table of statistics, with a few comments made by 
 the secretary of the sick-benefit fund which is maintained by the 
 clerks' union in Chicago, in which they make reference to the rapidly 
 increasing number of claims owing to disability on account of sick- 
 ness ; and, particularly, to those arising from tuberculosis owing of 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIBEMENT. 
 
 37 
 
 course, directly to insanitary surroundings; and, as the end of my 
 testimony, I would like to have that in the record also as it is 
 very short. 
 ' I thank you very much. 
 
 State of Health in Chicago I'ost Office. 
 
 Although the Chicago Federal Building from an architectural viewpoint is 
 an imposing and attractive edifice, its interior arrangement is mute evidence 
 ot the tact that the Chicago post office incidentally was allotted some space as 
 1 ^ , r^'® squeezed between the more spacious apartments which accom- 
 modated the Federal courts, the customhouse, the internal revenue office, etc 
 Therefore, the inadequate space and consequent congestion and poor ventilation 
 are one of the well-founded reasons for the proportionatelv large numbers ot" 
 clerks on the daily sick list. That such is the case can be substantiated by 
 the numerous claims for benefits in the sick benefit brancli of the Chicago 
 Post Office Clerks' Union. 
 
 OVERTIME. 
 
 Another very potent reason for a big sick list is the excessive number of 
 hours the average clerk is compelled to toil almost throughout the year. That 
 such conditions are harmful not only to the employee, but to the institution he 
 serves as well, is really self-evident, as the employee on account of the imposi- 
 tion on mind and body can not invest the vim and vigor, either mentally or 
 physically, to do justice to the task assigned to him. 
 
 SICK BENEFIT CLAIMS. 
 
 In the swiftly moving and ever changeable panorama of life few occurrence.^ 
 and conditions are more pathetic than the sight of a stricken head of a familv 
 who has no other means but his employment \^dlich illness forbids him to follow, 
 to provide for those dependent upon him. The Chicago Sick Benefit Branch 
 offered the much needed relief. In recent years, however, when claims for 
 sick benefits increased at an alarming rate on account of the numerous cases 
 of fatigue due to overwork and a very noticeable increase of tubercular dis- 
 eases the dire need of a sanitarium, as proposed, became more and more ap- 
 parent. 
 
 Summary. 
 
 1916 
 
 Cases. 
 
 1916 
 
 January.. . 
 February. 
 
 March 
 
 April 
 
 May 
 
 June 
 
 July 
 
 August 
 
 September 
 
 $477.00 
 771.00 
 879. 00 
 780. 00 
 660. 00 
 410. 82 
 306. 92 
 408. 66 
 376. 74 
 
 S369. 00 
 540.00 
 674. 00 
 382. 00 
 510. 00 
 305. 00 
 .■515. 00 
 342. 00 
 388. 00 
 
 20 
 29 
 31 
 19 
 23 
 16 
 28 
 16 
 17 
 
 Mr. Alcoen. Mr. 
 Jordan. 
 
 Chairman, we Avould like now to hear from Dr. 
 
 STATEMENT OF DR. LLEWELLYN JORDAN, CHIEF SECTION OF 
 SURETY BONDS, TREASURY DEPARTMENT, REPRESENTING THE 
 UNITED STATES CIVIL-SERVICE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. Mr. Chairman, I do not know that I should take your 
 time or trespass upon the good nature of those present here to make 
 any extended argument in addition to what I have previou.sly stated 
 
38 CIVIL SERVICE KETIEBMENT. 
 
 on SO many occasions in the interest of retirement legislation. It is 
 unnecessary to argue as to the urgency of this meritorious legislation. 
 It may be enlightening, however, to state that the endeavor to secure 
 this legislation at the hands of Congress has been a source o± con- 
 stant agitation on the part of the employees, m the main, supple- 
 mented by recommendations of department heads, bureau chiets, and 
 other supervisory emplovees of this Government for aJDOut 20 years. 
 During the progress of" the efforts to secure this legislation about 
 every known variety of retirement bill has been produced and intro- 
 duced, either in the Senate or in the House. , . , , . „ 
 
 We have had numerous hearings, but, with the single exception ot 
 a bill which was reported by the Committee on Eeform m the Civil 
 Service of the House about 16 years ago by Congressman Giilett, at 
 that time the chairman of that committee, we have never had any 
 direct report from any committee of Congress on this proposed re- 
 tirement legislation. The chief obstacle in the past to securing a 
 report, with the exception noted, has been due to the fact that the 
 employees have been seriously divided amongst themselves upon 
 essential details and the form in which this legislation should be 
 proposed to Congress. . 
 
 I want to address myself briefly to the two distinct points of view 
 of the advocates of the retirement plans in order that this prelimi- 
 nary hearing may as cogently and as clearly as possible present those 
 points of view for the benefit of your committee. The first point 
 of view, and the one which is the most appealing, and, I might say, 
 the most popular one, is predicated upon the idea that the Govern- 
 ment of the United States should, in recognition of fidelity and long 
 service, reward the employees by granting a pension or superannua- 
 tion allowance, paid directly from the Treasury of the United States, 
 without any reference AA'hatsoever to compensation paid during the 
 ]ieriod of service. To summarize briefly a few of the objections 
 from my point of view to this proposed form of retirement legisla- 
 tion I would state, in the first place, that in every scheme govern- 
 mentally controlled, where it has been attempted to pension the 
 employee directly from the treasury of the supporting country, in- 
 variably the question of compensation or salary has entered at some 
 stage into the computation of the pension itself. One of the wit- 
 nesses referred to the pension granted by the English Government, 
 rnd in that connection it may be stated that the English Government 
 in its endeavor to solve the question of superannuation in a much 
 smaller civil service than we have, after experimenting for a number 
 of years with different forms, in 1859 established what was then 
 Jinown as a straight civil pension plan, which contemplated that the 
 pension to be paid to the superannuated employee would be a direct 
 charge upon the exchequer or treasury of the nation. 
 
 Within 15 years after the enactment of that law an ag'itation arose 
 amongst the employees, which was brought about in its initial stages 
 by the postal employees of Great Britain, in which the view was 
 taken that this pension, supposed to be an outright gift, gratuity, or 
 reward for faithful and long service, was, in fact, operating to keep 
 down the wage scale of those who came within the scope of the pen- 
 sionable class of employees. As a result of this agitation, with a 
 civil service at that time numbering about 125,000 employees, an 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 39 
 
 organization came into being which was known as the Deferred 
 Pay Organization. The name " Deferred Pay " was selected to 
 designate the organization because it was conclusively shown, as I 
 have intimated, that this so-called pension, when granted, took into 
 consideration compensation paid during period of service. To my 
 mind that constitutes a vital objection to any plan where the em- 
 ployee to be benefited does not participate by making a direct con- 
 tribution to the fund and where he can have, as he has a right under 
 that condition, to participate in the administration of the fund 
 and the law applicable thereto. If eveiy man and woman working 
 for the Government were adequately compensated, so as to maintain 
 the individual in reasonable comfort and so as to enable him or her 
 to achieve that standard of American living to which we all aspire, 
 we might reasonably hope that the employees, as a matter of pru- 
 dence and foresight, would accumulate something against old age 
 or decreased earning capacity; but human nature being what it is, 
 it is rare that those who work regularly for wages make provision 
 against old-age dependency. 
 
 But independent of that we recognize that the wage scale as paid 
 is totally inadequate, and that, I might emphasize, is one of the 
 crying needs of the service to-day in those branches where no attempt 
 has been made to reclassify or to provide compensation somewhat 
 near what it should be along the lines of adequacy. So that the first 
 objection is centralized in the thought that a straight pension oper- 
 ates to keep down the wage scale, and every employee who has his 
 or her best interests at heart should, in my judgment, espouse that 
 form of retirement legislation which makes for better wages. 
 
 The next thought and objection is that with a straight civil pen- 
 sion it has the invariable effect of tying the man so completely to 
 his position that under any sort of autocratic administration on the 
 part of overbearing supervisory officials he has but limited oppor- 
 tunity to resent such treatment or to improve his working condi- 
 tions. In my opinion, it strikes at his very manhood and freedom 
 as an American citizen. To return, Avith the agitation that came 
 about within 15 years after the enactment of this so-called straight 
 pension system of Great Britain and after the subject had received 
 the serious consideration of royal commissions appointed by Parlia- 
 ment, it was finally conceded that there was not only merit in the 
 statement of these gentlemen, who said that they were suffering in 
 the way of reduced pay because of this so-called pension grant, but 
 it was admitted that a grave injustice was being done these people, 
 and the Parliament of that country in September, 1909, radically 
 changed the law so that essentially the system which is operatmg 
 to-day in Great Britain is fundamentally a contributory system, 
 where the employee receives a portion of what he otherwise would 
 have contributed in the way of a commuted pension if he retires 
 from the service or if he dies before reaching the age of retirement. 
 
 The third objection to a straight pension is— and that is confirmed 
 by statistics in the English Government— that only one person out 
 of seven actually receives the benefit. Now, if it is admitted that 
 the pension takes into consideration salary or compensation, and if 
 it be further conceded that the salary or compensation is less by 
 reason of the pension grant, if these statistics mean anything, they 
 
40 CIVIL SERVICE REHBEMENT. 
 
 mean that six out of seven people have worked through their period 
 of earning capacity at a lesser wage than they would otherwise have 
 received, and through death, before reaching the age of retirement, 
 have suffered the loss of a pension and their families deprived of the 
 benefit of greater wages. 
 
 Now, turning to the other point of view, where the employee con- 
 tributes, that is predicated, Mr. Chairnian, upon the idea that the 
 employee shall be adequately compensated. That is ideal, but, as 
 a matter of fact, Ave know it is not so. However, for the purpose 
 of this discussion, it is predicated upon the idea that the employee is 
 adequately compensated. Now, when an employee enters the Gov- 
 ernment service he establishes, by virtue of the acceptance of his 
 appointment, a contractual relation between himself and the Gov- 
 ernment as his employer, and it is my view that in any scheme of 
 retirement both partiese to that contract should contribute, and why ? 
 Because in the case of the contribution of the employee he knows 
 from day to day and from year to year what his contribution is; he 
 knows if the bill provides that it shall bear a certain rate of interest 
 compounded annually ; he knows and he realizes that if he does not 
 reach the age of retirement and drops by the wayside through death 
 before reaching that age that his contributions, with interest added 
 and compoimded are absolutely his property, so that they are not a 
 loss to him; they are not a forfeiture to his family and represent 
 something that he can rely upon at any event and in all events. Be- 
 sides, a study of pension schemes applicable to school-teachers, to 
 firemen and to other municipal employees in this country has demon- 
 strated that in those schemes which are solely controlled and sup- 
 ported by municipalities or by State governments, where the em- 
 ployees do not contribute, that they have not given satisfaction ; they 
 have not produced the content that schemes predicated upon the idea 
 of compelling, if you please, the employee to contribute in part to- 
 ward his own pension or annuity have. 
 
 So we present ourselves to-day before you united upon this funda- 
 mental proposition, that the Government should bear its proportion- 
 ate share of the expense of creating the annuities, retirements, or 
 superannuated allowances, and that the employees shall bear their 
 proportionate share of the expense, limited under the terms of this 
 bill, however, to a contribution not to exceed 2^ per cent of what we 
 are pleased to call the basic salary of the employees. We adopted 
 the word "basic" because we did not want our bonus, that Congress 
 has seen fit to give us, touched to the extent of creating our retire- 
 ment or annuity provision. My hope, Mr. Chairman, is that when 
 we present you with a few details, as we will when the actuary 
 arrives, and incorporate in these hearings a bill which attempts to 
 smooth out and even up the inequalitiese in the present bill under 
 consideration, that we can demonstrate, as closely as figures can con- 
 vince, that the enactment of this legislation will not only prove a 
 great boon to the civil service by increasing the efficiency of the per- 
 sonnel, but that it will be a real economy to the Government. It has 
 been stated, and truthfully, as far as statistics show, that the Govern- 
 ment, as early as 1902, more than 16 years ago, was suffering not only 
 from inefficiency but suffering economically and financially to the 
 extent of two and a half million dollars annually because of the exist- 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 41 
 
 ent superannuation at that time. If those statistics and figures were 
 reliable then — and no one has dared to dispute them since — it may 
 be conceded that the cost is mounting, and that it will continue to 
 increase. 
 
 One of the speakers referred to the fact that every country, with 
 the possible exception of the United States, that deserves to be men- 
 tioned as a country, has made provision for its superannuated civil- 
 service workers. That is a fact, and it is a lamentable reflection to 
 realize as American citizens that in this day and hour our country, 
 the great leader of countries, should find itself in the nondescript 
 company of the black African Republic of Haiti and one of the 
 South American countries, Venezuela, in the matter of providing for 
 its civil-service workers. I believe that this Congress, if this matter 
 can be expedited by your honorable committee, is ready to pass upon 
 this question. The Democratic Party, with which I have the honor 
 to be affiliated, has pledged the country that it will see that legisla- 
 tion of this kind is enacted. 
 
 I do not know the attitude of our President, except as I have read 
 his public utterances, but I do know this fact, that when the Demo- 
 cratic platform of 1916 was in the making our present Secretary of 
 "War, to whom was intrusted the duty by the President of incor- 
 porating features and planks into that platform, made the very 
 positive statement that the platform should contain a plank upon this 
 subject. As a Democrat and as a believer in the civil service, and as 
 a part of the civil service, I hope I will live to see that platform 
 pledge redeemed, and I hope that this Congress will redeem it. 
 
 In conclusion, Mr. Chairman, I wish to incorporate as a part of 
 my statement a memorandum which I submitted at a previous hear- 
 ing held before the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment, 
 in the Senate, during July and August, 1917. I wish to especially 
 invite the attention of j^our committee to that portion of the memo- 
 randum which refers to a report made by the Carnegie Foundation 
 for the Advancement of Teaching, which was published in October, 
 1916.' 
 
 I thank you for your attention. 
 
 [Extract from statement made before Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment.] 
 
 Statement of Dr. Llewellyn .Iokdan, Chief of the Bonding Division, 
 
 Treasury Department. 
 
 Dr. Jordan. I want to, conclude my statement, Mr. Chairman, members of the 
 committee, and ladies and gentlemen. There are quite a number present here 
 who wish to be heard, and to me it is particularly gratifying that we have with 
 us so many representative officials of the Government who will tell this com- 
 mittee of the absolute necessity in an administrative way for the retirement 
 legislation. In concluding my remarks, Mr. Chairman, I simply want to empha- 
 size what I stated at the last hearing— that in any fair and equitable way of 
 dealing with this subject, the committee must take into consideration in the 
 question of cost how that cost shall be distributed. It is my view, as I at- 
 tempted to state at the last hearing, that the cost of this retirement should be 
 equally distributed between the Government and its employees. Of course, in 
 making that statement it will be understood that for those employees who have 
 reached the age of retirement as fixed by any legislation proposed, that the Con- 
 gress will have to provide the money directly from the Treasury to take care 
 . of these superannuates. 
 
 I also want to emphasize this point, which I believe is well worth while con- 
 sidering, and that is, that in any scheme of compulsory contribution on the part 
 of the employees, those employees who are in the service at the time the law 
 
42 ■ CIVIL SERVICE EBTIBEMENT. 
 
 becomes effective should be permitted to exercise an option as to wliether or not 
 they will come under the provisions of that act within a reasonable period of 
 time allowed for the exercise of that option. I make that statement because in 
 the light of the experience of the Canadian Government when they attempted to 
 pass from the straight civil-service pension proposition where the Government 
 paid the entire cost to the partially contributory scheme they were confronted 
 with the difficulty of imposing upon these people who were in the earlier ages 
 in the service the provisions of that compulsory savings act. Therefore, in my 
 judgment, in any plan that contemplates compulsory contributions on the part 
 of the employees, there should be an optional feature in the bill allowing them 
 to exercise the option within a reasonable period. 
 
 There has just come from the public press a report made by the Carnegie 
 Foundation, to which reference was made by one of the speakers at our last 
 hearing, and I would like to read into the record a brief excerpt from it which 
 summarizes the conclusions of the Carnegie Foundation as to the underlying 
 principles in any equitable and economically sound retirement plan. I will 
 read it [reading] : 
 
 " The problems Involved in establishing a new pension plan are obvious. The 
 chief of these Is financial, but the cost can not be calculated without a knowl- 
 edge of the facts involved and rigid adherence to principles accepted from the 
 start. An actuarial valuation is necessary not only at tbe inauguration of a 
 new system, but periodically during its existence. Retirement should be on the 
 basis of age, not merely on a service basis, but provision should be made for 
 retirement on the ground of disability, adequately attested by physicians em- 
 ployed by the pensioning authority and periodically reinvestigated. Definite 
 rules must be laid down to govern cases of service outside the system covered 
 by the pension. Provision should be made for the return of contributions with 
 Interegt In case of resignation, dismissal, or death. But each additional benefit 
 means an increase in the amount of the annual contributions." 
 
 That is quoted from page 113 of the eleventh annual report of the president 
 and of the treasxirer of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teach- 
 ing, published in October, 1916. Then there is another report from which I 
 read a very brief extract which I wish to Incorporate in my remarks [reading] : 
 
 " The essential and outstanding fact for both the teacher and the college to 
 face is that there is no means by which a man entering the career of a 
 teacher can be assured of a pension 30 or 40 years later except under a plan 
 which sets aside each year a reserve necessary to provide a pension at the 
 age agreed upon. Neither the teacher nor the college can obtain this security 
 without participation in the cost, and only in this way can the cost of the 
 "pension be definitely related to the cost of the salary list." 
 
 That is from page 13 of Bulletin No. 9, entitled "A Comprehensive Plan of 
 Insurance and Annuities for College Teachers," by Henry S. Pritchard, presi- 
 dent oE the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, published 
 April 15, 1916. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I wish to submit also as a part of my remarks some exhibits 
 which I will hand to the stenographer. 
 
 The Chairman. A'ery well, they may be incorporated in the record. 
 
 (The exhibits referred to above are here printed in full as follows:) 
 
 lExrL.iNATiox ; Matter in italics is new ; matter In brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted.l 
 
 AN ACT To amend the Greater New York charter and to repeal sections ten hundred and 
 nmety-two-a, ten hundred and nmety-two-b, and ten hundred and ninetv-two-c thereof, 
 in relation to teachers' retirement fund. 
 
 The People of the State of New York, reprexetHed in Senate and AssemUy, do 
 enact as folloics: 
 
 Section 1. Section ten hundred and ninety-two of the Greater New York 
 charter, as re-enacted by chapter four hundred and sixty-six of the laws of 
 nineteen hundred and one, and amended by chapter five hundred and thirty 
 of the laws of nineteen hundred and two, chapter one hundred and seventy- 
 seven of the laws of nineteen hundred and three, chapter six hundred and 
 sixty-one of the laws of nineteen hundred and five, chapter one hundred and 
 sixty-seven of the laws of nineteen hundred and seven and chapter four hun- 
 dred and seventy-six of the laws of nineteen hundred and fourteen is hereby 
 amended to read as follows: ' 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 43 
 
 t 1092. The following words and phrases as used m this act, unless a different 
 meaning is plainly required iy the context , shall have the following meanings: 
 
 (1) "Retirement system," shall mean the arrangement for the payment of 
 fetirement allowances, wnder the provisions of this act. 
 
 (2) "Retirement association " shall mean the teachers' retirement associa- 
 tion provided for in subdivision B of this act. 
 
 (3) "Retirement board " shall mean the teachers' retirement board provided 
 for in subdivision C of thix act. 
 
 (4) "Medical board " shall mean the board of physicians provided for in 
 subdivision T of this act. 
 
 (5) "Board of education" shall mean the board of education of the city of 
 'Neio York. 
 
 (6) "Public school " shall mean any class, school, high school, normal school, 
 training school, vocational school, truant school, parental school, and all schools 
 or classes conducted under the order and ■itipcrintcn.de nee of the board of educa- 
 tion, and the schools or classes maintained by the department of public chari- 
 ties or by the department of correction in pursuance of the rules established 
 or to be established by the board of education, or by the commissioner of public 
 charities or by the commissioner of correction for schools or classes maintained 
 by such commissioners, respectively. 
 
 (7) "Teacher" shall mean the city superintendent of schools, the associate 
 city superintendents, the district superintendents, the director and the assistant 
 director of the division of reference and research, the director and the assistant 
 directors of the bureau of compulsory education, school census and child wel- 
 fare, the members of the board of e.i-a miners-, the directors and the assistant 
 directors of special branches, the siiperrisor and the assistant supervisors of 
 lectures, all principals, vice-principiils, assistants-to-principals. heads of depart- 
 ments, and all regular and special teachers of the public day schools of the city 
 of New York, and all employees of the board of education appointed to regular 
 positions in the service of the public schools at annual salaries and whose ap- 
 pointments were made or shall hereafter be made from eligible lists prepared as 
 the result of exami<nations held by the board of examiners of the department of 
 education. 
 
 (8) "Present-teacher " shall mean any teacher employed in the public schools 
 as a teacher on the first day of August, nineteen hundred and seventeen, or 
 on leave of absence on said date. 
 
 (9) "New-entrant" .ihall mean any teacher appointed to serve in the public 
 schools after the first day of August, nineteen hundred and seventeen. 
 
 (10) "Contributor " shall mean an/i nieniber of the retirement association. 
 
 (11) "Transferred-contributor " shall mean u contributor as defined in sub- 
 division I of this act. 
 
 (12) "Beneficiary" stiall mean any person in receipt of a petision, an an- 
 nuity, a retirement alhurance. or other benefit as prorided in this act. 
 
 (13) " Gity-serriee " shall mean iinii service as an employee of the city of 
 New York or of any department, bureau, board, or corporation created under 
 the prori-tions of the Greater Ncn- York charter or a.-< an employee of any of 
 the municipalities, counties, or parts thereof n-hirh are included ivithin the 
 bounrlarics of the city of Netv York or ivhich have been incorpovated into said 
 city. 
 
 (14) "Prior-service" shall mean all clty-scvvice and all teaching or super- 
 visory service in schools or colleges not maintained by the city of New York 
 computed to and including the sixteenth day of September, nineteen hundred 
 and seventeen, in the ease of a present-teacher and in the ease of a netc-entrant 
 to the date of his appointment as a teacher, sxibject to the limitations and re- 
 strictions imposed by subdivision H of this act. 
 
 (15) "Total-service " shall mean all prior-service together tvith ail subsequent 
 serrice as a teacher or contributor as provided in this act. 
 
 (16) "Service retirement " shall m,ean retirement as defined in .subdivision K 
 
 of this act. ^ ^ , • ,,j- ■ ■ 
 
 (17) "Disability retirement" shall maen retirement as defined m subdiviswn 
 
 L of this act. 
 
 (18) "Average .salary " shall wean the average annual salary earnable by a 
 contributor for the ten years immediately preceding retirement except that in case 
 a contributor shall retire prior to the first day of January, nineteen hundred 
 and twenty-two, average .salary shall mean the average annual salary earnble 
 by the contributor since the first day of January, nineteen hundred and twelve. 
 
44 CIVIL SEKVICE EBTIEEMENT. 
 
 (19) "Alinwnim contribution" shall mean (ft) the amount reaUxedhy Aedwt- 
 ing from the salary of a contributor three per centum of his eamaUe ^^lary; 
 or (b) such per centum thereof, if less than three per cmtum, as shall be com- 
 puted to be suffldent, mth regular interest, when paid until age «*_? *^/ff' *» 
 provide for him on retirement at that age an annuity which when added to hu 
 pension provided for in this act, irdll provide a retirement allowance of fifty per 
 centum of his average salarii. ,, „.„.,„,., 
 
 (20) -Minimimi accumulation - .ohuU mean the amount created by the acoumu- 
 lamnof the minimum contributions, together loith the ^^fular interest thereon 
 
 (21) '^Accumulated deductions" shall mean the total of the amounts deducted 
 frmn the salary of a contributor and standing to the credit of his individual a^ 
 count in the annuity savings fund, together with the regular interest thereon. 
 
 (22) "Regular interest" shall mean interest at four per centum per anmm, 
 compounded annually. . , ^ „»„•„*.•„„» 
 
 (23) " Pension " shall mean payments for life derived from appropriatiom 
 made by the city of New York and from any other sources of revenue of the 
 pension reserve funds as provided in this act. . , ^ ^ -, *• 
 
 (24) "Annuity shall mean payments for life derived from contributions 
 made by acontributor as provided in this act. 
 
 (25) "Retirement allowance" shall mean the pension, plus the anrimty. _ 
 C^B) "Pension reserve" shall mean the present value computed on the basis 
 
 of such mm-tality tables as sjiall be adopted by the retirement board, icith regu- 
 lar interest, of .the future payments to be made on account, of any pension 
 granted under the provisions of this act. ., ^ ■ 
 
 (27) "Annuity reserve" shall mean the present value computed on the basis 
 of such mortality tables as shall be adopted by the retirement board, mth regu- 
 lar interest, of the future payments to he made on account of any annuity or 
 benefit granted and based on the accumulated deductions of the contributor. 
 
 (28) "Expense fund" shall mean the fund provided for m paragraph num- 
 bered one in subdivision F of this act. 
 
 (29) "Contingent reserve fund" shall mean the fund provided for in para- 
 graph numbered two in subdivision P of this act. 
 
 (30) "Pension reserve fund number one" shall mean the fund provided for 
 in paragraph humbered three in subdivision F of this act. 
 
 (31) " Pension reserve fund numbered two " shall mean the fund provided for 
 in pargraph numbered four in subdivision P of this act. 
 
 (32) "Annuity savings fund." shall mean the fund provided for im, pargraph 
 numbered five in siibdivi.sion F of this act. 
 
 (33) " Amvuity reserve fund " shall mean the fund provided for in paragraph 
 numbered six in subdivision P of this act. 
 
 (34) "Fiscal year" shall mean the year commencing vyith January first an& 
 ending loith December thirty-first next following. 
 
 A. The retirement system shall be established on the first day of August, nine- 
 teen hundred and seventeen. 
 
 B. A teachers' retirement association is hereby organized among the teach- 
 ers of the public schools; its memebership shall consist of the folloioing: 
 
 1. All teachers who have been granted or shall hereafter be granted perma- 
 nent licenses pursuant to section ten hundred and eighty-nine. 
 
 2. All teachers, loithmit a permanent license, who shall file a statement in 
 writing ivith the retirement board consenting to membership in the retirement 
 association and to the deductions for annuity purposes prescribed in this act. 
 
 3. All transferred-contributors. 
 
 C. 1. A retirement board of seven members is hereby constituted which shall . 
 consist of the folloioing: 
 
 (a) The president of the board of education. 
 
 (b) The comptroller of the city of New York. 
 
 (c) Two members appointed by the mayor of the city of New York, one of 
 whom shall be a member of the board of education; they shall serve until their 
 successors are appointed. Should the board-of-education member of the retire- 
 ment board cease to be a member of the board of education, he shall thereupon 
 cease to be a member of the retirement board. 
 
 (d) Three members of the retirement association elected from the contribu- 
 tors as follows: On the first Thursday of May. nineteen hundred and seventeen, 
 and in each year thereafter, the contributors in each public school shall meet in 
 their respective schools at three o'clock in the afternoon, or if the administrative 
 conditions in any school are such that the meeting ought to be held at some other 
 hour, then at such hour in said .school as shall be designated by the city super- 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 45 
 
 intendent of schools after consultation ivith the principal of said school; the 
 principal of the school, and in his aisence the acting principal, shall call the 
 meeting to order, and the contributors present at the meeting shall proceed to 
 elect from their number by ballot a chairman and -a secretary, and shall then 
 elect their number by ballot one delegate for each ten contributors and major 
 fraction thereof in said school; each school shall have at least one delegate. At 
 the close of the meeting the secretary thereof shall transmit to the district 
 superintendent in charge of the school the names of the delegates so elected. 
 On the second Thursday of May, nineteen hundred and sei-enteen, and in each 
 year thereafter, said delegates shall meet at three o'clock in the afternoon in 
 one of the schools in the district designated by the district superintendent ; said 
 designation shall be made and mailed by the district superintendent to each 
 delegate at least three days before the second Thursday of May. For the pur- 
 pose of attending the meeting each delegate shall leave his school not later than 
 two-thirty o'clock in the afternoon on said second Thursday of May. No dele- 
 gate shall suffer loss of pay by reason of attendance at said meeting. Said dele- 
 gates shall be called to order by the principal of the school, and in his absence 
 by the acting principal of the -school, in which the meeting is held. Ttvo-thirds 
 of the delegates elected in a district shall constitute a quorum for that district. 
 The delegates present at the meeting shall proceed to elect from their number 
 by ballot a chairman and a secretary, and shall then elect from their number by 
 ballot a representative and an alternate for said representative. Immediately 
 after the meeting, the secretary thereof shall transmit to the secretary of the 
 board of education the name of the representative and the name of the alternate 
 so elected. The representatives shall meet at three o'clock in the afternoon of 
 the third Thursday of May in each year at the hall of the board of education; 
 for the purpose of attending said meeting, the representatives shall leave their 
 respective schools at two o'clock in the afternoon on said third Thursday of 
 May. No representative shall suffer loss of pay by reason of attendance at said 
 meeting. Said meeting shall be called to order by the city superintendent of 
 schools, or, in his absence, by the acting city superintendent of schools; two- 
 thirds of the said representatives shall constitute a quorum; said rcpresenta- 
 tivefi shall elect from their mimber by ballot a chairman and a secretary, and 
 ■shall then elect by ballot a contributor to serve as a member of the retirement 
 board for three years. At the first meeting of the representatives after this act 
 takes effect, said representatives shall elect by ballot three contributors to serve 
 as members of the retirement board; the three so elected shall determine by lot 
 their terms of office as, one, two, and three years, respectively. Should a 
 vacancy occur among the members of the retirement board elected by the repre- 
 sentatives, said representatives shall meet within ten days thereafter at a spe- 
 cial meeting at the call of the president of the board of education, and they shall 
 proceed to elect by ballot a contributor to serve on said retirement board for the 
 unexpired term. The proceedings at this special meeting shall be in all respects 
 the same as the proceedings at the regular meeting held on the third TImrsday 
 of May. Should a vacancy occur among the representatives, or should any rep- 
 resentative be unable to attend any meeting, his place shall be taken at said 
 meeting by his alternate. 
 
 (e) For the purpose of voting for delegates on the first Thursday of May, 
 nineteen hundred and seventeen, all teachers shall be considered to be con- 
 
 i/I'littlUtOT'S 
 
 (f) For the purpose of voting for delegates, teachers and contributors, not 
 appointed as regular teachers to any public school, shall be considered to be 
 teachers regularly appointed to teach in such schools as the board of education 
 hy its by-laws shall prescribe. 
 
 2. The members of the retirement board shall serve as such without compen- 
 sation but shall be reimbursed from the expense fund for any necessary expendi- 
 tures and no contributor shall suffer loss of salary or wages through serving on 
 the retirement board. , 
 
 3. The retirement board shall elect from its membership a chairman, and shall 
 appoint a secretary, an actuary, and such medical, clerical and other employees 
 as may be necessary. 
 
 4. The compensation of all employees of the retirement board shall be fixed 
 hy said retirement board subject to the approval of the board of estimate and 
 apportionment. 
 
 5. Subject to the limitations of this act and of laiu, the retirement board shall 
 from time to time establish rules and regulations for the administration of the 
 funds created by this act and for the transaction of its business. 
 
46 CIVIL SEEVICE EBTIEEMENT. 
 
 6. The retirement hoard shall keep in convenient form such data as shall 6e 
 necessary for actuarial valuation of the various funds created by this act. 
 
 7. In the years nineteen hundred and nineteen and nineteen hundred and 
 twenty-two, and in every fifthyear thereafter, the actuary of the retirement board 
 shall make an actuarial investigation into the mortality and service eseperi- ^ 
 ence of the contributors and beneficiaries as defined in this act, and shall make: 
 a valuation of the various funds created by this act, and, on the basis of such 
 investigation and valuation the retirement board shall 
 
 (a) Adopt for the retirement system one or more mortality tables and such, 
 other tables as shall be deemed necessary ; 
 
 (b) Certify the rates of deduction from salary necessary to pay the annuities 
 authorized under the provisions of this act; and 
 
 (c) Certify the rates of contribution, expressed as a percentage of salary of 
 new entrants at various ages, which shall be made by the city of New York to 
 the conttmgent reserve fund. 
 
 8. Immediately after the passage of this act the actuary of the retirements 
 board shall make such investigation of the mortality, service, and salary ex- 
 perience of the teachers as the retirement board shall authorize. On the basis 
 of such investigation and upon the recommendation of the actuary the retire- 
 ment board shall adopt such tables and certify such rates as are required in sub- 
 sections a. b, and c of paragraph seven immediately preceding. On the basis 
 of such tables the actuary of the retirement board shall as soon as practicable 
 after the first day of August, nineteen hundred and seventeen, make a valuation 
 of the various funds created by this act. 
 
 9. The retirement board shall publish annually a report certified to by each 
 member showing the condition of the various funds created by this act, and 
 setting forth such other facts, recommendations, and data, as may be of use in 
 the advancement of knowledge concerning teachers' pensions and annuities;' 
 and said retirement board shall submit said report to the mayor of the city of 
 Neiv York and shall file at least fifty copies thereof with the board of education 
 for the use of said board and of its members; and at least one copy in each 
 school for the use of the teachers thereof. It shall also file one copy in the office 
 of the city superintendent of schools, and of each associate city superintendent 
 of schools, and of each district superintendent of schools. 
 
 10. Each member of the retirement board shall take an oath of office that he 
 mil, so far as it devolves upon him, diligently and honestly administer the 
 affairs of said retirement board and that he mil not knowingly violate or vM- 
 fully permit to be violated any of the provisions of law applicable to this act. 
 Such oath shall be subscribed by the member making it, and certified by the 
 officer before tohoni it is taken, and shall be immediately filed in the office of the 
 clerk of the county of Neio York. 
 
 11. The concurrence of the comptroller or of one member appovnted by the 
 mayor, of a member elected by the retirement association, and of at least two 
 other members shall be necessary for a decision of the retirement board. 
 
 12. The retirement board shall keep a record of all its proceedings open to 
 public inspection. 
 
 13. The retirement board shall perform such other functions as are required 
 for the execution of the provisions of this act. 
 
 D. For the purpose of this act, the retirement board shall possess the powers 
 and privileges of a corporation, and «s such may sue and be sued. The corpo- 
 ration counsel of the city of New York shall be the legal adviser of said retire- 
 ment board. 
 
 E. The funds created by this act shall be managed as follows: 
 
 1. The members of the retirement board shall be the trustees of the several 
 funds created by this act, and shall have exclusive control and management of 
 said funds, and shall have full poiver to invest the same, subject, however, to 
 all the terms, conditions, limitations, and restrictions imposed by this act upon 
 the making of investments and subject also to the terms, conditions, lunitations, , 
 and restrictions imposed by laio upon savings banks in the making and disposing 
 of investments by savings banks; and, subject to like terms, conditions, limita- 
 tions, and restrictions, said trustees shall hare full potver to hold, purchase, sell, 
 assign, transfer, or disiMse of any of ilic securities and investments in lohich antf 
 of the funds created by this act shall have been invested as well as of the pro- 
 ceeds of said inrcslments, and of any moneys belonging to said funds. The re- 
 tivvment board shall annually allow vcgnlar interest on each of the funds as 
 provided for in this act ivith the exception of the expense fund and pension re- 
 
CIVIL SERVICE BETIBEMENT. 47 
 
 serve fund number two. The amount so (illaioed shall he due and payable to said, 
 funds and shall he annually credited thereto hy the retirement hoard. 
 
 2. The comptroller of the city of New York shall he the custodian of the sev- 
 eral funds created hy this act. 
 
 3. Payments from the funds created by this act shall he made hy the comp- 
 troller of the city of New York upon warrant signed by the chairman and 
 countersigned hy the secretary of the retirement board; and no toarrant shall 
 he drairni except by order of the retirennent board duly entered in the record 
 of its proceedings. 
 
 ' 4. For the purpose of meeting disbursements for pensions, annuities, and other 
 payments in excess of the receipts, there may be kept an available fund, not ex- 
 ceeding ten per centum of the total amount in the several funds created hy this 
 act, on deposit in any bank in this state, organized under the laws thereof or 
 under the laws of the United States, or tvith any trust company incorporated 
 by any law of this state, provided said bank or trust company shall furnish ade- 
 quate security for said funds and provided that the sum so deposited in any one 
 hank or trust company shall not exceed tioenty-flve per centum of the paid-up 
 capital and surplus of said bank or trust company. 
 
 5. Except as herein provided no member and no employee of the retirement 
 board shal have any interest, direct or indirect, in the gains or profits of any 
 investment made by the retirement board, nor as such, directly or indirectly, re- 
 ceive any pay or emolument for his services. .^ And no member or employee of 
 said retirement board, directly or indirectly, for himself or as an agent or part- 
 ner of others, shall borrow any of its funds or deposits, or in any manner use the 
 same except to make such current and necessary payments as»are authorized 
 hy the retirement board; nor shall any member or employee of said retirement 
 hoard become an endorser or surety or become in any manner an obligor, for 
 moneys loaned hy or borrowed of said retirement board. 
 
 F. Tlie funds hereby created are the expense fund, the contingenl reserve 
 fund, pension reserve fund number one, pension reserve fund number two, the 
 annuity savings fund and the annuity reserve fund. 
 
 1. The expese fund shall consist of such amounts as shall he appropriated 
 hy the board of estimate and apportionment, on estimates submitted by the 
 retirement board, to defray the expenses of the administration of this act^ 
 exclusive of the payment of itensions, of annuities, of retirement alloivances, 
 and of the other benefits provided for in this act. 
 
 2. Beginning in the month of August, nineteen liundred and seventeen, the 
 city of NeiD York shall pay each month into a fund to be known as the contin- 
 gent reserve fund, on account of each neic-entrant who is a contributor, such 
 amount as shall he certified by the retirement board as necessary to provide 
 during the prospeclice active service of such neio-entrant fw the death benefit 
 and for the pension reserve required at the time of retirement to pay the dis- 
 ability or service pension allowable by the city under the provisions of this act. 
 The amount so certified hy the retirement board shall be computed to bear a 
 constant ratio to the salary of such new-entrant during his entire period of 
 prospective active service and shall be based on such mortality and other tables 
 as shall be adopted by the retirement board, and on regular interest. Beginning 
 in the year nineteen hundred and eighteen the city of New York shall furtlier 
 pay each year into the said contingent reserve fund one million dollars on ac- 
 count of present-teacher.'^, which payment shall continue until the present value 
 of such amount so paid into the contingent reserve fund, together with the 
 amounts restored to the contingent reserve fund from pension reserve fund 
 number one on account of prescnt-teaehers restored to active service, shall equal 
 the present value of all amounts which have been transferred from the contin- 
 aent reserve fund to pension reserve fund number one on account of present- 
 teachers plus the present value of all amounts thereafter to he transferred from 
 the contiwj&nt reserve fund to said pension reserve fund number one on account 
 of vrcseni-teachers ; said amounts shall be computed on the basis of such mor- 
 tality and othir tables as shall be adopted by the retirement board, and on 
 
 ^^T''vuon^tlw 'retirement of a new-entrant, an amount equal to his pension 
 reserve shall be transjerred from the contingent reserve fund into a fund to be 
 known as pension reserve fund number one; his pension shall be paid from 
 said pension reserve fund number one. tihould said new-entrant be subse- 
 Qucntly restored to active service his pension reserve shall thereupon be trans- 
 ferred irom uension reserve fund number one to the contingent reserve fund. 
 Upon the retirement of a present-teacticr, an amount equal to the amount of 
 
48 CIVIL SEEVIOE EETIKEMENT. 
 
 Ms accumulated deductions not exceeding the «'^««* °^„^* ,^"^*°'*J^'''.'^^^ 
 shall he transferred from the contingent reserve fund ^«:^<> f^Ttr^'^'\llZt 
 number one; a pension which shall be the actuarial ^Sf ^«'/«* o{,*^f,^7"«"* f" 
 transferred shall be paid to said retired present-teacher f^TJ^lZorH to 
 fund nMmber one. Should said present-teacher ^^ '""^'ZJ^J^tttaZf erred 
 active service the pension reserve on such pension shall thereupon be transfer ed 
 from- pension reserve fund number one to the contingent reserve .funa. 
 
 4. Pension reserve fund number two shall oonsistofthefoUomng. 
 
 (a) The balance remaining in the permanent fund «/ ^'^f.rf/;;^" f * {«'^^. 
 of the board of education of the city of New York on the thirty-first day of 
 July, nineteen hundred and seventeen. , , ^, ,,„„..j „-f ^^..nnfirm 
 
 (b) The balance remainvng in the retirement fund of "»? ^il /f^fr/lw «3 
 of the city of New York on the thirty-first day of July, nineteen hundied and. 
 
 (c) Fiie per centum of all excise moneys or license fees ^^^ongvng to the 
 city of New York, and derived or received by any <'<^^'^^'']Z^°J J/„l'Z,t 
 public officer from the granting of licenses or permission f «"X t^'Z Ir Z- 
 teen hundred and seventeen to sell strong or spirituous liquors al^,wine or be& 
 in the city of New York under the provisions of any law of this state authoriz- 
 ing the granting of such license or permission. ^Mt^^^^mt 
 
 (d) The donations, legacies, and gifts which may be made to the retirement 
 
 (e) The sums now due and ivhi^h hereafter may become due to the retirement 
 fund of the board of education of the city of New York. „„„„,•„„<. 
 
 (f) The ammmts contributed by the city of New York to pay the penswns 
 of the teachers retired on or before the thirty-first day of July, nineteen hundred 
 and seventeen, and to pay that part of the pensions and the other benefits of 
 present-teachers who shall be retired or who shall become eligible for retire- 
 ment after the thirty-first day of July, nineteen hundred amd seventeen, which 
 are not payable from any other fund created by this act. Pensions oMd other 
 benefits, or such parts thereof allowable to present-teachers and to present pen- 
 sioners, provision for the payment of which out of any other fund created by 
 this act is not specifioalli made, shall be paid out of pension reserve fund 
 number two. 
 
 5. The annuity savings fund shall consist of the accumulated deductions from 
 the salaries of contributors made, under such rules and regulations as the 
 retirement board shall prescribe, as follows: 
 
 (a) Prom the salary of each present-teacher who is a contributor there shall 
 be deducted such per centum of his earnable salary as he shall elect, provided, 
 however, that such contributor shall be limited in his choice to one of the follow- 
 ing rates: 
 
 ■ (1) Three per centum of his earnable salary. 
 
 (2) Such per centum of his earnable salary as shall be computed to be suffi- 
 cient, with regular interest, when paid until age sixty-five, to provide for him 
 on retirement at that age an annuity which, when added to his pension, pro- 
 vided for in this act, will provide a retirement allowance of fifty per centum 
 of Ms average salary. 
 
 (3) A per centum of /((*• carnabtf salary greater than three per centum thereof. 
 Should any present-teacher, on becoming a contributor, fail to make such an 
 
 election, he shall he deemed to have elected a deduction from his salary at the 
 rate of three per centum of his earnable salary. 
 
 (b) From the .salary of each neio-entrant ivho is a contributor, there shall 
 be deducted such per centum of his earnable salary as shall be computed to be 
 sufficient, with' regular interest, to procure for him on service retirement an 
 annuity equal to twenty-five per centum of his average salary; the rate per 
 centum of said deduction from salary shall be based on such mortality and 
 other tables as the retirement board shall adopt, together with regular interest, 
 and shall be compnted to remain constant during his prospective teaching 
 service prior to eliigibility for service retirement ; but no beneficiary restored to 
 duty shall be required to contribute a per centum of his earnable salary greater 
 than the per centum thereof irliich he was required to contribute prior to his 
 retirement. 
 
 (c) And the head of each department shall deduct on each and every payroll 
 of a contributor for each and every payroll period subsequent to July thirty- 
 first, nineteen hundred and seventeen, such per centum of the total amount of 
 salary earnable by the contributor in such payroll period as shall be certified 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 49 
 
 to said head of department by the retirement board as proper in accordance 
 with the provisions of thvs act. In determining the am-ount earnable by a con- 
 tributor in a payroll period the retirement board shall consider the rate of 
 salary payable to such contributor on the first day of each reyular payroll 
 period as continuing throughout such payroll period and it may omit salary 
 deductions for any period less than a full payroll period in cases where the 
 teacher was not a contributor on the first day of the regular payroll period; 
 and to facilitate the making of the deduetions it may modify the deduction 
 required of any contributor by such amount as shall not exceed one-tenth of 
 one per centum of the salary upon the basis of which the deduction is to be 
 made; the deductions provided herein shall be made notwithstanding that the 
 minimum salaries provided for by section ten hundred and ninety-one shall be 
 reduced thereby ; and said head of each department shall certify to the comp- 
 troller on each and every payroll the amounts to be deducted; and each of said 
 amounts so deducted shall be paid into said annuity savings fun,d, and shall be 
 credited together ivith regular interest to an individual account of the con- 
 tributor from whose salary the deduction was made. 
 
 6. Upon the retirement of a contributor, his accumulated deductions shall be 
 transferred from the annuity savings fund to a fund to be Icnoion as the an- 
 nuity reserve fund; his annuity shall be paid out of said annuity reserve fund. 
 Should suoh a beneficiary be restored to active .service his annuity reserve shall 
 thereupon be transferred from the annuity reserve fund to the annuity savings 
 fund. 
 
 7. No contributor shall be required to continue to contribute to the annuity 
 savings fund after he shall have become eligible for service retirement; all 
 contributions made thereafter to said fund shall be voluntary. 
 
 6. Regular interest charges payable, the creation and maintenance of re- 
 serves in the contingent reserve fund and the maintenance of annuity reserves 
 ' and pension reserves as provided for in this act and the paymet of all pen- 
 sions, annuities, retirement allowances, refunds, death benefits, and any other 
 benefits granted under the provisions of this act are hereby made obligations of 
 the city of New York. All income, interest, and dividends derived from de- 
 posits and investmsnts authorized by this act shall be used for the payment of 
 the said obligations of the city of New Yorlc. Upon the basis of each actuarial 
 determination and appraisal provided for in this act, the retirement board shall 
 prepare and submit to the board, of estimate and apportionment on or before 
 the fifteenth day of September in each year an itemized estimate of the amounts 
 necessary to be appropriated by the city to the various funds to complete the 
 payment of the said obligations of said city accruing during the ensuing fiscal 
 year. The board of estimate and apportionment and the board of alderm.en 
 shall make an appropriation which shall be sufficient to provide for such obli- 
 gations of the city of Neiv York and the amounts so appropriated shall be 
 included in the tax levy and .'shall be paid by the comptroller into the various 
 funds created by this act. 
 
 H. In computing the length of service of a contributor for retirement purposes 
 under the provisions of this act, full credit up to the nearest number of years 
 and months shall be given each contributor by the retirement board (a) for all 
 city-service; and ib) in the case of present-teachers -for all teaching or super- 
 visory service in schools and colleges not maintained by the city of Neiv York; 
 and (c) in the ease of neio-entrants for all teaching or supervisory service not 
 exceeding fifteen years, in schools and colleges not maintained by the city of 
 Neiv York. Under such rules, and regulations as the retirement board shall 
 adopt, each teacher shall file with the retirement board a detailed statement of 
 all such service rendered by him. As soon as practicable thereafter, the retire- 
 ment board shall verify such statement as to prior-service and .shall issue to each 
 teacher a certificate certifying to the aggregate length of his prior-service. Such 
 certificate shall be final and conclusive as to his prior-service unless thereafter 
 modified by (a) the retirement board upon application by the teacher; or (&) 
 hy the board of education upon application by the teacher or by the retirement 
 board, provided such application for modification be made to said board of 
 education within one year after the issuance of a certificate or a modified 
 certificate by the retirement board. A certificate for prior-service issued to a 
 present-teacher shall certify the total length of prior-service allowance for said 
 present-teacher through the sixteenth day of September, nineteen hundred and 
 seventeen. The time during which a contributor teas absent on leave of ab- 
 sence without pay shall not be counted in computing the prior-service or the 
 
 79180—18 i 
 
50 CIVIL SEKVICE EETIBEMENT. 
 
 total-service of the contrihutor, unless allowed both by the head of the depart- 
 ment in which the said contributor tvas employed at the time said leave of 
 absence was granted and by the retirement board; the tinie during which a 
 contributor tvas absent on leave of absence on full pay or part pay from city- 
 service shall be counted in computing the prior-service and the total-service of 
 said contributor. For the purpose of computing prior-service the retirement 
 board shall fix and determine by appropriate rules and regulations how much 
 service rendered on the basis of the hour, day or session, or any other than a 
 per annum basis, shall be the equivalent of a year of service. No allowance 
 shall be made for such service as a substitute teacher, night school teacher, 
 vo'cational school teacher, or for any service rendered in a position to which 
 the contributor was not regularly appointed and served on a per annum salary 
 unless such service loas city-service. But all service allowed by the board 
 of examiners of the board of education pursuant to section ten hundred and 
 ninety-one shall be allowed by the retirement board. 
 
 I. Any contributor vho resigns his position to accept ami toho, within sixty 
 days thereafter, does accept another position in the city-service shall continue 
 to be a contributor vhiJe in said cUy-sennce and shall be Imovyn as a trans- 
 ferred-contributor provided he executes and files toith the retirement board a 
 statement in writing that he elects to leave with the annuity .savings fund his 
 accumulated deductions and to continue to contribute to said fund at a rate 
 of salary deduction not less than the rate of deduction theretofore required 
 from his salary, and further provided that he shall tvaive and renounce any 
 present or prospective hcnef}.t fror,i any other retirement system or association 
 supported wholly or in part by the city of Netv York. 
 
 J. Withdraicals from the retirement association shall be by resignation, by 
 transfer, or by dismissal. 
 
 1. Should a contributor resign from the position by virtue of which he is a , 
 contributor under the provisions of ' this act, or should he. upon transferring 
 from, such a position to another position in the ciity-service, fail to become a 
 transferred-contributor as provided in subdivision I of this act, his member- 
 ship in the said retirement association shall cease and he shall be paid fortli- 
 with the full amount of the accumulated deductions standing to the credit of 
 his individual account in the annuity savings fund. 
 
 2. Should a- contributor be dismissed from the position by virtue of lehich 
 he is a contributor uuder the pi-ovi\sions of this act. his membership in the 
 retirement association shall cease and there shall be paid Mm forthwith: 
 
 (a) Out of the annuity savings fund the full amount of the accumulated 
 deductions standing to the credit of his individual account; and 
 
 (b) In addition thereto, out of pension reserve fund number two, an amount 
 equal to the contributions made by him to the teachers' retirement fund of the 
 board of education of the city of New York as it exitsted prior to the first day 
 of August, nineteen hundred severiteen. 
 
 K. Retirement for service shall be as follon-s: 
 
 1. Any contributor may retire^ for service upon written application to the 
 retirement board setting forth at what time subsequent to the execution of said 
 application he desires to be retired. Said application shall retire said con- 
 tributor at the time so specified, provided, 
 
 (a) He has reached or passed the age of sixty-five years; or 
 
 (b) If a present-teacher, he has a total-service of thirty-five years or more; or 
 
 (c) If a new-entrant, he hcs a total-service of thirty-five years or more, at 
 least twenty of which shall have been city-service. 
 
 2. Each and every contributor who has attained or shall attain the age of 
 seventy years shall be retired by the retirement board for services forthwith 
 or at the end of the school term in which said age of seventy years is attained. 
 
 L. Retirement for disability shall be made and discontinued as follows: 
 
 1. Upon the application of the head of the department in which a contributor 
 is employed, or upon the application of said contributor or of one acting in his 
 behalf, the retirement board shall retire said contributor for disability, provided 
 the medical board after a. medical examination of said contributor made at the 
 place of residence of said contributor or at a place mutually agreed upon shall 
 certify to the retirement board that said contributor is physically or mentally 
 incapacitated for the performance of duty and that said contributor ought to 
 be retired and provided further that said contributor has had ten or more years 
 of city-service. 
 
 2. Once each year, the retirement board may require any disability pensioner 
 while still under the age of sixty-five years to undergo medical examination by 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIBEMENT. 
 
 51 
 
 a physician or physicians designated by the medical hoard, said exammation 
 „J^ T ^f ^'"'^^ "^ residence of said beneficiary or other place mutually 
 
 agreed upon. Should the medical board, as the result of such examination, 
 report an^ certify to the retirement board that such disability beneficiary is no 
 longer physically or mentally incapacitated for the performance of duty, the 
 head of the department to ivhich said beneficiary was employed at the time 
 of his retirement shall, upon notification by the retirement board of such report 
 of the medical board, reappoint said beneficiary to such a position as was held 
 by and at such a rate of salary as was paid to, said beneficiary at the time of 
 his retirement; but after the expiration of ten years subsequent to the retire- 
 ment of such beneficiary, his restoration to duty, notwithstanding the recom- 
 mendation of the medical board, shall be optional toith said head of department. 
 
 3. Should any disability beneficiary while under the age of sixty-five years 
 refuse to submit to at least one medical examination in any year by a physi- 
 sian or physicians designated by the medical board, his pension shall be discon- 
 tinAied until the withdrawal of such refusal and should such refusal continue 
 for one year, all his rights in and to the pension constituted by this act shall 
 be forfeited. 
 
 4. Upon application of any beneficiary under the age of sixty-five years draw- 
 ing a pension or a retirement allowance under the provisions of this act, ap- 
 proved by the retirement board, said beneficiary may he restored to active 
 service by the head of the department in ivhich said beneficiary teas employed 
 at the time of his retirement. Upon the restoration of a beneficiary to active 
 service his retirement allowance shall cease. 
 
 M. A contributor, on retirement, shall receive a retirement allowance ivhich 
 shall consist of: 
 
 1. A pension calculated as follows: 
 
 (a) For disability retirement twenty per centum of his average salary. 
 
 (b) For service retirement, or for disability retirement after he becomes 
 eligible for service retirement, tiventy-five per centum of his average salary. 
 
 (a)' If the contributor retiring is a present-teacher, he shall receive, in addi- 
 tion to the pension prescribed in subdivisions (a) or (b) a pension computed 
 at the rate of one-thirty-fifth of tiventy-five per centum of his average salary 
 for each year of prior-service as certified to said present-teacher in the certifi- 
 cate issued to him by the retirement board under the provisions of subdivision 
 S of this act, but in no event shall the total pension exceed fifty per centum of 
 his average salary. 
 
 2. An annuity, in addition to the pension, which shall be the actuarial equiva- 
 lent of his accumulated deductions at the time of his retirement, provided that 
 i/n no case shall such annuity be less for each one hundred dollars of accumu- 
 lated deductions of a present-teacher at the time of retirement than is shown 
 in the following schedule: 
 
 Age at retirement. 
 
 A nnuity 
 in case of 
 
 men 
 teachers. 
 
 Annuity 
 in case of 
 women 
 teachers. 
 
 iS 
 
 tr.m 
 
 7. Si 
 
 7.49 
 
 7.65 
 
 7.8$ 
 
 8.00 
 
 8.19 
 
 8.39 
 
 8.61 
 
 8.84 
 
 9.09 
 
 9. SB 
 
 9.63 
 
 9.93 
 
 10.2s 
 
 10.60 
 
 10.96 
 
 ii.se 
 
 11.78 
 
 n.U 
 
 lli.7% 
 13.25 
 13.81 
 
 S6.B2 
 
 49. ;:::;::::;:::;:;:: : 
 
 6.64 
 6.77 
 
 so 
 
 SI. 
 
 6.90 
 
 SB 
 
 7.04 
 7.19 
 
 SS. 
 
 S4 
 
 7. SB 
 
 SS. 
 
 7.62 
 
 se 
 
 7.70 
 
 S7 
 
 7.89 
 
 SS 
 
 8.10 
 
 S9 
 
 8.31 
 
 go ' 
 
 8. 54 
 
 ei 
 
 8.79 
 
 Sg 
 
 9. OB 
 
 es 
 
 9.33 
 
 ei 
 
 9.63 
 
 es 
 
 9.9B 
 
 gg 
 
 10.30 
 
 gy 
 
 10.67 
 
 gS 
 
 11.06 
 
 gg 
 
 11.48 
 
 70 
 
 11.94 
 
 
 
52 CIVIL SERVICE BETIBEMENT. 
 
 N. Upon the death of a contributor before retirem,ent there shaU be paid to 
 his estate or to such person as he shall have nominated by written designation 
 duly executed arid filed with the retirement board (a) his accumulated deduc- 
 tions; and in addition thereto (b) an amount equal to the salary earnable by 
 him during the six months immediately preceding- his death, provided that at 
 the time of his death he had attained the age of sixty-five years or had a total- 
 service of thirty-five years and was eligible for service retirement; said amount 
 to be paid out of the contingent reserve fund in the case of a new-entrant, and 
 out of pension reserve fund number two in the case of a present-teacher. 
 
 0. At the time of his retirement any contributor may elect to receive his 
 benefits in a retirement allowance payable throughout life or he may on retire- 
 ment elect to receive the actuarial equivalent at that time of his armuity, his 
 pension, or his retirement allowance in a lesser annuity, or a lesser pension, or 
 a lesser retirement allowance, payable throughout life, with the provision that: 
 
 Option I. // he die before he has received in payments the present value of his 
 annuity, his pension, or his retirement allowance, as it was at the time of his 
 retirement, the balance shall be paid to his legal representatives or to such per- 
 son, having an insurable interest in his life, as he shall nominate by written 
 designation duly acknowledged and filed vnth the retirement board at the time 
 of his retirement. 
 
 Option II. Upon his death, his annuity, his pension, or his retirement allow- 
 ance, shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such persons, hav- 
 ing an insurable interest in his life, as he shall nominate by written designation 
 duly acknowledged and filed with the retirement board at the time of his retire- 
 ment. 
 
 Option III. Upon his death, one-half of his annuity, his pension, or his retire- 
 ment allowance, shall be continued throughout the life of and paid to such per- 
 son, having an insurable interest in his life, as he shall nominate by written 
 designation duly acknowledged and filed with the retirement board at the time 
 of his retirement. 
 
 Option IV. Some other benefit or benefits shall be paid either to the con- 
 tributor or to such other perso-n or persons as he shall nominate, provided 
 such other benefit or benefits together with such lesser annuity, or lesser pen- 
 sion, or lesser retirement allowance shall be certified by the actuary of the 
 retirement board to be of equivalent actuarial value and shall be approved by 
 the retirement board. 
 
 P. The pensions of all persons who are now receiving a pension paid out of 
 the teachers' retirement fund of the Uoard of education of the city of New 
 York shall not be increased or decreased, and all such pensions noiv due shall 
 be paid forthivith and those hereafter becoming due shall be paid as they be- 
 come due out of pension reserve fund number two. 
 
 Q. A pension, an annuity or a retirement allowance, granted under the provi- 
 sions of this act, shall be paid in equal monthly installments, and shall not be 
 decreased, increased, revoked or repealed except as otherwise provided in sub- 
 division L of this act. 
 
 R. Subject to such terms and conditions and to such rules and regulations as 
 the retirement board may adopt, any contributor from time to time may: 
 
 (a) Increase or decrease his rate of contribution to the annuity savings 
 fund, but in no event shall the contribtition of a present-teacher be less than the 
 minimum contribtition, nor shall the contribution of a new-entrant be at a 
 rate less than the per centum rate provided for said new-entrant in subdivision 
 F-flve-b of this act; 
 
 (b) If a present-teacher, withdraw from his individual account in the an- 
 nuity savings fund the amount in excess of his minimum accumulation; 
 
 (c) Withdraio, after having become eligible for service retirement, such part 
 of his accumulated deductions as shall be in excess of the ainount necessary 
 to procure for him an annuity which, if added to his prospective pension, will 
 yield a retirement allowance of fifty per centum of his average salary; 
 
 (d) Borrow from the retirement board, if a present-teacher and if the appli- 
 cation is made prior to July first, nineteen hundred and twenty, on a policy of 
 life insurance, a sum of money not exceeding the loan value of said policy as 
 set forth in the body thereof, and at a rate of interest not exceeding five per 
 centum per annum, provided that: 
 
 1. The applicant has a policy of life insurance in which he is designated as 
 the assured and said policy is issued by a life insurance company permitted to 
 transact business in the State of New York, and said policy is free from any 
 
CIVIL SEKVICE RETIREMENT. 53 
 
 liens or claims and is in full force and effect at the time of the making of the 
 loan. 
 
 2. The applicant on securing the loan shall deposit said life insurance policy 
 with the retirement hoard accompanied with an assignment of said policy to 
 the retirement board; said assignment shall ?;e executed by the applicant and 
 by all adult beneficiaries nam,ed in said policy. Should any of the beneficiaries 
 named in said policy be infants, said retirement board shall not grant the loan 
 until after it has made a careful investigation into the merits thereof and an 
 order has been made ana entered by the supreme court directing such loan 
 after due notice to such insurance com/pany. If, thereafter, the retirement 
 board shall grant the loan, its action shall be binding on said infant bene- 
 ficiaries with the same force and effect as if they were adult beneficaries and 
 had executed the assignment required herein. 
 
 3. After said policy has been assigned to and deposited with the retirement 
 board for the purposes herein stated, said policy shall not be assigned, trans- 
 ferred, or disposed of, or changed in any of its terms mthout the written con- 
 sent of the retirement board. 
 
 4. The retirement board shall notify the life insurance company carrying said 
 policy of the assignment thereof and said assignm,ent shall be binding on said 
 company. 
 
 (e) // a present-teacher, retire upon ivritten application to the retirement 
 board after he has completed thirty years of service upon a retirement alloiv- 
 ance consistimg of 
 
 (1) An annuity which shall be the actuarial equivalent of his accumulated 
 deductions; and, in addition th.ereto, 
 
 (2) Such pension as shall be certified by the actuary of the retirement board 
 to have an actuarial value equivalent to the reserve which would be in the 
 contingent reserve fund Imd the city contributed on account of such present- 
 teacher from the date of Ms entrance itnto service, in such manner as is pro- 
 vided for the city's contributions on behalf of new-entrants in subdivision P, 
 paragraph two, of this act, the amount determined by the actuary of the 
 retirement board to be necessary to provide for the death benefit and for the 
 pension reserve required at the time of retirement to pay the pension allowable 
 by the city as provided in this act. In determining the amount of the reserve 
 the actuary of the retirement board shall base his calculations on the tables then 
 in use as the basis for determining the rates of contribiMon required of the 
 city on account of new-entrants. 
 
 S. Teachers hereafter appointed in the schools or classes maintained in the 
 institutions controlled by the department of public charities or by the depart- 
 ment of correction, shall be appointed by the commissioner of the appropriate 
 department upon the nomination of the city superintendent of schools and shall 
 be licensed by the board of examiners of the department of education. The 
 department of education through such representatives as it may designate shall 
 maintain an effective -visitation and inspection of all such schools and classes. 
 
 T. TAere shall be a medical board of three physicians constituted as folloivs: 
 
 (a) One physician appointed to serve to August first, nineteen hundred and 
 twenty-ttvo, who shall be appointed by the members of the retirement board loho 
 are contribiitors. . , -, , ^ 
 
 (b) One physician appointed to serve to August first, nineteen hundred and 
 ttoenty-one, who shall be appointed by the members of the retirement board 
 who are not contributors. . , ^ , 
 
 (c) One physician appointed to serve to August first, nineteen hundred and 
 twenty, who shall be appointed by the retirement board. Said physician shall 
 be an expert in nrnmen's diseases and in diseases of the nervous system.. 
 
 Their successors shall be appointed to serve for a term of three years; 
 vacancies shall be filled for the unexpired term All appointments for a full 
 term or for an unexpired term shall be made in the manner provided in this 
 section for the original appointment. , „ , , ■ * + « 
 
 U The retirement system a-eated by this act shall be subject to the super- 
 vision of the department of insurance in accordance imth the provisions of 
 sections thirty-nine and forty-five of the insurance law, so far as the same are 
 amlicable thereto and are not inconsistent loith the provisions of this act. 
 
 V If after Auqust first, nineteen hundred and seventeen, any present-teacher 
 shah recover a judgment for arrears of salary covering in whole or vn part 
 any period prior to said date, the comptroller of the city of New York before 
 paying .said judgment shall deduct therefrom the per centum of salary thereto- 
 
54 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 fore contributed hy said teacher to the retirement fund of the board of educa- 
 tion, as it existed prior to said date, amd said deduction shall he paid into 
 pension reserve fund number two. 
 
 W. The right of a person to a pension, an annually, or a retirement allowance, 
 to the return of contributions, the pension, annuity, or retirement allowance 
 itself, any optional benefit, any other right accrued or accruing to any person 
 under the provisions of this act, and the moneys in the various funds created 
 under this act, are hereby exempt from any state or municipal tax, and exempt 
 from levy and sale, garnishment, attachment, or any other process whatsoever, 
 and shall be unassignable except as in this act specifically otherwise provided. 
 
 [The general care and management of the public school teachers' retirement 
 fund created for the former city of New York by chapter two hundred and 
 ninety-six of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-four, and of the public 
 school teachers' retirement fund created for the former city of Brooklyn, by 
 chapter six hundred and fifty-six of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety- 
 five, is hereby given to the board of education, and the said funds are hereby 
 made parts of the retirement fund of the board of education of the city of 
 New York created by this act. The board of education shall from time to time, 
 establish such rules and regulations for the administration of said fund as it 
 may deem best, which rules and regulations shall preserve all rights inhering 
 in the teachers of the city of New York and the city of Brooklyn as constituted 
 prior to the passage of this act ; and said board shall make payments from said 
 fund of annuities granted in pursuance of this act. The comptroller of the city 
 of New York shall hold and invest all nioney belonging to said fund, and by 
 direction of said board of education, shall pay out the same ; and he shall 
 report in detail to the board of education of the city of New York, annually, 
 in the month of January, the condition of said fund and the items of the receipts 
 and disbursements on account of the same. The said retirement fund shall 
 consist of the following, with the interest and income thereof: (1) All money, 
 pay, compensation or salary, or any income thereof forfeited, deducted, reserved, 
 or withheld for any cause from any member or members of the teaching or 
 supervising stafE of the public day schools of the city of New York or of the 
 normal college and training department of the normal college of the city of 
 New York, or of schools or classes maintained in institutions controlled by the 
 department of public charities or by the department of correction, in pursuance 
 of rules established or to be established by the board of education, or by the 
 board of trustees of the normal college of the city of New York, or by the com- 
 missioner of public charities, or by the commissioner of correction for schools 
 or classes maintained by such commissioners respectively. The auditor of the 
 board of education, the auditor of the board of trustees of the normal college, 
 the commissioner of public charities, and the commissioner of correction shall 
 certify monthly to the comptroller the amounts so forfeited, deducted, reserved 
 or withheld during the preceding month. Said amounts shall be turned into the 
 said retirement fund. (2) All moneys received from donations, legacies, gifts, 
 bequests, or otherwise for or on account of such fund. (3) Five per centum 
 annually of all excise moneys or license fees belonging to the city of New York, 
 and derived or received by any commissioner of excise or public ofiicer from the 
 granting of licenses or permission to sell strong or spirituous liquors, ale, wine, 
 or beer in the city of New York, under the provisions of any law of this state 
 authorizing the granting of such license or permission. (4) One per centum of 
 the salaries of all members of the teaching and supervising staff of the public 
 day schools of the city of New York, and of the normal college and training 
 department of the normal college of the city of New York, and of schools or 
 classes maintained in institutions controlled by the department of public chari- 
 ties or by the department of correction of the city of New York, except that the 
 amount deducted from the salary of any teacher or principal of the public day 
 schools of the city of New York or of schools or classes maintained in institu- 
 tions controlled by the department of public charities or by the department of 
 correction of the city of New York, in this manner, shall not exceed thirty 
 dollars in any one year, and the amount deducted from the salary of any super- 
 vising official, in this manner, shall not exceed forty dollars in any one year. 
 And the board of education, the board of trustees of the normal college, the 
 commissioner of public charities, and the commissioner of correction shall, after 
 the passage of this act, deduct on each and evrey payroll of the said teaching 
 and supervising staff said one per centum from each and every amount earn- 
 able in the period covered by the said payroll, notwithstanding the minimum 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 55 
 
 salaries provided for by section ten hundred and ninety-one of the charier 
 shall be thereby reduced ,and shall certify monthly to the comptroller, the 
 amounts so deducted ; and said amounts shall be turned into the said retire- 
 ment fund. All deductions made under the provisions of this clause from the 
 salary of any person who may be dismissed from the service for cause, before 
 said person shall have become eligible for retirement, under the provisions of 
 this act, shall be refunded to said preson upon such dismissal. (5) All such 
 other methods of increment as may be duly and legally devised for the increase 
 of said fund. The moneys standing to the credit of the retirement fund on the 
 thirty-first day of December, nineteen hundred and four, after subtracting 
 therefrom any amounts forfeited, deducted, reserved or vcithheld from salaries 
 for absences prior to that date, which may, on excuse of absence, be refunded 
 after that date, all excise moneys of nineteen hundred and four which may have 
 been credited to said fund on or before that date, and all interest for nineteen 
 hudred and four on said fund, which may have been credited to said fund on 
 or before said date, shall be set apart by the comptroller as a permanent fund. 
 The unexpended balances of the income of the teachers' retirement fund for the 
 year nineteen hundred and five, and for all subsequent years shall be added to 
 the said permanent fund. The comptroller shall invest the said permanent 
 fund, and the income thereof may be used for the payment of annuities, but if 
 necessary, in order to carry out the provisions of this act, the board of educa- 
 tion may use any portion of the permanent fund in excess of eight hundred 
 thousand dollars in the same manner as the income thereof. The president of 
 the board of education, the chairman of the committee on elementary schools of 
 said board, the chairman of the committee on high schools of said board, the 
 city superintendent of schools, and three members to be selected from the prin- 
 cipals, assistants to principals and teachers of the public day schools shall 
 constitute a board of retirement. The three last-named members shall be 
 chosen as follows : On the second Thursday of May in each year the principals, 
 assistants to principals and teachers in each district shall meet at the call of 
 the district superintendent, which call he shall issue at least one week before 
 said meeting, and at a place within the district designed by him, to select by 
 ballot one of their number as district representative to serve for one year. At 
 the close of said meeting, the presiding officer shall transmit to the secretarty of 
 the board of education the name and address of the district representative so 
 chosen. The district representatives shall meet at four o'clock in the afternoon 
 on the third Thursday of May at the hall of the board of education and choose 
 by ballot one of their number to serve on the board of retirement for three 
 years from the first day of the following June. At the first meeting of the dis- 
 trict representatives after this law takes effect, they shall choose by ballot 
 three of their number to serve on the board of retirement, and the three so 
 chosen shall by lot fix and determine their terms of office as one, two, and three 
 •years respectively. Should a vacancy occur among the members of the board 
 of retirement so chosen, the district representative shall meet and choose by 
 ballot one of their number to serve on the board of retirement for the unex- 
 pired term On the recommendation of the board of retirement, said board of 
 education shall have power, by a two-thirds vote of all its members, to retire 
 any member of the teaching or supervising stafe of the public day schools of 
 the city of New York, or of schools or classes maintained m institutions con- 
 trolled by the department of public charities or by the department of correc- 
 tion who is mentally or physically incapacitated for the performance of duty, 
 and who has been engaged in the work of teaching or of school or college super- 
 vision or of examination of teachers for licenses, or any two or more of these 
 several kinds of work, for a period aggregating twenty years, fifteen of which 
 shall have been in the public day schools in the city of New York, or in schools 
 or classes maintained in institutions controlled by the department of public 
 charities or by the department of correction. u ^ ^i. 
 
 After the board of education may retire from active service any member of the 
 said teaching or supervising sta|f who shall have attained the age of sixty-five 
 years and shall have been engaged in the work of teaching or school super- 
 vision for a period aggregating thirty years. On the recommendation of the 
 board of retirement, the board of education shall have power by a two-thirds 
 vote of all its members, to retire upon his or her own application any member 
 of the teaching or supervising staff of the public day schools of t le r-m- of >ew 
 York or of schools or classes maintained in institutions control1e<l by the de- 
 partment of public charities or by the department of correction who has been en- 
 
56 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 gaged in the work of teaching or of school or college supervision, or of exami- 
 nation of teachers for licenses, or any two or more of these several kinds of 
 work, for a period aggregating thirty years, fifteen of which shall have been iik 
 any of the said institutions. The said board of education shall also have 
 power, by a two-thirds vote of all its members, and after recommendation to 
 that effect shall have been made by the board of trustees of the normal col- 
 lege stating that the member of the supervising or teaching force is mentally 
 or physically incapacitated for the performance of duty, to retire any member 
 of the teaching or supervising force of the normal college or of the training 
 department of the normal colleges who shall have been engage in said normal 
 college or training department or elsewhere in the public school system of 
 the city of New York for ten years and shall have been engaged in the work 
 of teaching or of school or college supervision or of examination of teachers 
 for licenses, or any two or more of said several kinds of work, during a 
 period aggregating twenty years. The said board of education, upon the recom- 
 mendation of the trustees of the normal college may also, in its discretion 
 retire any member of the teaching or supervising force upon his or her own 
 application who shall have been engaged in the work of teaching or school or 
 college supervision or examination of teachers for licenses, or any two or more 
 such occupations, for a period aggregating thirty years. Upon such retirement, 
 whether voluntary or otherwise, the person retired shall be entitled to receive 
 an annuity out of the teachers' retirement fund of not less than one-half of, the 
 annual salary paid to such person at the period of retirement, and in case of 
 the president or of a professor to such an additional sum per annum as will 
 increase such one-half of the salary previously paid if not an even multiple of 
 one thousand dollars to an even multiple of one thousand dollars. Any person 
 retired under the provisions of this act after thirty years of service, except as 
 hereinbefore in this section provided in the case of the president or of a pro- 
 fessor of the normal college, shall receive as an annuity one-half of the annual 
 salary paid to said person at the date of said retirement, not to exceed, however, 
 in the case of a teacher or principal) the sum of fifteen hundred dollars per 
 annum, and in the case of a supervising official, two thousand dollars per 
 annum. And in no case shall the annuity of any person already retired or 
 hereafter to be retired after thirty years of service be less than six hundred 
 dollars. Any person retired after twenty years of service, but with less than 
 thirty years of service, shall receive an annuity which bears the same ratio to 
 the annuity provided for on retirement after thirty years of service as the total 
 number of years of service of said person bears to thirty years. The annuities 
 provided for by this act shall be payable in monthly installments. All retire- 
 ments made under the provisions of this act shall take effect either on the first 
 day of February or on the first day of September. The number of persons re- 
 tired in any one year shall be so limited that the entire amount of the annuities' 
 to be paid for that year shall not be in excess of the estimated amount of the 
 retirement fund applicable to the payment of annuities for that year. The 
 words " teaching and supervising staff of the public day schools of the city of 
 New York" as used in this section, shall include the city superintendent of 
 schools, the associate city superintendents, the district superintendents, the 
 director and assistant director of the division of reference and research, the 
 members of the board of examiners, directors and assistant directors of special 
 branches, the supervisor and assistant supervisor of lectures, all principals, 
 vice-principals, assistants to principals, heads of departments, and all regular 
 and special teachers of the public day schools of the city of New York. Nothing 
 in this act shall be construed as prohibiting the reappointment to active service, 
 on his or her own application, of any person who has been retired under the 
 provisions of this act. Upon the reappointment of any such person the payment 
 of the annuity of said person shall be discontinued. Teachers hereafter ap- 
 pointed in schools or classes maintained in the institutions controlled by the 
 department of public charities or by the department of correction, shall be 
 appointed by the commissioner of the appropriate department upon 'the nomi- 
 nation of the city superintendent of schools and shall be licensed by the board 
 of examiners of the department of education. The department of education 
 through such representatives as it may designate shall maintain an effective 
 visitation and inspection of all such schools and classes. 
 
 § 2. Section ten hundred and ninety-two-a, as amended by chapter one hun- 
 dred and seven of the laws of nineteen hundred and five, section ten hundred 
 
CIVIL SERVICE REOTIIIEMENT. 57 
 
 and ninety-two-b, as amendecl by chapter five hundred and five of the laws of 
 nineteen hundred and nine, and section ten hundred and nlnety-two-c, as 
 amended by chapter six hundred and- thirteen of the laws of nineteen hundred 
 and sixteen, are hereby repealed. 
 
 § 3. This act shall take effect on August first, nineteen hundred and seven- 
 teen, except as to subdivisions B, C, D, E, paragraph 5; subdivision F, para- 
 graph one, and the provision of subdivision F, paragraph 5, part (a), which 
 provides for the election of a rate of salary deduction by any person entitled 
 to make such election and the further provision of the same part which pro- 
 vides that if any person entitled to make such election falls so to do he shall 
 be deemed to have elected a deduction from his salary at the rate of three per 
 centum of his earnable salary ; subdivisions H, T, and U, and as to provisions 
 of such subdivisions, paragraphs and parts of paragraphs this act shall take 
 effect immediately. 
 
 A BILL For increasing thp salaries and for the retirement of employees in the classified 
 civil service, introduced December 6, 1915, by Mr. Austin, of Tennessee. 
 
 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
 States of America in Congress assembled, That beginning with the first day of 
 July next following the passage of this act the annual salary, pay, or compen- 
 sation of every officer or employee of the United States to whom this act applies 
 shall be increased to an amount, computed to the nearest multiple of .$12, that 
 will be equal to one hundred and fifteen per centum of the present grade of 
 salary, pay, or compensation of such officer or employee, and from such salary, 
 pay, or compensation there shall be deducted and withheld monthly an amount, 
 computed to the nearest tenth of a dollar, that will be sufficient, with interest 
 thereon at five per centum per annum, compounded annually, to purchase from 
 the United States, under the provisions of this act, an annuity, payable quar- 
 terly throughout life, for every such employee on arrival at the age of retire- 
 ment as hereinafter provided, equal to one and one-half per centum of his 
 annual salary, pay, or compensation for every full year of service or major 
 fraction thereof between the date of the passage of this act and the arrival of 
 the employee at the age of retirement. The deductions hereby provided for 
 shall be based on such annuity table as the Secretary of the Treasury may 
 direct, and interest at the rate of five per centum per annum, compounded annu- 
 ally, and shall be varied to correspond to any change in the salary of the 
 employee. 
 
 Sec. 2. That the amounts so deducted and withheld from the salary, pay, or 
 compensation of each employee shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United 
 States and shall be credited, together with Interest at five per centum per 
 annum, compounded annually, to an individual account of the employee from 
 whose salary, pay, or compensation the deduction is made. The moneys so 
 deducted and the Income derived therefrom may, from time to time, be deposited 
 in savings banks designated by the Secretary of the Treasury for that purpose : 
 Provided, however. That the savings banks receiving such deposits shall pay 
 Interest thereon at a rate of not less than three and one-half per centum per 
 annum, compounded annually. For the safe-keeping and prompt payment of 
 the money deposited with them the Secretary of the Treasury shall require the 
 savings banks to give satisfactory security by the deposit of bonds of the 
 United States, bonds or other interest-bearing obligations of any State of the 
 United States, or any legally authorized bonds Issued for municipal purposes by 
 any city or town in the United States which has been in existence as a city or 
 town for a period of twenty-five years and which for a period of ten years 
 previous to such deposit has not defaulted in the payment of any part of either 
 principal or interest of any funded debt authorized to be contracted by it, and 
 which has at such date more than twenty-five thousand inhabitants, as estab- 
 lished by the last national census, and whose net indebtedness does not exceed 
 five per centum of the valuation of the taxable property therein, to be ascer- 
 tained by the last preceding valuation of property for the assessment of taxes ; 
 or any legally authorized bonds issued for municipal purposes by any city or 
 town in the United States which has been in existence as a city or town for a 
 period of twenty-five years and which for a period of ten years previous to such 
 deposit has not defaulted in the payment of any part of either principal or 
 interest of any funded debt authorized to be contracted by it, and which has at 
 such date more than two hundred thousand inhabitants, as established by the 
 last national census, and whose net indebtedness does not exceed seven per 
 
58 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 centum of the valuation of the taxable property therein, to be ascertained by 
 the last preceding valuation of property for the assessment of taxes. In this 
 clause the words " net indebtedness " mean the indebtedness of any city or 
 tovs'n, omitting debts created for supplying the Inliabitants with water and 
 debts created in anticipation of taxes to be paid within one year, and deducting 
 the amount of sinking funds available for the payment of the indebtedness 
 included. The Secretary of the Treasury shall accept, for the purpose of this 
 act, securities herein enumerated in such proportions as he may from time to 
 time determine, and he may at any time require the deposit of additional 
 securities or require any bank to change the character of the securities already 
 on deposit. It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to obtain 
 information with reference to the value and character of the securities author- 
 ized to be accepted under the provisions of this section, and he shall from time 
 to time furnish information to savings banks as to such bonds as would be 
 accepted as security. When consistent with the best interests of the fund 
 created by this act, the Secretary of the Treasury shall distribute the deposits 
 herein provided for, as far as practicable, equitably among the different States 
 and sections. 
 
 If for any reason the Secretary of the Treasury shall not be able to make 
 satisfactory arrangements with savings banks for all of the funds, then he may 
 invest the balance in any of the aforementioned securities. 
 
 The moneys deducted from salaries and the income derived therefrom shall 
 be held and deposited or invested, as above described, by the Secretary of the 
 Treasury until paid out as hereinafter provided. Any deficiency in the fund 
 hereby created to carry out the provisions of this act shall be paid out of any 
 money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated. 
 
 For the purpose of aiding the Secretary of the Treasury in depositing ana 
 investing the funds created by tliis act, a board of investment is hereby created, 
 composed of the Treasurer of the United States, the Comptroller of the Cur- 
 rency, the chief of the office created by the provisions of this act, and two 
 persons to be designated by the President from among the employees of the 
 classified civil service. The members of the board of investment shall be sworn 
 and shall hold office until others are appointed and qualified in their stead. 
 
 Sec 3. That the retirement age herein referred to shall be sixty-five years for 
 group one, sixty-five years for group two, and seventy years for group three. 
 And the President of the United States shall designate the branches of the 
 service to be included in each group. 
 
 Sec. 4. That if within thirty days before the arrival of an employee at the age 
 of retirement the head of the department or independent office in which he is 
 employed certifies to the Secretary of the Treasury that by reason of his effi- 
 ciency and his willingness to remain in the service the continuance of such ~ 
 employee therein would be advantageous to the public service, such employee 
 may be retained for a term not exceeding two years, and at the end of two 
 years he may by similar certification be continued for an additional term of two 
 years, and so on: Provided, Iwircver, That after the fir.st day of July, nineteen 
 hundred and twenty, no person to whom this act applies shall be continued in 
 the service beyond the aue of retirement as herein provided. Upon the failure 
 of the head of the department or independent ofliee to make the above-described 
 certificate it shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to place such 
 employee upon the retired list in accordance with the provisions of this act. 
 
 Sec. 5. That if an employee is retained in the service after reaching the re- 
 tirement age a deduction of ten per centum of his monthly salary, pay, or com- 
 pensation shall thereafter be made while he remains in the service, and the 
 same shall be treated as other deductions under section two of this act. 
 
 Sec. 6. That upon retiring at the age of retirement, or thereafter,' the em- 
 ployee may withdraw his savings, with the increment of interest as herein 
 provided, utider one of the following options, and if Option I or Option II is 
 selected, receive in addition thereto such annuity, if any, as may be apportioned 
 by the Secretary of the Treasury out of accumulations in excess of five per 
 centum guaranteed by the provisions of this act, and such apportionment by the 
 Secretary of the Treasury shall be conclusive : 
 
 Option I. In an annuity payable quarterly throughout life. 
 
 Option II. In an annuity payable quarterly throughout life, with the provi- 
 sion that in case of the death of the annuitant before he has received in annui- 
 ties the amount of his savings, plus the interest credited thereon, the balance 
 shall be paid to his legal heirs. In determining at his death the amount due to 
 
CrVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 59 
 
 Ills heirs no account shall be taken of the annuities paid to him bj- the United 
 States under section eleven of this act. 
 
 Option III. In one sum. 
 
 If after retirement the employee does not avail himself of one of the fore- 
 going options, but leaves the amount due him on deposit, interest at the rate 
 of two per centum per annum on the original sum so left on deposit on retire- 
 ment shall be credited thereto for a period not exceeding t\vent,y years, and if 
 not then withdrawn, the money so left on deposit, without interest, shall be 
 covered into the Treasury as a miscellaneous receipt. 
 
 Sec. 7. That upon absolute separation from the civil service prior to the 
 retirement age, and only upon such separation, the employee may withdraw his 
 savings in one sum, and in case lie has been in such service not less than six 
 years, he may also receive in addition thereto interest on his savings at the 
 rate of five per centum per annum, compounded annually, or, in case his savings 
 amount to at least $1,000, he may withdraw the same under any one of the 
 foregoing options, computed on the basis of his attained age. In case of the 
 death of an employee while in tlie service the amount of his savings, together 
 with the interest credited thereon, shall be paid to his legal heirs. 
 
 Sec. 8. That beginning with the first day of July next following the passage 
 of this act there shall be deducted and withheld from the monthly salary, pay, 
 or compensation of every employee newly entering the service to whom this 
 act applies an amount equal to one-fifth of his monthly salary, pay, or com- 
 pensation during the first six months of his etuployment ; and in every case of 
 promotion of any person to whom this act applies there shall be deducted and 
 withheld from the monthly salary, pay, or compensation of such person an 
 amount equal to the increase made by such promotion during the first three 
 months from the taking effect thereof ; and the amounts so deducted and with- 
 held shall be deposited in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of a 
 special fund to carry out the provisions of section nine of this act. 
 
 Sec 9. That beginning one year after the first day of July next following 
 the passage of this net, an employee to whom this act applies, who, by reason 
 of accident or illness not due to vicious habits or by reason of exigencies of 
 the service, but without fault or delinquency on his part, has become totally 
 and permanently disabled, may retire from active service prior to the age of 
 retirement, and, on certificate from the head of the department or independent 
 office in which he is employed to the Secretary of the Treasury, setting forth 
 such disability, and the approval of such certificate by the Secretary of the 
 Treasury, may receive, out of the fund created by section eight of this act, 
 an annual disability allowance, payable quarterly, equal to one and one-half 
 per centum of his total compensation during service prior to such retire- 
 ment: Provided, however, That, unless prorated by the Secretary of the Treas- 
 ury as hereinafter provided, the allowance for disability, due to accident, shall 
 be equal to not less than twenty per centum of the average annual compensa- 
 tion of the disabled employee prior to such retirement: And provided further. 
 That the allowance for disability due to illness shall only be granted after 
 twenty years of sei'vice. Allowances under this section shall be discontinued 
 on arrival of the employee at the age of retirement unless sooner terminated 
 by the Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 If upon the retirement of an employee on a disability allowance the money 
 then to his credit under section two of this act, together with interest thereon 
 at five per centum per annum, compounded annually, will not be suflicient to pur- 
 chase an annuity, payable quarterly throughout life, for such employee on ar- 
 rival at the age of retirement equal to his annual disability allowance, the Sec- 
 retary of the Treasury shall deduct and withhold from his quarterly disability 
 allowance an amount, computed to the nearest tenth of a dollar, that, together 
 with tlie money then to his credit, \vith interest, will be sufficient to purchase 
 such annuity. Amounts deducted and withheld from disability allowances shall 
 be treated as deductions under section two of this act. If the money to his 
 credit as aforesaid, is in excess of the amount that will be required to pur- 
 chase 'such annuity, he may withdraw such excess in one cash sum, or in an 
 annuity limited to the age of retirement. . , ,, ,.,.,., „ 
 
 The Secretary of the Treasury shall reduce or ternnnate the disability allow- 
 ance granted to any employee whenever in his judgment it is proper to do so, 
 and such action on his part shall lie final and conclusive. 
 
 In case of the death of an employee while in the receipt of a disability allow- 
 ance the amount to his credit under section two of this act shall be paid to his 
 legal heirs, and the disability allowance shall cease and determine. 
 
60 CIVIL SERVIOK RETIKEMENT. 
 
 The disability allowances hereby provided for shall at all times be limited to 
 the fund created by section eight of this act, and if any valuation of the fund 
 shows the liabilities for allowances to be in excess of the resources of such fund, 
 then the allowances shall be reduced pro rata to a sum within the fund. 
 
 Sec. 10. That in case of reinstatement in the classified civil service of any 
 person who at the time of his separation therefrom received a refund under 
 section seven of this act, his period of service for the purpose of retirement and 
 of making the monthly deduction from his salary shall be computed from the 
 date of such reinstatement, unless he shall, within ninety days after reinstate- 
 ment, pay to the Secretary of the Treasury the amount refunded to him. with 
 interest at five per centum per annum, in which case the same shall be replaced 
 to the credit of his account, and the former period of service shall be counted. 
 
 Sec. 11. That beginning with the first day of July next following the passage 
 of this act every employee to whom this act applies shall be entitled, on reach- 
 ing the retirement age, or having already passed that age, to retire from the 
 service under the provisions hereinbefore contained, and also, in addition to the 
 annuity herein provided for by his own contributions from his salary, to receive 
 from the United States during the remainder of his life an annuity equal to 
 one and one-half per centum of his total compensation during service prior to 
 the taldng effect of this act ; and the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby au- 
 thorized and directed to pay such annuity quarterly, upon proper certification 
 of the retirement of such employee by the appointing officer under whom he 
 last served. Annuities from the United States for the period of service prior to 
 the passage of this act shall be payable only on condition that the employee 
 remains in the service until he reaches the age of retirement : Provided, how- 
 ever, That employees of group one may receive the annuity granted by this 
 section on retirement at the age of sixty years or thereafter. On the death of 
 the employee the payment of annuities provided for by this section shall cease 
 and determine. Annuities payable by the United States on salaries In excess 
 of $2,500 per annum shall be based upon an annual salary of $2,500. 
 
 Sec. 12. That the period of service upon which the annuity to be paid by the 
 United States is based shall be computed from the original employment, 
 whether as a classified or unclassified employee, and shall include periods of 
 service at different times and service in one or more departments, branches, or 
 independent offices of the Government, the Signal Corps prior to July first, 
 eighteen hundred and ninety-one, and the general service in or under the War 
 Department prior to May sixth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six. 
 
 Sec. 13. That every person to whom this act applies, who shall continue in 
 the classified civil service after the passage of this act, as well as every person 
 to whom this act applies, who may hereafter be appointed to a position or 
 place, shall be deemed to consent and agree to the deductions made and pro- 
 vided for herein, and shall receipt in full for the salary, pay, or compensation 
 which may be paid monthly or at any other time, and such payment shall be 
 a full and complete discharge and acquittance of all claims or demands what- 
 soever for services rendered by such person during the period covered by such 
 payment, notwithstanding the provisions of sections one hundred and sixty- 
 seven, one hundred and sixty-eight, and one hundred and sixty-nine of the 
 Revised Statutes of the United States, or of any other law, rule, or regulation 
 affecting the salary, pay, or compensation of any person or persons employed in 
 the classified civil service to whom this act applies. 
 
 Sec. 14. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall prepare and keep all need- 
 ful tables, records, and accounts required for carrying out the provisions of 
 this act. The records to be kept shall Include data showing the mortality ex- 
 perience of the employees in the various branches of the service and the rate - 
 of withdrawal from the classified service and any other Information that may 
 be of value and may serve as a guide for future valuations and adjustments of 
 the plan for the retirement of employees. The Secretary of the Treasury shall 
 make a detailed comparative report annually to Congress showing all receipts 
 and disbursements under the provisions of this act, together with the total num- 
 ber of persons receiving annuities and disability allowances and the amounts 
 paid them. 
 
 Sec. 15. That the provisions of this act shall apply to all persons entering the 
 classified civil service after the first day of July next following the passage of 
 this act, and to all persons in the classified civil service prior to the taking 
 effect of this act who shall, by written application to the Secretary of the 
 Treasury within one year after the first day of July next following the passage 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 61 
 
 of this act, elect to become subject to the provisions of this act. The classified 
 civil service is hereby defined to include all officers and employees in the ex- 
 ecutive civil service of the United States except unskilled laborers and persons 
 appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. 
 
 No person serving in a position excepted from examination or registration 
 as defined in the civil-service rules shall be included within the provisions of 
 this act unless he has served in a competitive positon for at least one year. 
 Whenever any person becomes separated from the classfied civil service by 
 reason of appointment in the unclassified service, such separation shall not 
 operate to talje him out of the provisions of this act. The President shall have 
 power, in his discretion, to exclude from the operation of this act any group 
 of employees whose tenure of office is intermittent or of uncertain duration. 
 
 Sec. 16. That none of the moneys mentioned in this act shall be assignable 
 either in law or equity or be subject to execution or levy by attachment, gar- 
 nishment, or other legal process. 
 
 Sec. 17. That for the clerical and other service and all other expenses nec- 
 essary in carrying out the provisions of this act during the fiscal years nine- 
 teen hundred and thirteen and nineteen hundred and fourteen, including 
 salaries and rent in the city of Washington, there is hereby appropriated the 
 sum of $50,000 out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 
 to be available until expended. 
 
 Sec. 18. That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized to per- 
 form or cause to be performed any and all acts and to make such rules and 
 regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of carrying the 
 provisions of this act into full force and effect. 
 
 [Hearings before the Committee on Reform la the Civil Service, House of Representatives, 
 63d Cong., 2d sess., Friday, Feb. 20 and Mar. 6, 1914.] 
 
 CONTEIBUTOBY Pl,AN OF RETIREMENT. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. THOMAS F. FLAHEBTY, SECEETAKY-TEEASUEEE NATIONAL FEDERA- 
 TION OF POST-OFFICE CLERKS, WASHINGTON, D. 0. 
 
 Mr. Flaheety. I represent the National Federation of Post-Office Clerks, 
 which is made up largely of the younger element of the service, the men who 
 are- just coming in or who have been in but a comparatively short time, and I 
 must confess that we are 
 
 The Chaieman. The post-office clerks in Washington? 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. All over the country ; and I must confess that we are more 
 concerned with our present-day needs than any future contingencies, but as 
 civil-service employees we know our promotion or our advancement depends 
 to a great extent upon the advancement and promotion of those who have 
 preceded us in the service. And if there is any stoppage or any stagnation any- 
 where along the line it affects us all — we who are just starting as well as those 
 at the other end of the line. For that reason we have always considered this 
 subject of superannuation and retirement, and it has been discussed in our 
 official monthly journal and also at the annual conventions, and we have gone on 
 record repeatedly in the last six years as being in favor of a contributory plan 
 of pension rather than a straight plan of pension. I have not the time to go 
 into any exhaustive explanation for these reasons, but briefly I can say that we 
 favor a contributory plan of pension because we think it will accomplish what 
 the straight pen.sion plan will not, and what is in my opinion the only justifica- 
 tion for any system, and that is it will impro\'e the efficiency of the service, be- 
 cause under a straight pension plan it will be almost impossible for any de- 
 partmental head to rid the service of an inefficient man. Naturally he would not 
 want to deprive this employee of his pension rights, and the same humanitarian 
 mode would prevail as prevails to-day and clog up the service with inefficient 
 men, in a modified form of course. 
 
 We are also opposed to a .straight pension plan because only 1 employee in 8 
 would live or stay in the service long enough to derive the benefits ; and speak- 
 ing from the viewpoint of the postal employee, under the present-day conditions 
 and the excessive amount of work with the excessive scheme study and with 
 the conditions as we face them, there is, I am sure, but little chance of any 
 more than 1 in 8 remaining in the service, and it is not much of a prospect 
 
62 CIVIL SEKVICE EETIBEMENT. 
 
 for a man in a large post office, compelled to work as they are compelled to 
 work, under the most unsatisfacto]-y. insanitary conditions, sometimes in base- 
 ments where the sunlight never penetrates, handling mail equipment that is 
 filth-begrimed and germ-begrimed with the accumulated dirt of years— I assure 
 you, gentlemen, there is not much of a prospect for those men to look forward 
 to 25 years of such work even with the lure of the pension. 
 
 The Chaieman. Do vou men work more than eight hours a day? 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. Since the' 4th of last March if we worked more than eight 
 hours we are paid overtime. 
 
 The Chairman. Does that apply to all second and third class offices? 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. That applies to all second-class offices ; yes. A man working 
 on Sunday, of course, is compensated by one day off within the following six 
 days. But for holidays there is no compensation. If a man works on the 
 Fourth of July, he loses the day ; if he works Thanksgiving, he loses the day, 
 and if he works Christmas and New Years, he loses the day, and so on. That 
 applies to clerks in the distributing part of the office, because what we call the 
 finance division, general delivery, and stamp divisions are closed, but other por- 
 tions are never closed, and those men, particularly, of course, would be opposed 
 to any pension plan that all these years in which they had to remain in the 
 service tend to lessen their chances for more needful legislation. Just at the 
 present time we particularly want to see the six hours of duty for night work 
 introduced. There are men working nights year after year. I know of one 
 concrete example of a clerk in Chicago who told me this when I was on my way 
 here last fall, that he had been 32 years in the service, and he goes to work at 
 3 o'clock in the afternoon and he works until 1 In the morning. He has been 
 on that shift for more than 30 years. In the meantime, his two little daughters 
 have grown up to womanhood and married, and that man scarcely knows them. 
 Of course, last March we got a weekly rest day. Prior to that we did not. 
 You would work Sunday and you would get neither time nor compensation nor 
 anything else. 
 
 Take the ordinary post-office clerk. Say he enters the service after one year 
 or two years as a sub, and during the time which he subs he is fortunate if he 
 averages a dollar a day. He is appointed at an entrance salary of $600, and he 
 gradually, at the end of six years, can reach the maximum salary of $1,200, 
 providing he has no demerits, providing he has no dereliction of duties, and 
 providing he has not violated any of the thousands of rules that hedge him in. 
 All this time, of course, the cost of living has been soaring, and that man, 
 from the time he enters as a sub for the dollar a day, has probably accumulated 
 nothing except a lot of debts. There is one thing that can be said about a 
 Government job : It is a fine medium for borrowing money, because the pre- 
 sumption of everybody you come in contact with is your job is as good as a 
 bond. The result is that it is easy enough to get into debt, and we all know 
 how mighty difficult it is to get out of it. I heard the eloquent Mr. Dies de- 
 scribe the civil-service employee, when he told of him eating red apples and 
 going to the moving-picture shows, and if the post-office clerks should enjoy, 
 such pleasant times as he described they would be perfectly happy and would 
 not want anything. The most of them, however, can not go to picture shows, 
 because they are working at night. 
 
 Mr. Dies. This place that I described in New York I said was the exception 
 to the rule. 
 
 Mr. Morgan. Do you say that the rules require the clerks to do a certain 
 amount of work on holidays? 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. That is it absolutely ; but to return to the post-office distrib- 
 utor : A man to learn a distribution scheme can study year in and year out all 
 the time, and it is something he never learns, because it is something that is 
 constantly changing, and yet this knowledge which he acquires after years of 
 concentration and study is of absolutely no value to him in any other employ- 
 ment whatever. He can not start a rival post-offl,ce business. He has no hope 
 that some competing firm is going to offer him more money. He has absolutely 
 no market for his knowledge ; he can not capitalize it in any way whatsoever. 
 I have studied post-office schemes for 12 years and I know every post oflice in 
 the State of California, every train leaving San Francisco, just what trains to 
 dispatch mail on to reach a point in the quickest time, and there is not a busi- 
 ness house in this country that would give me $5 a month for that knowledge, 
 because there is no value to it. And yet these years I have worked for the 
 Government, given it the best I know how, and I have never been able to save 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EErZEEMENT. 68 
 
 or accumulate anything to-ward the day of old age, when I will be inefficient, 
 when I will be cast on the scrap heap in some way or another. 
 
 So we favor a contributory plan, principally because it would not make us 
 servile, would not make us lose independence nor our manliness at all. We feel 
 that a straight pension plan might tend that way, because a man would always 
 be under the dread, especially in the last years of his service; anyway the 
 thought of losing his pension would obtrude to a demoralizing extent. 
 
 Mr. Scott. You said at the outset that your organization represented the 
 younger element of the service. You say you are in favor of the contributory 
 method. Do you know what the prevailing sentiment is among the younger 
 element of the Postal Service as touching that question? 
 
 Mr. Flaheety. The younger element of the Postal Service is much more con- 
 cerned with a correction of present-day needs rather than any pension system. 
 I truthfully say they would not want a pension system that was going to act 
 against any possible chance of an increase in wages or a correction of these 
 more vital things — present-day needs. We feel that there are so many other 
 things in the service which need correction and that any pension system that 
 might tend to prevent us getting those things we would not favor. 
 
 Mr. Scott. That does not go directly to the question. I get the impression 
 from this that your element in the service were opposed generally to the con- 
 tributory system and favored more particularly the straight pension plan. 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. No ; that can not possibly be, because the straight pension 
 would mean that for 20 years they would have to be tied to the job, because 
 tJiere could not be any betterment of conditions because of the existence of those 
 pensions ; as Mr. Dies said, they would be given a certain valuation. If we 
 come to ask for better hours and more money, it would be said, " You are get- 
 ting a pension; go home and wait 20 years and j^ou will get something." AVe do 
 not want that. 
 
 Mr. Dies. Would not the best way be to take up the different employees of 
 the Government and reclassify the service and pay every man who works for 
 the Government a living wage and just salary? 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. Absolutely ; that would be the idea. 
 
 Mr. Dies. Then let them contribute of their own free will if they wanted to 
 establish an annuity fund, or properly have the Government insist that they 
 shall provide some sort of a fund. 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. A saving fund, I think, would be right. 
 
 Mr. Dibs. Do you not think it would be unjust to take money out of every 
 man's salary and have the Government invest it at 3 or 4 per cent when he may 
 be saving, himself, and buying a home and trying to pay for a home to make his 
 little savings worth 10 per cent, and you reach over and get his money and he 
 objects. He would say, " I do not go to the moving-picture show ; I am buying 
 a home. You are going to take my money, worth 10 per cent, in order to protect 
 this other fellow because he throws his money all away." You would not injure 
 the man who is trying to build a home and trying to save something in order to 
 help the fellow who is indifferent and careless and who does not make any 
 provisions for his future? Would not that be the effect of compulsory con- 
 tributions? Would not the best way be to give the Government employee a 
 fair, square salary? 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. Throvsr him on his own resources ; but the salary you are giv- 
 ing him will not permit what you are describing. 
 
 Mr. Dies. Some of the salaries are too high and many are too low, and they 
 ought to be rearranged and reclassified, and every man and woman given what 
 they deserve. 
 
 The Chairman. We have to give every man and woman a fair salary if we 
 want to keep them. 
 
 Mr. Dies. We could provide that before a man entered the Government 
 service he should associate himself with some association within the Government 
 itself, just among the clerks, providing for mutual annuities and mutual insur- 
 ance,' whereby they could mutually provide for themselves. The Government 
 should say, " You not only read and write, but you must join one of these 
 
 SOClPt'lGS " 
 
 Mr. Bryan. What about the man who has already become superannuated? 
 Mr! Dies. I am afraid I have been taking up too much of this gentleman's 
 
 Mr Flaherty. As a representative of an organization of post-office clerks, a 
 relatively young organization made up for the most part of men who would not 
 
64 CIVIL SEKVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 be the beneficiaries of a direct pension system for many years to come, I voice 
 the sentiment of the membership of the National Federation of Post Office 
 Clerks in favor of a contributory plan, a direct contributory plan, I might say, 
 for any system of retirement, regardless of what virtues may be claimed for it, 
 is contributory in its effect and operation. 
 
 Though the majority of the membership of the Federation of Post Office 
 Clerks are young men in years and in length of service, they nevertheless have 
 a direct interest in this subject of retirement or superannuation. They realize 
 their promotion and advancement is and will continue to be retarded unless 
 some equitable plan is adopted to retire the aged employees who have passed 
 beyond the stage of eflSciency. Hence the federation has always given consid- 
 €rable thought to the solution of this problem. It has been discussed at conven- 
 tions and in the columns of our official journal. The organization, since 1908, 
 has recorded its wishes in favor of a retirement system whereby the Government 
 would contribute an amount equal with that of the employee, which sum, with 
 compound interest, would be available to the employee upon severance from the 
 service. 
 
 Prior, however, to the Installation of any contributory plan of retirement, we, 
 knowing from actual experience the inadequacy of the present salaries to per- 
 mit of any deductions, would heartily indorse a general revision upward of the 
 wage schedule of the civil-service employees. 
 
 Speaking for the membership I represent, I can say with all candor that we 
 consider the present-day needs as paramount to any future contingencies. We 
 appreciate the immediate necessity of taking care of the present superannuated 
 employees in the Postal Service; the aged, faithful men who have preceded us, 
 but we are unalterably opposed to the adoption of any pension plan that would 
 retard the granting of rights which appear to us more imperative. We oppose 
 a straight pension plan because we believe it would have a tendency to delay 
 or postpone the enactment of legislation of even a greater need to the post- 
 office clerks. 
 
 Aside from the objection that a straight pension plan would not make for in- 
 creased efficiency because, under Its operation, it would be almost impossible 
 to rid the service of inefficient workers prior to the retirement age, it has the 
 additional objection that but one out of every eight employees remains in the 
 service long enough to become a participant in its provisions. Thus seven- 
 eighths of the employees, nonparticipants in the pension or retirement feature, 
 must suffer by the loss of other remedial concessions in order that one-eighth 
 may receive a service pension. 
 
 To one intimately acquainted with the work of a large post office, par- 
 ticularly that portion where the mails are received or dispatched, it is easy 
 to understand the unwillingness of the clerks to sacrifice the possibilities of 
 present-day Improvement in working conditions in order to share in some prom- 
 ised reward at the end of years of service. Of what possible benefit, they think, 
 is a pension or retirement plan, based on 20 or more years of service, to a man 
 compelled to work nights at top speed, at high tension, amid insanitary sur- 
 roundings who can not reasonably hope to live long enough to become eligible? 
 These men are naturally reluctant to be tied to a position by a pension plan 
 which will operate, as they view it, to block or at least delay the improvements 
 they think preferable to any phantasm of the dim future. 
 
 No loension measure will correct the most serious evil that menaces a great 
 portion of the post-office clerks in the largest offices of the country. While 
 laudable efforts are now being inade to protect those injured on duty or their 
 dependents in case of death by a provision in the post-office appropriation bill, 
 yet no consideration is shown the man whose death follows a gradual under- 
 mining of his health because of post-office conditions under which he must 
 labor. While the man suddenly killed is shown proper consideration, the one 
 gradually driven to his grave by excessive night work, by speeding up, by 
 constant scheme study after office hours, also needs corrective legislation. 
 The postal clerk to-day who falls a victim to the ravages of a disease he con- 
 tracted in the unwholesome surroundings in which he was forced to labor 
 would not share in a pension. He would not even be granted a day's sick 
 leave. His pay stops the moment he is incapacitated. The clerks working 
 wholly under electric lights, in the grime and dirt of a germ-infected basement, 
 where the sun never penetrates, handling sacks and mail equipment that is 
 heavy with the accumulated filth of years, do not view with much joy a pension 
 measure that only operates to doom them to 20 years or more of such work. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 65 
 
 The postal clerks, some of them at any rate, need too much corrective legis- 
 lation of Immediate necessity to enthuse over a retirement plan that might 
 rob them of their power to protest; that might make them servile and sub- 
 servient ; that might tend to make them endure deplorable conditions under the 
 false lure of something to come at the expiration of years- of service. An 
 annuity based upon 20 or more years of service would not be of much benefit 
 to those men connected with the distribution end of a post office under the pres- 
 ent tendency to drive these men to the utmost. For long before the period for 
 retirement eligibility is reached these men will, If they survive at all, be broken 
 in mind and health, unable even to enjoy any pension or annuity that lured 
 them into remaining in the service. 
 
 Th^ argument that retirement legislation that we are seeking is class legis- 
 lation does not, in my opinion, hold good as far as the postal employees are 
 concerned. If the Government calls into the Postal Service men of a high 
 standard of intelligence, requires of them the strictest kind of discipline in 
 their dally work, their personal habits and general conduct, • requires also, in 
 many instances, study and application in learning special work, and fails to 
 give such employees a wage sufficient to provide for old age. It would be in- 
 human to cast these employees aside when their efficiency falls below an ex- 
 acting standard. Yet to retain such employees when they are inefficient is not 
 in accordance with the business methods that should prevail in our Govern- 
 ment institutions. 
 
 There are two solutions of the problem of ridding the service of those who 
 have passed beyond the years of highest efficiency — limited tenure and a re- 
 tirement or service-annuity system. Limited tenure is not seriously con- 
 sidered by those who have given the question the closest study. Its adoption 
 wouldd be a backward step of the most pronounced type. Capable men would 
 not compete for or accept a Government position with its scant opportunity for 
 promotion and other limitations if its redeeming feature, permanency of place, 
 were stripped from it by limited tenure. The Government service would there- 
 fore not attract men of the right caliber to carry on its work as efficiently as 
 is now being done. Furthermore, limited tenure, making the employees' re- 
 appointment, if they were permitted to be reappointed, dependent upon the 
 whim of the political department head, would foster partisan politics in the 
 service. 
 
 Service annuity or retirement legislation is the only equable solution that 
 is fair to the employee and the employer. Let us see if it Is fair to the em- 
 ployer, the Government, to single out one class for this legislation that properly 
 and rightfully, in my opinion, belongs to every wage earner who had contributed 
 to the development, progress, and wealth of the Nation, and who in his declining 
 years, through no fault of his own, was in need of monetary aid. 
 
 Take the post-office clerk, a distributor In a large office, and examine this 
 question from his viewpoint. This distributor must of necessity devote most 
 of his time to memorizing the ever-changing post-office schemes. To be expert 
 in his Government work this employee must study after office hours to the 
 exclusion of everything else. And the knowledge he Is acquiring year after 
 year is valueless to any other employer. This distributor can't sell his knowl- 
 edge to some competing post office ; neither can he establish an office of his own. 
 No- his years of experience and study can not be capitalized. He must sell 
 his 'knowledge to the Government. The years spent In memorlzmg post-office 
 schemes he finds out when too late, have unfitted him for other vocations. 
 Though 'possessing a bewildering number of facts, he finds these facts are not 
 an asset in the business or commercial world. He Is a post-office distributor ; 
 he can be nothing else, because of that. , . j,. 
 
 Meanwhile he finds his maximum salary of .$1,200 is dwindling under the 
 rapidly soaring cost of necessities. He must live a great distance from his 
 work because post offices in large cities are In the business or commercial 
 districts where rentals are beyond a clerk's income. His time spent in scheme 
 study, his lengthy trip to and from work make his day, even with an eight- 
 hour limit, much longer than that of the average wage earner. « l^e is a 
 man of familv. and if there is sickness in his family, then the lot of this clerk 
 is not an enviable one. And, remember, he Is what the clerks term a high- 
 salaried man. If he Is a substitute clerk, or if he is but newly appointed, 
 getting $66 a month, then his predicament is much worse. 
 
 A- case like this is by no means exceptional. Rather is it typical. Such 
 eases rarely ever attract public attention, however, because there is one thing 
 
 79180—18 5 
 
66 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 that must be said of a Government job, It is a good medium for borrowing 
 money. 
 
 Outside of Washington, at least, the Government clerk can get unlimited 
 credit; the various tradesmen are overobliging. This creates the erroneous 
 impression that the clerk, on his princely salarj^, is able to live m a manner 
 beyond the means of the artisan, whereas, in most instances, he is heavily 
 involved in debt in trying to keep up appearances in his role of a representative 
 of the greatest Government on earth. 
 
 If the salaries paid to postal employees permit of no saving for old age, if 
 the work exacted of them unfits them for occupation elsewhere, then it is neces- 
 sary for some system to be evolved to take care of those who have given the 
 best years of their lives to the service, reaching an improvident old age despite, 
 the strictest vigilance to economize. This system, in my opinion, should take 
 the form of contributions by the employees, provided a revision of salaries is 
 first effected. The present salaries, in justice to the employees, should not be 
 curtailed in the least. 
 
 It is the opinion of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks that the 
 so-called straight pension, while seemingly an excellent proposition from the 
 immediate beneficiaries' viewpoint, would in actual operation be less desirable 
 than a contributory plan. A straight pension, we fear, will mitigate against 
 the opportunities for betterment of the working conditions of the clerks. 
 
 In the event of the death of an employee just prior to becoming eligible for 
 a retirement his family would raise the claim for a pro rata share of the pen- 
 sion. Once the principle is established of granting such claims on a pro rata 
 basis, every employee's death, even though he were in the service but a few 
 years, would be brought to the attention of Congress for a share of the pension 
 due the decedent. 
 
 A straight pension or noncintributory plan would, in my opinion, defeat tlie 
 very purpose that makes the establishing of some system so necessary, namely, 
 to increase the efficiency of the service. No. department head would feel jus- 
 tified in dismissing an employee and thus deprive him of his pension rights. 
 The same condition that prevails to-day, the withholding of discharge orders 
 because of humanitarian motives, would continue to keep inefficient men on 
 the pay rolls. 
 
 Any pension or retirement system that makes continuous service only a 
 requirement for eligibility might tend to make the employees servile and sub- 
 servient. The possibility of the loss of his long-sought pension, particularly in 
 the latter years of service, would intrude on the thoughts of the employees to a 
 demoralizing extent. 
 
 The power to deprive the employees of their pensions by removal from the 
 service might foster the creation of a governmental bureaucracy. The political 
 party in power might easily coerce the employees into partisan activity by even 
 the implied threat of loss of pension interests. 
 
 Under the contributory plan, whereby the savings of the employees were 
 available at the time of termination of connection with the service there would 
 be little inclination for anyone, after realizing by a practical trial their unfit- 
 ness for civil-service duties, to remain in an uncongenial work for the selfish 
 purpose of participating in an annuity which would automatically follow a 
 certain number of years of service. Also, under this plan, a department head 
 would have no compunction about dropping from the rolls those whose efficiency 
 fell below the standard. 
 
 It has been suggested that a straight pension plan could be made less objec- 
 tionable by placing an annual valuation on the pension so the employee severing 
 connection with the service could receive a pro rata share of his annuity. 
 This, in effect, is an indirect contributory plan less attractive than the direct 
 because the employee would get no benefit of accumulated interest. 
 
 Regardless of what system of retirement is finally found best suited to the 
 requirements of the Federal service, the Government is confronted with the 
 necessity of retiring those now at the age of superannuation. This is the only 
 recourse, the only humane, economical, just way to correct the past mistake 
 of not providing for a way out of the dilemma that now faces us. 
 
 Those now eligible for retirement should be granted an annuity which would 
 have been theirs had the system been in vogue when they entered the service. 
 Others who will become eligible before they have an opportunity to accu- 
 mulate a sufficient amount for retirement purposes must also be provided for 
 by special legislative features. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 67 
 
 President Wilson in hia booli, Tlie New Freedom, gives an illuminating 
 tnougnt of the question of pensions, saying : 
 
 "They have been the stoutest and most successful opponents of organized 
 labor, and they have tried to undermine it in a great many ways. Some of the 
 ways they have adopted have worn the g^uise of philanthropy and good will 
 and have no doubt been used, for all I know, in perfect good faith. Here and 
 there they have set up systems of profit sharing, of compensation for injuries, 
 and of bonuses and even pensions; but every one of these plans has merely 
 bound their workingmen more tightly to themselves. Rights under these 
 various arrangements are not legal rights. They are merely privileges which 
 employees enjoy only so long as they remain in the employment and observe the 
 rules of the great industries for which they work." 
 
 If, as our President thinks, a pension in a private corporation makes for the 
 loss of the independence of the beneficiary, it would affect in a still greater 
 degree the civil-service employee, whose knowledge is of value, in many in- 
 stances, only to the Government. 
 
 That the civil-service clerk is a most necessary part of the governmental 
 machinery will be attested to by any departmental chief. The wheels of the 
 great national institution keep turning in much the same fashion regardless of 
 which political party is in the ascendancy. An election, with all its noise and 
 clamor, does not disturb but slightly the actual work of the Government. Call it 
 routine, if you will, it is nevertheless an essential, important work. New po- 
 litical officials come into power with a determination to revolutionize the par- 
 ticular branch of the service placed in their control. At the end of a few 
 months, after finding out the excellent, business-like manner in which affair.? 
 are conducted, after vainly looking for som^e real improvement to be made, they 
 cheerfully follow the lead of all predecessors, turn the office over to the civil- 
 service underlings, and confine their official activities to dinner and banquet 
 acceptances or Chautauqua bookings. 
 
 Take our Postal Service as an illustration. Postmaster Generals come and go,. 
 each playing his part, but the volume of mail goes on forever. Each one ex- 
 periences the same feeling ; he is amazed at the vastness of the organization, 
 its perfection, its numerous ramifications ; and he is content to let it run on 
 with an occasional tentative suggestion for its improvement. 
 
 Congress, too, legislates for the Postal Service, puts a law upon the statute 
 books, and then proceeds to let the civil-service clerks adapt it "to the needs of 
 the department and the public. After all, the lowly clerk is not to be too 
 lightly held. He is human, he is a factor that should be considered as neces- 
 sary in carrying out the wishes of Congress. He is not only the wheels of 
 the Government, but the heart and brains as well. 
 
 It has been truly and aptly said that the Government, in its conduct of the 
 civil service, keeps the front door locked and the rear door wide open. Entrance 
 into the service is difficult. It is only gained by successfully passing the closest 
 scrutiny as to mental qualifications, character, and general fitness. Once in, 
 however, and the applicant is given free rein to escape. He may be signally 
 qualified for an exacting duty, his retention may be desirable from an economic 
 viewpoint, still no particular inducement is made to him to make the service his 
 life's work. He finds the exit wide open. Thus the most efficient material that 
 comes into the service filters through it because outside attractions are greater 
 and more promising. From a business standpoint this is wrong. If Govern- 
 ment work requires skilled intelligence, experienced, trained, expert workers, 
 then it is an economic waste not to attract and hold this class of employees. 
 It is a mistaken policy to cheapen the Government service so that it is not a 
 magnet for the best brains of the Nation. 
 
 The adoption of a contributory plan of retirement would first necessitate some 
 reorganization of the present civil service. Such action would be in accord- 
 ance with the Democratic platform plank of 1912, which says : 
 
 " We favor a reorganization of the civil service with adequate compensation 
 commensurate with the class of work performed for all oflJcers and employees." 
 
 I urge that you adopt some equitable system to retire those now superan- 
 nuated and by the same token provide promotions for those who have been 
 kept below their rightful sphere because of the absence of such needed legisla- 
 tion. I thank you for the consideration you have shown me. ^ ^^ ^ 
 
 Mr Russell. If I may test the indulgence of the committee further to ask 
 permission for two or three more to m'ake a statement as to what they favor? 
 
 The 'chaikman. Our time has already expired. You might introduce them: 
 and let them say in a few words what they want. 
 
68 CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 
 
 [Hearing continued from Feb. 20 to Mar. 6, 1914.] 
 
 The committee resumed its sitting. 
 
 The Chairman. The committee will now proceed to the consideration of 
 House bill 11522, introduced by Mr. Nolan. 
 
 STATEMENT OF THOS. F. FLAHERTY, SECRETARY-TREASURER NATIONAL FEDERATION 
 
 POST-OFFICE CLERKS. 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. As a representative of post-ofl5ce clerks, all of whom would be 
 benefited by legislation such as the Nolan bill proposes, I earnestly urge the 
 committee to give this measure the careful consideration it merits. 
 
 In section 1 of the bill it is provided that all civil-service employees who 
 are employed by the year shall receive not less than $1,080. Section 2 provides 
 a 5 per cent increase yearly for four years to those employees receiving more 
 than $1,080, with certain limitations and provisions to prevent inequalities 
 and insure justice to the employees affected. 
 
 Thus it can be seen that the postal employees are, in common with other 
 Government workers, vitally interested in this bill, because it pertains to their 
 salary classification, a most important matter to all of us. 
 
 The entrance salary in the post-office service is $800. At first thought one 
 might think that this is an exceptionally high rate of pay to give a beginner. 
 One unacquainted with the facts might think the Government was more liberal 
 toward the new employee than private corporations, but such is not tlie case. 
 This $800 wage is not really entrance salary. It is only reached by male clerks 
 and carriers after an indefinite period of substitute work, a period of uncer- 
 tainty, a period of precarious living, during which the income of the clerk 
 and carrier fluctuates from day to day. 
 
 When consideration is given to the method adopted by the Post Office De- 
 partment in having a long list of substitutes, who must necessarily wait years 
 for regular employment, the $1,080 minimum fixed by this bill is only a just 
 wage. If it is within the province of this committee, I would urge that you 
 strengthen the bill to prevent the abuse of the substitute system in the postal 
 department. Let a young man entering the service know that he will not have 
 to wait five, six, seven, or even nine years, in some instances, before reaching 
 the $1,080 minimum for regular appointment. 
 
 I know that the range of this Committee on Reform in the Civil Service is a 
 wide one and covers a number of things not particularly germane to this bill, 
 so I would like to point out some of the bad features of the present method 
 governing post-office substitute work. 
 
 In the large offices, and I speak of them because I happen to have some 
 knowledge of the conditions, although the same may be true in the small offices 
 to a limited extent, the plight of the substitute clerk or letter carrier is an unen- 
 viable one. In Boston substitute letter carriers have waited nine years for 
 regular employment. In almost any large office the substitute period for letter 
 carrier.s — and the carrier is worse off than the clerk in this respect — covers a 
 period from two to five years. 
 
 The fact has been brought forth here this morning that the chief attraction 
 of civil-service work is its permanency. But substitute carrier and clerical 
 work in the Postal Service has not even this advantage. Though the sub,stitute, 
 in most large offices at least, must report day after day ready for work,' he has 
 no assurance of getting it. He must hold himself in readiness to report at any 
 hour of the day or night. During the day he is forbidden, in many instances, to 
 leave the building after reporting in the morning. He must sit around, waiting, 
 waiting, waiting, for some mischance to enable him to take the place of a regu- 
 lar. Maybe in the evening he will be given three hours' work, at 30 cents an 
 hour, during the nightly rush in the mailing division. 
 
 It is nothing unusual for substitute letter carriers and clerks to go week after 
 week without receiving any regular assignment. The three or four hours work 
 in the evening, for which they must wait around all day and which is the extent 
 of their earning capacity because of that, represents their sole income. Think 
 of it, gentlemen. These men have entered the Government service under the 
 misapprehension of getting steady employment only to find they must struggle 
 along for years at an uncertain wage, a wage that averages around the dollar- 
 a-day mark. 
 
 I would like to place in the record a letter I received last week from a substi- 
 tute clerk in Chicago, a member of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks, 
 for the enlightenment of the committee. 
 
CIVIL SEEVICE RETIREMENT. 69 
 
 The Chaikman. Without objection, it will be incorporated in your remarks, 
 air. Flaherty. 
 
 ,, „ T^ Chicago, III., February 26. 1911,. 
 
 MY DEAR Flaherty : I know you have your hands full tiiese days in trying 
 to prevent the department from working the regulars to death in this office and 
 letting the subs starve, but I want to tell you my tale of woe and see if I have 
 any just cause for a suit in the Court of Claims against this great and glorious 
 (Fourth of July stufC) Commonwealth of America. 
 
 You know I was a sub carrier but transferred to the clerks' list In expectation 
 of getting an earlier appointment. 
 
 As a sub carrier I first bought a uniform, which set me back eight bucks. 
 However, I felt repaid when I strutted along the street and let the neighbors 
 all envy me in my shiny brass buttons. Now the whole uniform is shiny. If 
 the kid hadn't got sick last April I would have bought a new coat but—. It 
 seemed that every assignment I got as a carrier was at the other end of town. AVe 
 live out at Oak Park — the rent is cheaper — and in order to get on the job at 
 6.30 I had to make allowances for an hour or tveo ride to my place of em- 
 ployment; thence case the mail, hike the cobblestones with a half ton— so it 
 seemed — of letters, papers, and packages; do the same thing three times over 
 every day. Oh, I'm not kicking about the work part of if. My only kick is 
 that the work doesn't come to me oftener. The 30 cents an hour as a substi- 
 tute carrier suited me all right, but there wasn't enough of it; or, rather, therei 
 were too many subs after it. 
 
 Since becoming a substitute clerk I have struck a run of bad luck. I sit 
 around all day figuring out my debts and waiting for three or four hours' work, 
 at 30 cents per, in the evening. Say, it's surely worth 30 cents to stay In this 
 Chicago mailing room an hour. The dirt, stench, dust, and fetid atmosphere 
 is enervating and nerve racking. I don't see how the regulars stand it. AVhen 
 the time for my appointment draws near, about July 1, I'm going to send a fi'iend 
 of mine to Campbell and get at a station — the money order or the executive 
 offices. None of this night work, scheme study, sack dumping for me. I've 
 noticed that the fellows in the good jobs come to work at 8 or 9 and quit at 5. 
 or 6, wear good clothes, and get the money. It was a wise fellow who said, 
 " It isn't what you know in the post office ; it's who you know that counts." 
 
 The 90-cent days, as the vs-ife calls them, when I only get the mailing room 
 facing-up work, have- been all too frequent lately. When I deduct car fare and 
 -15 cents at the beanery — for even a substitute must eat, a fact you might 
 impress upon some of the higher-ups in Washington — my earnings will not 
 enable the wife to take tango lessons or go to the horse show very often. 
 
 Some of the silk-stocking brigade, as the subs call the occupants of the ma- 
 hogany-furnished rooms upstairs — the pollys or near pollys who had sense 
 enough to enter the Postal Service from the top Instead of the bottom — call us, 
 I've been told, a bunch of " reds." This is not true, but I'm surprised it is not. 
 You can't inculcate a love of country or humanity into a man who is accumulat- 
 ing a load of debts, a frayed appearance, and a hunted look in the employment 
 of the greatest Nation on earth. 
 
 I am now one hundred and sixty-seventh on the list, so you see my chances 
 for appointment are good. If times pick up on the outside there will be whole- 
 sale resignations from here. No young fellow with vim or spirit, at least if 
 he is single, will ever stay with this Chicago post-office game after his eyes are 
 open ; and the subservice is a great eye opener. After my appointment I'll get 
 $66 a month, and my wife, who is frugal and German, calculates we can get out 
 of debt in three years if everything goes well. Say, Flaherty, when I'm free 
 from debt and getting a hundred a month, I'll feel like Rockefeller, although 
 the hundred-a-month fellows here who have gone through the mill tell me I'll 
 never get out of debt and my salary will evaporate quicker as it grows larger. 
 
 Meanwhile, you see if a claim against the Government for failure to support 
 is valid. If the Court of Claims does not think it criminal to lure young men 
 into the service under the guise of permanency of employment, and then let 
 them starve, try to get the department to bar from the mails these magazines 
 that accept ads from civil-service schools which read, " Work for Uncle Sam. 
 Good pay, steady work, splendid opportunities. Tuition only, etc." 
 
 And while you are at the department you might tell them that the Government 
 is losing $200 a day in Chicago by working regular clerks overtime at 40 cents 
 an hour doing the work that substitutes should have for 30 cents. Not only is 
 the department losing money, but the regular clerks are losing their eifective- 
 
70 CIVIL SEEVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 ness because of the long hours, while the lowly subs are losing weight — they 
 don't eat. It's a loss all around. 
 
 Hoping something will be done to correct these inconsistencies, I am. 
 Fraternally, yours, 
 
 Mr. Flaherty. The experience of this Chicago substitute clerk is but typical 
 of many.. The impression that the civil-service employee is an envied gentle- 
 man of leisure is entirely erroneous. He is a worker, a laborer, his legislative 
 needs come directly within the province of Congress to correct. Congress, 
 legislating for the workmen of the Nation, can well point the way for private 
 employers to follow by making the condition of the Government employee better 
 than it is. 
 
 While this condition pertaining to the substitutes in the Postal Service is but 
 an instance, yet it has a wide significance. It is caused entirely by a desire for 
 economy. A large waiting list of substitutes means there will always be men 
 to call in for any sudden influx of mail above the ordinary. It therefore per- 
 mits of keeping the regular force down to the bare minimvim, just the requisite 
 number to handle the mail by working at top speed. It has developed the prac- 
 tice of working two men for four hours rather than one man for eight hours. 
 Moreover, a substitute clerk does not get a vacation nor an annual increase 
 in salary, hence the tendency to keep him a substitute as long as possible. All 
 of this has a bearing on the bill before the committee, the real purpose of which 
 'is to standardize the salaries and prevent inequalities. In short, to raise the 
 civil service to a point where it will attract the best class of employees in the 
 Nation. 
 
 The objection has been raised this morning to this bill because the additional 
 taxation will fall upon the shoulders of the men who are not getting near so 
 high a salary as is proposed to give Government employees. As a matter of 
 fact, these taxpayers don't object to the payment of decent wages to the men in 
 their employment as we are. The small-wage earner, if he could express his 
 wishes to you direct, would favor the payment of a wage commensurate with 
 the work and responsibilities. He sees In the civil service an objective point 
 for his children. He wants the Government to be a model employer. No, 
 gentlemen, the objection to a bill of this nature comes from the large employer, 
 the man who hates to see the standard raised to a point where a portion of 
 his profits are curtailed. This class of people is naturally opposed to seeing 
 the Government setting a standard that some day every employer must reach. 
 
 The second section of this bill provides for a 5 per cent increase yearly for. 
 four years to those employees getting $1,080. This would directly affect thou- 
 sands of postal employees in the $1,100, $1,200, and higher grades. These men 
 are deserving of recognition in a substantial way. They are all experienced, 
 skilled, trained workers. Blany of them have received no wage increase in the 
 past decade, while, as you well know, the cost of living has soared upward. 
 
 This committee heard a few weeks ago a detailed account of the struggle a 
 $1,400 clerk in the New York post office has made to meet the absolutely neces- 
 sary obligations — the bare necessities of life. Yet, gentlemen, this employee, 
 whose sincerity made such an impression upon you, is, judged from post-office 
 standards, a high-salaried man. If he could not make ends meet — and he 
 showed that he could not — what possible chance has the $800, $900, $1,000, 
 $1,100, or $1,200 man? And what chance has the substitute with his uncer- 
 tainty of income? I trust the committee will take some action to improve the 
 lot of the civil-service employee. 
 
 [From the Sunday Star, July 15, 1917, Washington, D. C] 
 
 EETIKEMEKT AS A WAR MEASURE. 
 
 Hearings now in progress before the Senate Committee on Civil Service are 
 bringing again to the attention of Congress the urgent need and the equity of a 
 system of retirements that will permit the replacement of superannuated Gov- 
 ernment clerks with younger people. 
 
 It has been urged before the committee that this is a war measure. It is 
 such in the sense that retirement will make the Government service more effi- 
 cient and at this great crisis in the national affairs efficiency is extremely nec- 
 essary. The Government service would be improved many per cent by the 
 adoption of a system making possible humanely to displace tlie elder clerks who 
 have been long in .service. 
 
 This puts the retirement proposition solely on the ground of the Government's 
 interests. It is sufficient to persuade .nnyone who examines the matter with 
 
CrVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 71 
 
 any degree of care that the Government would profit materlallj' by a reorganiza- 
 tion of the civil service on a retirement basis. But there is another side to It, a 
 side of humanity and equity to the clerks, and that should never be ignored 
 or minimized. Tlie Government should treat its workers with the same degree 
 of consideration that is accorded the workers of the more advanced business 
 institutions of the country, including the most successful industrial corporations. 
 
 A retirement system would not insure tenure to an unfit worker. It would not 
 make for permanency for the unqualified. No man would be retained who 
 could not discharge his duties competently. It would simply assure to the 
 Government worker the right to retire on a conipensatlon sufficient to keep him 
 in decent comfort during the remainder of his life, after having served the Gov- 
 ernment for a period of years with fidelity and efliciency. 
 
 This subject has been thrashed out again and again. There is nothing new to 
 be said about It. The arguments that are being advanced at the hearings are 
 the old ones, but it is to be hoped that they come with especial force now that 
 the country is at war and the necessity obtains for the greatest efficiency in all 
 branches of the Government service. If the matter is referred to the heads of 
 the various departments, as proposed, it is to be believed that their verdict will 
 be virtually unanimous. They, seeing the situation at close range, and with 
 intimate knowledge of the Government's needs and conditions, are fully con- 
 vinced that good business administration, as well as justice to the clerks, de- 
 mands the immediate adoption of this system of retirement. 
 
 Mr. AxcoEN. I wish the committee to hear a few words from Dr. 
 Reed, the secretary of the joint retirement committee of the Naval 
 Gun Factory. 
 
 STATEMENT OF DR. C. EDER REED, WASHINGTON, D. C, SECRE- 
 TARY OF THE JOINT RETIREMENT COMMITTEE OF THE NAVAL 
 GUN FACTORY, 
 
 Dr. Eeed. Mr. Chairman, since I have liad the honor to serve our 
 committee as its secretary, I have been strongly impressed with the 
 way our Congressmen respond to the heart throbs of our people, and 
 I have realized as never before what a real democracy is this land 
 of ours. This is so much so, that I feel when addressing one of the 
 committees of our Congress that I am in truth , speaking to the 
 hundred million of my fellow citizens. 
 
 I wish to leave with you a prophesy and a parable. 
 
 I believe that if we pass a retirement law, the great war will cease. 
 "That is foolishness. Doctor." said Mr. John S. Beach to me the 
 other day, and so it is, but it has this element of truth. This war is 
 being fought not only in the physical conflict in the battlefields and 
 on the seas, but also in the minds and souls of men all over the earth. 
 If we, the American people, have advanced the thoughts of brother- 
 hood far enough to care justly for the aged workers m our civil 
 service, it will be an indication that other peoples have taken similar 
 steps forward ; whereas, if we can not yet deal justly with our super- 
 annuated servants, it is an indication that we need further discipline, 
 before we shall be fit to enter into the relationship of world-brother- 
 hood with the nations of the earth. 
 
 So much for the prophesy. Now for the parable, for only thus 
 may we begin to comprehend the meaning of the great drama of hie 
 now approaching a new climax. . , , , ■, 
 
 The civilization into which we have ]ust entered may be compared 
 to the driving of an automobile while that from which we have ]ust 
 emerged was more like driving a horse in a buggy. You could wrap 
 your reins around the whipstock and the horse would take you home, 
 but the driving of an automobile requires constant vigilant attention. 
 
72 CIVIL SERVICE EBTIEEMENT. 
 
 Our complex civilization has partly lost the power of self direction. 
 We can not all be drivers but we in a democracy arrogate to our- 
 selves the right to say who shall drive for us, and we insist that the 
 driving be done as we wish and not as a joy ride for the driver. 
 
 When we behold the sources of labor we have drawn upon in the 
 present world crisis, we can perceive the reason for the mysterious 
 high cost of living that prevailed just before the beginning of the 
 great war. We see that many people were either doing nothing or 
 else were engaged in work that was unprofitable to the community. 
 Take our girls, for instance. Many a man would say in effect, " My 
 girl does not have to work," and he would let her live in idleness 
 and denied her the privilege of expressing herself in creative work. 
 And how hard it was for a man to find a job if he was thrown out 
 of employment. We had able-bodied men standing about idle with 
 women and children at home hungry. These conditions should not 
 be allowed to recur but their control demands community of thought 
 and action to search out the laAvs of wages and service, and no wage 
 scale is perfect unless complemented by a just retirement provision. 
 Our first duty in this is toward our superannuated employees in the 
 civil service. As Mr. Morrison has suggested, this will only be the 
 first step toward the solution of a great economic problem, because 
 a part of the whole people is always in the state of superannuation 
 requiring care from those younger. 
 
 We say in our pride of democracy that we make the laws by which 
 we are governed. I am afi'aid we are mistaken. I believe that the 
 laws have been made for us and are inherent in social life. We select 
 our representatives to search out and discover these laws, to put 
 them into words, then we exhort ourselves and our fellow citizens 
 obey them. How well we succeed may be measured by the pride we 
 feel in being considered a " law-abiding citizen." In a feAV cases we 
 miss the real law of life, and the statute becomes Avhat we call a 
 " dead letter." We usually do not even take the trouble to repeal 
 such ; we simply go ahead and enact a new law more in accordance < 
 with natural law and try to live by that. 
 
 Let me express the hope that this committee will see with us who 
 have been advocating an early solution of this problem of superan- 
 nuation in our civil service, that the passage of some measure such 
 as the McKellar-Keating bill is one of the urgent matters that should 
 be enacted in this session of congress. Knowing as I do, the pitiful 
 anxious interest of our older brothers in the service in anything that 
 has to do with this retirement movement, personally, I feel that it is 
 a social crime to delay action any longer. 
 
 I thank you for your patient hearing of our plea and entreat your 
 prompt and vigorous action thereon. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. I would like to have the committee hear Mr. Finnan, 
 of the National Association of Letter Carriers. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. M. T. FINNAN, ASSISTANT SECRETARY, NA- 
 TIONAL ASSOCIATION OF LETTER CARRIERS, WASHINGTON, 
 D. C. 
 
 Mr. Finnan. Mr. Chairman, I had not intended speaking on this 
 big question today, but as I haA'e been requested to make some few 
 remarks on it now, I will take advantage of the opportunity. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 73 
 
 This question is one which has been agitating the minds of the 
 Government employees in the classified civil service for years, and 
 not only the minds of the Government employees, but the minds of 
 all people who have studied the question from the standpoint of effic- 
 iency in the Government service. It has been maintained that to 
 enact an adequate retirement law would improve the efficiency of 
 the service. It is estimated that if a retirement law was put into 
 force today, there would in all probability be about 7,000 persons 
 who would be eligible for retirement. Personally, I advocate the 
 enactment of a retirement bill upon a straight pension basis. I be- 
 lieve that service annuities, or pensions, if you will, are nothing 
 more nor less than deferred pay; that the employees for years have 
 not been paid enough, and that it is the duty of the Government to 
 give them in their declining years a service annuity in order that they 
 may in some sense be compensated for the salary earlier denied them. 
 
 However, all of the associations of Government employees have 
 united upon the plan embodied in the McKeller-Keating bill, which 
 provides for a deduction of 2^ per cent from the salaries of the em- 
 ployees. That has been agreed to. I believe that the Government 
 should provide a fund which would immediately retire those aged 
 and superannuated men and women who should be retired. I say 
 " who should be retired," but I do not mean that they should be 
 thrown out upon the charity of the world. I mean that they should 
 be retired as our honorable chairman would retire a good and faith- 
 ful old horse that he had had in his possession for 20 or 30 years. He 
 would not kill him, but he would say that he should be turned out 
 in the pasture to graze for the balance of his days. The Government 
 should also pay the amount that it will require to retire those men 
 where their deductions are not equal to the amount that their retire- 
 ment would cost. It has been admitted that the deduction of 2^ per 
 cent from the salaries of Government employees will amount for the 
 first eight or ten years to a sum much greater than will be required 
 to retire the aged and superannuated now in the service, so that it 
 will not cost anything to the Government for a number of years to 
 put into operation the plan that has been promulgated in the Mc- 
 Kellar-Keating bill. 
 
 I would like to state a few reasons for the enactment of a retire- 
 ment bill. 
 
 The enactment of a retirement law will insure more efficient serv- 
 ice by substituting young and vigorous employees for the superan- 
 nuated men. 
 
 The enactment of a retirement law will not grant pennanency of 
 tenure to incompetents or retain unqualified persons in employment, 
 but it will act m an incentive to retain in the service the more com- 
 petent and efficient employees. 
 
 The salaries paid the Government employees are not sufficient to 
 maintain their families and enable them to save enough to provide 
 
 for old age. , . . • . i. 
 
 It will prevent the present practice of removing employees whose 
 efficiency has become impaired on account of old age. Eight there, 
 let me say, Mr. Chairman, that it has been announced time and time 
 again that the heads of departments will not throw out on the charity 
 of the world those old and faithful employees who have given the best 
 
74 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 of their lives to the governmental service. That does not prove true, 
 however, in the case of the employees whom I have the honor to rep- 
 resent—that is, the city letter carriers. The city letter carrier must 
 go out in the heat of a day like this, in the storm and cold of the 
 winter, and the rain of spring until his days of usefulness are over. 
 Carrying, as he must, on his back from 50 to 100 pounds of mail, he 
 must be strong, vigorous, and virile, to perform that class of work, 
 and when he can no longer perform it, he is out of the service. No 
 provision at all is made by this Government of ours for anything in 
 the shape of a pension or annuity for taking care of him in his old 
 age. 
 
 A retirement law will permit employees to live their declining years 
 in peace and contentment and without fear of being thrown on the 
 charitv of the world after their usefulness has come to an end. 
 
 A retirement law will attract a class of men to the public service 
 that will keep its efficiency at a high standard, as it will be an in- 
 ducement for them to make the service their life work. 
 
 Every large employer of labor in the commercial and industrial 
 world has inaugurated a retirement system for his employees as a 
 policy of economy and efficiency. 
 
 No"^ method can be provided to care for the. superannuated em- 
 ployment of the Government except -through the enactment of legis- 
 lation by the Congress. Mr. Chairman, I particularly wish to call 
 to your attention the fact that it is upon Congress alone that the duty 
 rests of putting into force any retirement law. It must be an enact- 
 ment of law, and the law can only be enacted by the Congress of the 
 United States. 
 
 The United States is the only civilized Government that has not 
 made provision for the retirement of its superannuated employees. 
 
 The cost of maintaining the McKellar-Keating bill will be borne by 
 the Government and the employees. 
 
 Retirement legislation has received the official indorsement of 
 State legislatures, city councils, chambers of commerce, boards of 
 trade, labor and fraternal associations, the public press, and thou- ' 
 sands of men and women throughout the country who take an inter-, 
 est in public affairs. 
 
 The Democratic and Republican Parties have declared in their 
 national platforms in favor of the enactment of retirement legisla- 
 tion. The plank in the Democratic platform of 1916 contains the 
 following declaration : 
 
 For an equitable retirement law. providing for the retirement of superan- 
 nuated and disabled employees of the civil service to the end that a higher 
 standard of efficiency may be maintained. 
 
 The Republican platform of 1912 contained the following plank: 
 
 We favor legislation to make possible the equitable retirement of disabled 
 and superannuated members of the civil service in order that a higher standard 
 of efficiency may be maintained. 
 
 The enactment of a retirement law will be of benefit to the Postal 
 Service as well as to the employees both young and old. It will en- 
 courage young and cempetent men to enter the service ; it will afford 
 them a sense of satisfaction to know that if they remain in it and 
 make it their life work they will be rewarded by a pension when their 
 efficiency becomes impaired through age. An equitable retirement 
 
CIVIL SEBVICE KBHEEMENT. 75 
 
 annuity is just as much a compensation as is the monthly salary. It 
 is given as a reward for long and faithful service, and is now recog- 
 nized as a fixed charge on every well-regulated business. 
 
 The McKellar-Keating bill has its imperfections, and it is not all 
 that we desire, but we earnestly hope and trust that when the bill 
 becomes a law it will contain the provisions already provided therein 
 in so far as they relate to the benefits that are to be granted. I have 
 hot much compassion or sympathy with some views that many take of 
 this matter in so far as looking forward to the actuarial principles 
 involved in it or as to the cost proposition. It is true we should know 
 what it will cost, and true, there should not be a burden put upon the 
 Government, but it seems to me thErt it would be a simple plan for the 
 legislators of this country to adopt and enact a bill that will give 
 justice to those superannuated men and women now in the Govern- 
 ment service, and I hope, Mr. Chairman, that when the committee 
 gives serious consideration, as it no doubt will, to this bill it will 
 report to the House the provisions of the McKellar-Keating bill in 
 practically its present form. I believe, Mr. Chairman, that in that 
 bill there should be a provision which would provide for taking care 
 of the man in the Government service who has risen by his own ef- 
 forts from a position in the civil service to a high and exalted posi- 
 tion, such as that of an appointment by the President that carries 
 with it confirmation by the Senate. We have a number of those men. 
 I further believe that the principle of deductions, involving as it 
 does a deduction of 2| per cent of the salary, should not be carried 
 above the $1,200 grade. I think that as the bill provides that retire- 
 ment may be made upon the basis of $600 per annum of a $1,200 
 salary, the deduction should be made on the same basis. 
 
 I thank you for your attention and hope that the committee will 
 favorably report the bill. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. I would like to have the committee to hear Mr. Gib- 
 bons, of the United National Association of Post Office Clerks. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. WILLIAM F. GIBBONS, SECREARY UNITED 
 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF POST OFFICE CLERKS, 620 COLO- 
 RADO BUILDING, WASHINGTON, D. C. 
 
 Mr. Gibbons. Mr. Chairman, it is not my purpose to keep the com- 
 mittee here in session very long. Eather, I think that the committee 
 deserves to be given a rising vote of thanks for sitting throughout 
 this very oppressive day. The 'heat is simply unbearable. I do not 
 know that I can add much to what has been said here this morning 
 and this afternoon. The bill has been carefully gone over, or, 
 rather, the items in the bill have been carefully gone over and dis- 
 cussed by people who have give the subject of retirement years of 
 careful study. However, there are two points that I would like to 
 bring out : One of them is with reference to the remarks of the dis- 
 tinguished chairman this morning, in interrogating one of the speak- 
 ers in regard to the long years of faithful service of the employees 
 being responsible for creating the millions of wealth, and, therefore, 
 making them deserving of a pension from the corporations. 
 
 The other point was discussed by Congressman HamiU, of New 
 Jersey, and I think we all agree with our good friend Mr. HamiU, 
 
76 CIVIL SEBVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 who has given great thought and study to this matter, that the Gov- 
 ernment should take care of the faithful and efficient employees who 
 have remained in the service for so many years. The bill before you 
 is not ideal in every respect. The organization which I represent, 
 the United National Association of Post Office Clerks, has for years 
 advocated a straight pension bill or noncontributory bill, but this 
 year the representatives of all the organizations got together and 
 agreed with Senator McKellar and Congressman Keating to stand 
 by and support this bill. Therefore, our organization, which' has 
 formerly advocated a straight out and out pension bill, is ready and 
 willing to stand shoulder to shoulder with all the other organizations 
 and do everything within its power to have Congress enact this bill 
 during this session if it is at all possible. I think that if this bill is 
 favorably reported to this session of Congress, it will pass by an 
 overwhelming vote in the House, and I also think the same is true 
 of the Senate, where Senator McKellar will champion the bill. 
 
 Before concluding I wish to present to you former President 
 Taft's indorsement of legislation for the retirement of the super- 
 annuated civil employee. 
 
 FFrom address to the Boston convention of the United National Association Post 
 Office Clerks, Sept. 3, 1912.] 
 
 We are having a great deal of trouble, or supposed trouble, with what is 
 called superannuation ; men who have reached the point where their work is 
 less efficient than it was because they liave grown older. Disease may have 
 overtaken them, old age steals over them, and they are not as effective by half 
 as they were 10 years ago. What is to be done? They have ceased, really to be 
 efficient. Now, that is between you and me. We know It. They — the Lord 
 spares them the knowledge and they don't know it. But you and I know it. 
 Now, what happens? There is a statute on the statute book that says when 
 they become inefficient they must be dismissed. Are they dismissed? No; and 
 why not? It is because you can't get a depai'tment head, and you can't get 
 a bureau chief — unless ice runs in the veins — and tliere are not many of them 
 who will recommend a man who has served 30 or 40 years in the service for 
 dismissal at 70 when he hasn't anything to live on after he has given up his 
 life to the Government. You can pass statute after statute and the department 
 head with the milk of human kindness will look at that man's efficiency through 
 his eyes, not through the eyes of the intelligent head clerk, and he will continue 
 to recognize his efficiency until the Government makes some provision by which 
 that man may be retired. * * * First I was in favor of a simple, straight 
 pension, of which the Government paid all. After studying, however, * * * 
 I have become convinced that it is neither good for the Government or the 
 civil servant to have such a system. * * * i would have a mixed system 
 by which you would have enforced insurance with contribvitions from the 
 Government. * * * Now, you can collect a small, only a very small, per- 
 centage, the Government beginning and helping and ultimately you will get 
 a fund large enough to take care of everybody. And I would have it a fund 
 in which everybody is interested, and from wliich everybody may withdraw 
 his share whether he continues in the service or not, withdrawing it at the 
 time he either leaves the service voluntarily or from cause. 
 
 I trust that the distinguished chairman of this committee will do 
 everything in his power to urge a favorable report on the bill at as 
 early a day as possible. 
 
 I Avish to thank you for your attention. 
 
 Mr. Alcoen. I believe you have the statement of Dr. Maddrill, of 
 the United States Bureau of Efficiency, who has given considerable 
 study to this statement. I wish to state that the committee of con- 
 ferees here, or, rather, those representing the joint conference, would 
 like to have that statement included in the present hearing. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 77 
 
 The Chairman. I was just going to suggest that if you desire, or if 
 the others interested in the matter desire, that this statement of Dr. 
 Maddrill be incorporated in the hearing as if he himself had pre- 
 sented it ; I shall be glad to have it done. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. We would like to have it done. 
 
 Suggested Bill and Statement by De. James D. Maddkill, Actuary, Unitei 
 States Bureau of Efficiency. 
 
 A BILL For tlip retirement of employees in tlie classified ciTil service. 
 
 Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
 States of America m Congress assembled, That, beginning on the first day of 
 January, nineteen hundred and nineteen, all employees in the classified civil 
 service of the United States who have on that date or shall have on any date 
 thereafter rendered at least fifteen years of service, computed as prescribed 
 in section four of this act, and reached the age of sixty-eight years shall be 
 eligible for retirement on an annuity as provided in section three hereof : Pro- 
 vided, That the age of eligibility for retirement of city and rural letter carrers, 
 railway postal clerks, and mechanics in any branch of the civil service shall be 
 sixty-five years : Provided further, That postmasters shall not be included in 
 the provisions of this act. A person shall be deemed to have attained the age 
 of eligibility for retirement at the expiration of the date preceding the anni- 
 versary of the birth of such person. 
 
 That the provisions of this act shall include employees of the Library of 
 Congress and the Botanic Gardens, excepting such persons as may be ap- 
 pointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and may be extended 
 by Executive order, upon recommendation of the Civil Service Commission, to 
 include any employee or group of employees in the civil service of the United 
 States not classified at the time of the passage of this act. The President 
 shall have power, in his discretion, to exclude from the operation of this act 
 or include therein any employee or group of employees whose tenure of office 
 is intermittent or of uncertain duration. 
 
 Sec. 2. That, beginning on the first day of January, nineteen hundred and 
 nineteen,"" there shall be deducted and withheld from each payment of the 
 salary, pay, or compensation of each person to whom this act applies a sum 
 equal to two and one-half per centum thereof. The Secretary of the Treasury 
 shall cause the said deductions to be withheld from all specific appropriations 
 for the particular salaries or compensation from which the deductions are 
 made and from all allotments out of lump-sum appropriations for payments 
 of such salaries or compensation for each fiscal year, and said sums shall be 
 transferred on the books of the Treasury Department to the credit of a special 
 fund to be known as the civil service retirement fund, and shall be credited 
 together with interest thereon at four per centum per annum, compounded 
 annually, to the individual account of the employee from whose salary or com- 
 pensation the deduction was made. 
 
 Sec. 3. That every employee who shall be retired under the provisions of 
 this act shall during the remainder of his or her life receive from the civil 
 service retirement fund and the moneys hereinafter appropriated from the 
 Treasury : 
 
 (a) The annuity which the sum credited to his or her individual account 
 upon actual retirement purchases at the eligibility age, sixty-five or sixty-eight 
 as the case may be, on the basis of such annuity tables as the Secretary of the 
 Treasury may prescribe. 
 
 (b) A sum of $6 annually for each completed year of his or her entire 
 service not in excess of thirty years. 
 
 (c) An additional sum of $6 annually for each completed year, if any, of 
 service rendered prior to January one, nineteen hundred and nineteen. 
 
 For the month in which the employee may have become separated from the 
 service no annuity shall be paid. Thereafter the payment of the annuity shall 
 depend upon the conditions existing on the first day of the month in which 
 the annuity shall accrue, and if the former employee receiving such annuity 
 shall die prior to the last day of the month, one full month's annuity shall 
 be paid for the month in which such employee shall have died. The dis- 
 bursement of such last-named annuity and any check payable to a former em- 
 ployee who may have died prior to receiving the amount thereof, shall be made 
 
78 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 to such persons and in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations to 
 be made by the Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 Sec. 4. That for the purpose of this act and subject to the provisions of sec- 
 tion eight hereof the period of service of an employee in the classified civil 
 service shall be computed from original employment, whether as a classified or 
 unclassified employee in the civil service of the United States, and shall in- 
 clude periods of service at different times and services in one or more depart- 
 ments, branches, or independent offices of the Government, and shall also in- 
 clude service performed under authority of the United States in any capacity, 
 civil, military, or naval overseas, and honorable service in a military or 
 naval capacity in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, or Marine Corps of the United 
 States, either Regular or Volunteer overseas or in the United States. It is 
 further expressly provided that amounts of pension or compensation which 
 under existing law have or shall have become payable on account of injury 
 received in the service of the Government, military, naval, or civil, shall be 
 deemed to be payable not for service rendered but for Injury received and 
 shall not, except as reauired by existing law, be deducted from the amounts 
 of pension provided under this act. 
 
 It is further provided that in computing length of service for the purposes; 
 of this act periods of separation from the service shall be excluded, and that 
 in the case of a substitute city carrier, postal clerk, or railway postal clerk 
 .only periods of active occupation in the duties for which he or she was em- 
 ployed shall be included. 
 
 Sec. 5. That all employees to whom this act applies shall, on arriving at the 
 age of retirement as defined in section one, be automatically separated from 
 the service : Provided, That if not less than ninety days before the arrival of 
 an employee at the period of retirement the head of the department, branch, 
 or independent office of the Government in which he or she is employed 
 certifies to the Director of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance that by reason 
 of his or her efficiency and his or her willingness to remain in the civil service 
 of the United States the continuance of such employee therein would be ad- 
 vantageous to the public service, such employee may be retained for a term 
 not exceeding two years upon certification by the Director of the Bureau of 
 War Risk Insurance, such certificate to be issued not less than seventy days 
 before the arrival of the employee at the period of retirement ; and at the end 
 of the two years he or she may, by similar certification, be continued for an 
 additional term of two years, and so on : Provided, however, That from and 
 after January one, nineteen hundred and thirty, no employee in the civil 
 service of the United States who may at that time, or may at any time there- 
 after, have remained in the civil service of the United States for more than 
 four years beyond the age of eligibility for retirement specified in section one 
 hereof shall be continued in the civil service of the United States. 
 
 Sec. 6. That each employee who may become eligible for retirement as pro- 
 vided in this act shall, not less than fifty days before arrival at the period of 
 retirement, file with the Director of the Bureau of War ftisk Insurance, ii; 
 such form as he may prescribe, an application for an annuity. 
 
 An application for retirement and annuity made after an application for 
 retention in the civil service shall not be construed as a waiver of the ap- 
 plication for such retention. 
 
 Upon receipt of satisfactory evidence the Director of the Bureau of War Risk 
 Insurance shall forthwith adjudicate the claim of applicant, and, if right to 
 an annuity be established, a proper certificate shall be issued to the annuitant 
 under the seal of the Treasury Department, and such certificate shall become 
 evidence of the right of the annuitant to the annuity as therein defined. 
 
 Sec. 7. That every employee to whom this act applies who shall continue in 
 the classified civil service after the passage of this act, as well as every 
 person to whom this act applies who may hereafter be appointed to a position 
 or place, shall be deemed to consent and agree to the deductions made and pro- 
 vided for herein, and payment with such deductions shall be a full and com- 
 plete discharge and acquittance of all claims and demands whatsoever for all 
 regular services rendered by such person during the period covered by such 
 payment, except his or her claim for the benefits to which he or she may be 
 entitled under the provisions of this act, notwithstanding the provisions of sec- 
 tions one hundred sixty-seven, one hundred sixty-eight, and one hundred 
 sixty-nme of the Revised Statutes of the United States, and of any other 
 law, rule, or regulation affecting the salary, pay, or compensation of any per- 
 son or persons employed in the civil service to whom this act applies 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIKEMENT. 19 
 
 Sec. 8. That upon the transfer of any employee from unclassified to classified 
 status, or upon the reinstatement of a former employee to the service, credit 
 for such past service or for any part thereof shall be granted only upon the 
 payment to the Treasurer of the United States, within ninety days of such 
 transfer or re-instatement, of the amount of such deductions with interest as 
 provided in this act as would have been made for the periods of actual service 
 or part thereof for which credit is to be given. Interest shall not be computed, 
 however, for periods of separation from the service. 
 
 Sec. 9. That in the case of an employee in the classified civil service of the 
 United States who shall be transferred to an unclassified position, and in the 
 case of an employee to whom this act applies who shall become absolutely 
 separated from the service before reaching the retirement age the total amount 
 of deductions of salary, pay, or compensation with accrued interest computed 
 at the rate of four jyer centum per annum compounded annually, shall, upon 
 application, be returned to such employee ; and in the event of the death of an 
 employee before he or she shall have received in annuities an amount equal to 
 the total amount of the deductions from his or her salary or compensation to- 
 gether with interest computed annually on the unreturned balance thereof at 
 four per centum per annum compounded annually up to the time of his or her 
 death, the amount of the said unreturned balance shall be disbursed to such 
 persons and in such manner as may be fixed by regulations to be prescribed 
 by the Secretary of the Treasury. 
 
 Sec. 10. There is hereby appropriated, out of any moneys in the Treasury 
 not otherwise appropriated, a sum, which, when added to the deductions 
 herein provided and transferred from other appropriations under the provisions 
 of this act, shall be sufficient to make payments provided by this act : Provided, 
 That the Secretary of the Treasury is hereby authorized and empowered 
 to invest, from time to time, in interest-bearing securities of the United 
 States, such portions of the " civil service retirement fund," hereby created 
 as in his judgment may not be immediately required for the payment of an- 
 nuities, refunds, and allowances as herein provided, and the income derived 
 from such investments shall constitute a part of said fund for the purpose of 
 carrying out the provisions of section nine of this act. 
 
 Sec. 11. That for the purpose of administration, except as otherwise pro- 
 vided herein, the Director of the Bureau of War Risk Insurance, under the 
 direction of the Secretary of the Treasury, be, and is hereby, authorized and 
 directed to perform, or cause to be performed, any and all acts and to make 
 such rules and regulations as may be necessary and proper for the purpose of 
 carrying the provisions of this act into full force and effect. 
 
 Sec. 12. That payment of annuities, refunds, and allowances as herein pro- 
 vided shall be made by the disbursing clerk for the Bureau of War Ri.sk In- 
 surance, and with the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury, checks in pay- 
 ment of annuities may be drawn without separate vouchers or receipts, but in 
 such form as to protect the United States against loss : Provided, That vouchers 
 shall be required in all cases in which payment of annuities, refunds, or allow- 
 ances are to be made to some person other than the annuitant, and in all other 
 cases in which the Secretary of the Treasury may deem it necessary. 
 
 Sec. 13. That annuities as herein provided shall be paid monthly, and cheeks 
 shall be issued and mailed to the last known address of the annuitant on the 
 first business day of the month succeeding the month in which the annuity be- 
 comes due : Provided, That where an annuitant is laboring under legal disabili- 
 ties the annuity in such cases may be paid to the duly appointed guardian. 
 
 Sec. 14. That it shall be the duty of the head of each executive department 
 and the head of each independent establishment of the executive branch of the 
 Government not within the jurisdiction of any executive department to report 
 to the Bureau of War Risk Insurance in such manner as said bureau may pre- 
 scribe the name and grade of such employee to whom this act applies in or 
 under said department or establishment who shall be at any time in a nonpay 
 status, and the amount of salary, pay, or compensation lost by the employee 
 by reason of such absence. The Bureau of War Rislsf Insurance shall keep 
 such record' of appointments, transfers, changes in grade, separations from the 
 service, and losses of pay as shall enable it at all times to determine accurately 
 the amount of salary, pay, or compensation deducted and withheld from any in- 
 dividual under the provisions of this act. 
 
 Sec. 15. That the Secretary of the Treasury shall prepare and keep all need- 
 ful tables, records, and accounts required for carrying out the provisions of this 
 
80 CIVIL SEEVICE KETIBEMENT. 
 
 act, including data showing the mortality experience of the officers and em- 
 ployees In the service and the rate of withdrawal from such service, and any 
 other information that may serve as a guide for future valuations and adjust- 
 ments of the plan for the retirement of officers and employees. The Secretary 
 of the Treasury shall make a detailed comparative report annually to Oon- 
 gi-ess show'ing all receipts and disbursements, together with the total number of 
 persons receiving annuities and the amounts paid them. 
 
 Sec. 16. That none of the moneys mentioned in this act shall be assignable, 
 either in law or equity, or be subject to execution, levy, or attachment, garnish- 
 ment, or other legal process; but they shall be liable for the payment of any 
 tax owing the United States or any obligation owing the United States incurred 
 through any breach of duty arising in the course of his employment to the 
 United States by the epiployee from whose salary such deductions may have 
 been made, or on whose account such annuity may have accrued. 
 
 Sec. 17. That for clerical and other services and all other expenses neces- 
 sary in carrying out the provisions of this act, there is hereby appropriated the 
 sum of $100,000, out of my moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, 
 which sum shall be Immediately available and continue available until the end 
 of the fiscal year next after the passage of this act ; thereafter the Secretary of 
 the Treasury shall include in his annual estimate of appropriations a sum suffi- 
 cient to continue this act in full force and effect. 
 
 Sec. 18. That all laws and parts of laws inconsistent with this act are hereby 
 repealed. 
 
 STJMMAEY OF PROVISIONS OF EBTIHEMENT BILL. 
 
 Section 1 : 
 
 Classified civil employees covered. Postmasters excluded. 
 
 Library of Congress and Botanic Garden employees included, except 
 
 presidential. 
 Executive order may cover in employees not now classified. 
 President may exclude or include employees of intermittent or uncer- 
 tain tenure. 
 Eligibility for retirement : Service at least 15 years. 
 
 Age 65 for mechanics, city and rural letter carriers, railway postal 
 
 clerks. 
 Age 68 for others. 
 Section 2 : 
 
 Deductions, 2J per cent of pay. 
 
 Withheld from salary appropriations. 
 
 Transferred on Treasury books to civil service retirement fund. 
 Credited to individual account at 4 per cent compound interest. 
 Section 3 : 
 
 Life pension provided : 
 
 (1) Annuity purchased by deductions. 
 
 (2) $6 for each year of service, not exceeding 30 years. 
 
 (3) $6 for each year of service prior to effective date of bill. 
 Section 4: 
 
 All United States Government service counted (subject to section 8 deduc- 
 tion adjustment if necessary). 
 
 Military or naval service counted. 
 
 Compensation for injury received in service of United States conserved 
 
 to employee. 
 Periods of separation not counted. 
 
 The substitute postal employees covered credited with only periods of 
 active employment. 
 Section 5 : 
 
 Successive two-year continuances. 
 
 Upon certification by head of department or branch, at least 90 days 
 prior, of efficiency ; and approval by Director of Bureau of War Kisk 
 Insurance at* least 70 days prior. 
 Ten years after passage of act (or from and after Jan. 1, 1930) abso- 
 lute age limits 69 and 72. 
 Section 7 : 
 
 Continuance of employment deemed consent to deductions. 
 Return of deductions and payment of pensions to be full acquittance of 
 claims for service. 
 
Section 9 : 
 Total 
 dedi 
 Secion 10 : 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 81 
 
 Section 8 : 
 
 ■'^^'II^^**?"^ at interest to be made up for credit desired for service for wliich 
 
 deductions had not been made, 
 ion 9 : 
 
 Total return to employee or legal representatives in no case less than total 
 
 deductions accumulated at 4 per cent interest, 
 on 10 : 
 
 Appropriation of amounts sufficient to make payments provided for by act 
 Secretary of the Treasury to invest funds not immediately payable. ' 
 
 feGCtlOll 11 '. 
 
 Administration by Director, Bureau War Risk Insurance 
 Section 12 : 
 
 Payments made by disbursing clerk of Bureau of War Risk Insurance in 
 such form as to protect United States against loss 
 Section 13. 
 
 Annuities payable monthly. 
 Section 14: 
 
 ■ Records of appointments, transfers, separations, nonpay periods, and pav 
 thus lost to employee. 
 Head department or branch to report. 
 Director, Bureau of War Risk Insurance, to record. 
 Section 15 : 
 
 Secretary of Treasury to keep all other needful tables and records for 
 future valuations or adjustments. 
 
 To report annually to the Congress on conditions of the fund. 
 Section 16: 
 
 Moneys not assignable or attachable. 
 Section 17: 
 
 Appropriations for clerical and other services: $100,000 first year, then 
 such sums as necessary. 
 Section 18: 
 
 Repeal of inconsistent lave. 
 
 MEMOBAKDUM RE SUGGESTED CHANGES IN THE MCKKLLAR-KEATING BILL FOR THE 
 RETIREMENT OP CLASSIFIED CIVIL EMPLOYEES. 
 
 Section 1 : The date substituted presumes passage of the bill before Septem- 
 ber, 1918. It can be ad.lusted here and elsewhere in the bill, if necessary, at 
 passage. One hundred and twenty days should intervene, as section 5 requires 
 the employee to make application for retention at least 90 days liefore arrival 
 at retirement status. 
 
 Minimum service of 15 years, as well as attainment of specified age, is re- 
 quired for eligibility. 
 
 The awkward expression " provided : Provided " is avoided in the proposed 
 phraseology. 
 
 Old section 4 is brought into its logical place as a second paragraph of sec- 
 tion 1. 
 
 Section 2 is old section 8 adapted and brought into its logical place from the 
 standpoint of the modified bill. 
 
 Section 3 : The modified bill, like the original, is devised to cost 5 per cent 
 ultimately, the Government paying half and the employees half, every em- 
 ployee, new or old, paying 21 per cent out of each salary check received after 
 the bill goes into effect. It undertakes to grade the benefits more evenly and 
 more equitably as between "employees, providing a gradual increase in the 
 annuity payable, in lieu of the original " step ladder " plan which would en- 
 courage the holding over of employees into the next five-year service periods; 
 and returning to the employee, in every case, his own purchase, together with a 
 contribution from the Government that treats alike all persons of like service, 
 except to give proper additional assistance to those employees whose deduc- 
 tions would, on account of the late passage of the bill in their service periods, 
 purchase too small amounts of annuity. The unmodified bill would have 
 granted a pension computed on only the first $1,200 of the 30-year employee's 
 salary, after having withheld deductions based on his whole salary. Instead of 
 50-50, or anything like it, this would in certain instances compel him to pay the 
 Government — to no advantage of his fellow employees supposed by those ad- 
 vocating the measure — twice the amount of the premium that insurance com- 
 panies charge for the same benefits, making profits and covering expenses on 
 
 79180—18 6 
 
82 
 
 OrVIL SEKVICE RETIBEMENT. 
 
 the business. The bill should do no employee or class of employees such pal- 
 pable injustice. The 25-year and shorter period employees would suffer the same 
 injustice, only in somewhat lesser degree. 
 
 The unmodified bill proposes to take 20 long years' more deductions from 
 the 50-year employee than from the 30-year employee, with no increase in the 
 amount of pension. It has been stated by mistaken defenders of this feature 
 that this is just what the insurance companies are doing. Insurance companies 
 charge like premiums for like hazards, a sound economic, principle that strict 
 State supervision compels them to observe. Some individuals escape the hazard 
 longer than others, or escape it altogether, and the financial shock that would 
 be suffered by the less fortunate is absorbed by distribution over the whole. 
 The clerk entering at 18 has not the same hazard as the clerk entering at 38. 
 Neither has any hazard at all. In any case they or their estates get back all 
 they put in, and at interest. One knows he will get his pension after 50 years' 
 service and 50 years' contributions. The other knows he will get his pension 
 after 30 years' service and 30 years' contributions. Either the contributions or 
 ■the pensions, or both, must differ and differ considerably. The insurance carrier 
 that charged the same premium, or that fniled to make the equitable difference 
 of premium, would lose its license. 
 
 Section 4, old section 3, has been modified to conserve to the employee so far 
 as possible any compensation receivable for injury incurred in the service of 
 the United States. 
 
 Section 5 as modified requires the Director of the Bureau of War Risk In- 
 surance to pass in reasonable season on applications for retention. 
 
 Section 6 is consistently adjusted. 
 
 Section 9, old section 11, has been clarified. 
 
 Certain other modifications have been made which it is believed will facilitate 
 the administration of the bill. 
 
 The sections following section 7 have been renumbered so as to follow a 
 more logical sequence. . 
 
 A skeleton comparison of average benefits under the original and proposed 
 plans follows. 
 
 J. D. Maddeill, Actuary. 
 
 MECHANICS, CITY AND RURAL CARRIERS, RAILWAY POSTAL CLERKS 
 (ELIGIBLE AT 65). 
 
 
 Years of 
 deduc- 
 tions 
 that will 
 be made 
 by as- 
 sumed 
 age of 
 retire- 
 ment (67). 
 
 Annual amount of the average pension to be received from retirement (at age 67). 
 
 Age at 
 passage 
 of bill or 
 at subse- 
 
 By new entrants. 
 
 By those now in service with years of past service at passage 
 of bill— 
 
 quent 
 entry. 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 19J 
 
 m 
 m 
 
 37i 
 32i 
 
 (1) 
 
 S495 
 180 
 
 675 
 554 
 
 3S8 
 180 
 
 568 
 522 
 
 
 
 298 
 180 
 
 478 
 511 
 
 224 
 180 
 
 404 
 492 
 
 $508 
 180 
 30 
 
 $417 
 
 180 
 
 60 
 
 S337 
 180 
 90 
 
 $270 
 180 
 120 
 
 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 
 Sum . . . 
 Original 
 
 (1) 
 
 
 
 718 
 419 
 
 
 24i 
 
 414 
 180 
 30 
 
 
 (2).. . 
 
 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 
 Sum . . . 
 Original 
 
 (1) 
 
 
 
 624 
 538 
 
 657 
 560 
 
 
 294 
 
 316 
 
 180 
 
 30 
 
 331 
 180 
 60 
 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 
 Sum... 
 Original 
 
 (1) 
 
 
 
 526 
 364 
 
 571 
 605 
 
 607 
 S84 
 
 
 34i 
 
 238 
 180 
 30 
 
 247 
 180 
 60 
 
 261 
 180 
 90 
 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 
 Sum . . . 
 Original 
 
 
 
 448 
 566 
 
 487 
 615 
 
 531 
 631 
 
 ,570 
 629 
 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIKEMENT. 
 
 83 
 
 MECHANICS, CITY AND RURAL CARRIERS, RAILWAY POSTAL CLERKS (ELIGIBLE 
 
 AT 65)— Continued. 
 
 
 Years ot 
 deduc- 
 tions 
 that will 
 be made 
 by as- 
 sumed 
 ageol 
 retire- 
 ment (67). 
 
 Annual amount ot the average pension to be received from retirement (at age 67). 
 
 Age at 
 passage 
 of bill or 
 at subse- 
 
 By new entrants. 
 
 By those 
 
 now in service with years of past service at passage 
 otbill— 
 
 quent 
 entry. 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 39§ 
 
 27i 
 
 22i 
 
 17* 
 
 12J 
 
 7i 
 
 21 
 
 
 
 (1) $164 
 
 (2) 165 
 
 (3) 
 
 Sum... 329 
 Original 413 
 
 (1) 117 
 
 (2) 135 
 
 (3) 
 
 Sum... 252 
 Original 326 
 
 (1) 81 
 
 (2) 105 
 
 (3) 
 
 Sum... 186 
 Original 282 
 
 (1) 
 
 (2) 
 
 (35 
 
 Sum 
 
 Original 
 
 (1) 
 
 (2 
 
 (3) 
 
 Sum 
 
 Original 
 
 S175 
 180 
 30 
 
 $181 
 180 
 60 
 
 $189 
 180 
 90 
 
 $201 
 180 
 120 
 
 $154 
 180 
 ISO 
 
 
 
 385 
 562 
 
 421 
 611 
 
 459 
 634 
 
 501 
 675 
 
 
 44i 
 
 123 
 165 
 30 
 
 129 
 180 
 60 
 
 134 
 180 
 90 
 
 139 
 180 
 120 
 
 
 
 318 
 446 
 
 369 
 601 
 
 404 
 622 
 
 439 
 654 
 
 514 
 694 
 
 
 49J 
 
 84 
 135 
 30 
 
 86 
 
 165 
 
 60 
 
 90 
 180 
 90 
 
 94 
 180 
 120 
 
 103 
 180 
 180 
 
 
 
 249 
 332 
 
 311 
 470 
 
 360 
 610 
 
 394 
 638 
 
 463 
 689 
 
 
 54J 
 
 53 
 105 
 30 
 
 54 
 135 
 60 
 
 55 
 165 
 90 
 
 68 
 180 
 120 
 
 62 
 180 
 
 180 
 
 $69 
 180 
 240 
 
 
 188 
 273 
 
 249 
 360 
 
 310 
 471 
 
 358 
 618 
 
 422 
 668 
 
 489 
 603 
 
 59J 
 
 
 29 
 
 105 
 
 60 
 
 29 
 135 
 90 
 
 30 
 166 
 120 
 
 33 
 180 
 180 
 
 35 
 180 
 240 
 
 
 
 194 
 
 288 
 
 254 
 348 
 
 316 
 472 
 
 393 
 
 654 
 
 456 
 722 
 
 64J 
 
 
 
 9 
 105 
 90 
 
 9 
 135 
 120 
 
 10 
 180 
 180 
 
 10 
 
 (21 
 
 
 
 180 
 
 
 t^^ 
 
 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 204 
 
 287 
 
 264 
 341 
 
 370 
 637 
 
 430 
 
 
 Original 
 
 
 
 666 
 
 67 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (9^ 
 
 
 
 90 
 90 
 
 120 
 120 
 
 180 
 
 180 
 
 180 
 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 
 
 180 
 265 
 
 240 
 302 
 
 360 
 460 
 
 420 
 
 
 
 
 
 618 
 
 
 
 
 
 
84 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE EETIREMBNT. 
 
 OTHER THAN MECHANICS, CITY AND RURAL CARRIERS, RAILWAY POSTA L CLERKS 
 
 (ELIGIBLE AT 68). 
 
 Age at 
 passage 
 of bill or 
 at subse- 
 quent 
 entry. 
 
 Yeai-s of 
 deduc- 
 tions 
 that will 
 be made 
 by as- 
 sumed 
 age of 
 retire- 
 ment (70). 
 
 Annual amount of the average pension to 
 
 be received from retirement (at age 70). 
 
 By new entrants. 
 
 By those 
 
 new in serxice with years of past service 8 
 of bill— 
 
 it passage 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 30 
 
 40 
 
 22J 
 
 47i 
 42i 
 37i 
 32i 
 27J 
 22J 
 171 
 12i 
 74- 
 
 n 
 
 
 
 (1) S550 
 
 (2) 180 
 
 (3) 
 
 S559 
 180 
 30 
 
 1468 
 180 
 60 
 
 S380 
 180 
 90 
 
 $301 
 180 
 120 
 
 $172 
 180 
 180 
 
 
 
 Sum... 730 
 Original 534 
 
 769 
 408 
 
 
 ■in 
 
 (1) 435 
 
 (2) 180 
 
 (3) 
 
 469 
 180 
 30 
 
 
 
 Sum... 616 
 Original 514 
 
 679 
 505 
 
 708 
 531 
 
 
 32i 
 
 (1) 324 
 
 (2) 180 
 
 (3) 
 
 361 
 180 
 30 
 
 381 
 180 
 60 
 
 
 
 Sum... 504 
 Original 478 
 
 571 
 635 
 
 621 
 600 
 
 660 
 599 
 
 
 m 
 
 (1) 238 
 
 (2) 180 
 
 (3) 
 
 263 
 180 
 30 
 
 287 
 180 
 60 
 
 302 
 180 
 90 
 
 
 
 Sum... 418 
 Original 454 
 
 473 
 529 
 
 527 
 610 
 
 672 
 647 
 
 601 
 649 
 
 
 42; 
 
 CD 172 
 
 (2) 165 
 
 (3) 
 
 187 
 180 
 30 
 
 204 
 180 
 60 
 
 222 
 180 
 90 
 
 233 
 180 
 120 
 
 
 
 Sum... 337 
 Original 378 
 
 397 
 520 
 
 444 
 690 
 
 492 
 662 
 
 533 
 687 
 
 
 471 
 
 (1) 122 
 
 (2) 135 
 
 (3) 
 
 129 
 165 
 30 
 
 140 
 180 
 60 
 
 152 
 ISO 
 90 
 
 164 
 180 
 120 
 
 
 
 Sum ... 257 
 Original 290 
 
 324 
 417 
 
 380 
 566 
 
 422 
 624 
 
 464 
 686 
 
 532 
 728 
 
 
 52; 
 
 (1) 83 
 
 (2) 105 
 
 (3) 
 
 85 
 135 
 30 
 
 91 
 165 
 60 
 
 99 
 180 
 90 
 
 107 
 180 
 120 
 
 121 
 ISO 
 180 
 
 
 
 Sum ... 188 
 Original 232 
 
 250 
 317 
 
 316 
 436 
 
 369 
 592 
 
 407 
 652 
 
 481 
 754 
 
 
 571 
 
 (1) 
 
 (2) 
 
 (3) 
 
 50 
 106 
 30 
 
 66 
 135 
 60 
 
 59 
 165 
 90 
 
 65 
 180 
 120 
 
 74 
 180 
 180 
 
 S76 
 180 
 240 
 
 
 Sum 
 
 Original 
 
 185 
 269 
 
 250 
 314 
 
 314 
 449 
 
 366 
 ■ 610 
 
 434 
 721 
 
 496 
 730 
 
 62J 
 
 (1) 
 
 (2) 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 28 
 105 
 60 
 
 30 
 135 
 90 
 
 32 
 165 
 120 
 
 37 
 180 
 180 
 
 42 
 180 
 240 
 
 
 Sum 
 
 Original 
 
 
 193 
 244 
 
 255 
 317 
 
 317 
 
 458 
 
 397 
 666 
 
 462 
 740 
 
 67i 
 
 (1) 
 
 
 
 S 
 105 
 90 
 
 9 
 135 
 120 
 
 10 
 180 
 180 
 
 12 
 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 
 180 
 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 
 240 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 * 
 
 
 
 
 203 
 250 
 
 264 
 328 
 
 370 
 630 
 
 432 
 
 
 Original 
 
 
 
 ' 709 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 (1) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 (2) 
 
 
 
 90 
 90 
 
 120 
 120 
 
 180 
 180 
 
 180 
 
 
 (3) 
 
 
 
 240 
 
 ] 
 
 
 
 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 180 
 
 212 
 
 240 
 254 
 
 360 
 420 
 
 420 
 
 1 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CIVIL SERVICE KETIREMENT. 
 
 85 
 
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 CO i^ 
 
 -53 
 
 
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 =: >« e ?2 S ^ 
 
86 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE EBTIEEMENT. 
 
 
 
 CSO C. 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 
 
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 ft 
 
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 P 
 
 
 
 
 
 iri 
 
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 lO 
 
 OOl 
 
 
 
 
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 ft 
 
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 p 
 
 
 
 
 d 
 
 coco 
 
 
 
 
 IQ 
 
 oot- 
 
 
 
 
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 ft 
 
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 t^ CO 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 c3 
 
 
 
 
 
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 sa-i 
 
 
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 p 
 
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 Sfc 
 
 
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 m o 
 
 
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 SSS 
 
 
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 cq«ft 
 
 
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 p 
 
 
 
 
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 o>o 
 
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 r~05 
 
 
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 ^efi- 
 
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 p 
 
 
 
 
 
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 40: 
 
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 verage 
 
 
 
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CIVIL SEEVICE EETIBEMENT. 
 
 87 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 w 
 
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88 
 
 CIVIL SEEVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 United States 
 Bureau of Efficiency. 
 Form 8. 
 
 [Use typewriter— see instructions on back.) 
 
 Record of civil employee, July 1, 1916. 
 
 Department of Commerce, 
 Bureau of the Census. 
 8—4789-1 
 
 1. Name: (Surname first. Given name in full. For women write Miss or Mrs. before given 
 name.) 
 
 Make no 
 entries 
 in tbis 
 column. 
 
 2. Department: 
 
 3. Bureau, office, or service: 
 
 4. Designation of position: 
 
 5. Occupation (if not clearly shown by answer to question ): 
 
 7. ICind of appropriation: 
 
 6. Annual earnings: 
 
 8. Present rate of pay: 9. Initial rate of pay: 
 % S 
 
 10. Total length of service (give the total of all U. S. Govt, service with the exceptions stated 
 on the back of this card) — 
 Years: Months: 
 
 11. State, Territory, or foreign country of birth (do not give tovra): 
 
 12. Race: ii Sex: 
 
 14. Date of birth- 
 Month: 
 
 Year: 
 
 15. Kinds of schools attended, years attended, and degrees taken: 
 
 16. Martial condition: 
 
 17. War veteran? 
 Cotmty: 
 
 18. Appointed from — 
 
 Congressional district or State: 
 
 19, Civil service status: 
 
 20. Method by which classified status was obtained: 
 
 21. Place of employment- 
 
 City: State: 
 
 INSTKUCTIONS. 
 
 It is requested that this card be filled out by the department and carefully re- 
 viewed by the employee to insure the accuracy of the department record. 
 
 Use typewriter to answer the questions on this card. If a typewriter is not 
 accessible, have some person who writes clearly fill In the answers. 
 
 Make the entries concise. Be careful to use abbreviations correctly. 
 
 The information called for on this card should be furnished as of July 1, 1916, 
 for all employees who on that date were in the executive civil service (that 
 is, the executive department and other executive establishments, with their 
 field services), except temporary employees, part-time employees (such as 
 post light keepers, tide observers, etc.), and persons employed under elistment 
 contract or shipping articles. Persons appointed for a definite term of less 
 than a year, including seasonal employees, should be excluded. Persons em- 
 ployed especially for a particular job, whose employment will normally cease 
 when the job is finished, should be excluded (for example, mechanics and 
 laborers employed in construction of public buildings and irrigation works). 
 Include substitute post-oflice clerks, city carriers, and railway postal clerks, 
 and also mechanics and laborers at navy yards and arsenals. 
 
 Question 4. The designation should be given as shown in the order making 
 the last appointment or promotion. 
 
 Question 5. State, as specifically as possible in the space available, the pro- 
 fession, trade, or other line of work on which the employee is engaged, when 
 practicable give not only the profession, science, etc., but the line of work within 
 the profession, science, etc. Examples for persons engaged on scientific or 
 technical work: Physicist (optics), mycologist (fruit diseases), paleontologist 
 (vertebrates), drainage engineer. Examples for clerical employees: Stenog- 
 rapher and typewriter, correspondence clerk, file clerk, bookkeeper, roster and 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 89 
 
 time clerk, adding machine operator, copyist, general-utility clerk. If the 
 designation of the position shows clearly the employee's occupation, write 
 " See 4." 
 Question 6. Give the total compensation for the last twelve months. 
 
 If an employee holds more than one position in the executive civil service, 
 give the annual earnings for each position separately and also, in answer to in- 
 quiries 4 and 5, state the nature of eacli employment. 
 
 Question 7. State whether statutory ("Stat") or lump sum ("LS"). 
 
 Question 8. If the employee receives an annual salary which is the same as 
 the annual earnings stated above, answer "AS " ; if the annual salary is 
 different from the annual earnings give the salary followed by the abbre- 
 viation " PA." If the employee is paid by the month, week, day, or hour, 
 give the rate followed by the abbreviation " PM," " PW," " PD," or " PH," as 
 the case may be. If he is paid by the piece, answer " Pcwrk " ; if he is other- 
 wise compensated, answer " Fees," "Commission," " Allowances," or " Other," 
 as the case may be. 
 
 Question 9. Give the rate of pay at which the employee was originally ap- 
 pointed to the executive civil service. 
 
 Question 10. The reports made on this schedule will be used as a basis 
 for computing the probable cost of a plan of retiring civil employees. Each 
 employee's report will become a part of his record, on which his annuity will 
 be based if a retirement law is enacted. It is therefore important to give the 
 employee's total length of service, including all periods of employment in the 
 executive civil service of the United States, whether temporary or permanent, 
 whether in one or more branches of the service, and whether continuous or 
 at different times, except service as a presidential appointee confirmed by the 
 Senate and as a part-time employee or employee under enlistment contract or 
 shipping articles. Service as a presidential appointee confirmed by the Senate 
 should be included if the employee had a classified status during his service as 
 a presidential appointee. 
 
 Do not include service as an employee of the Congress or the United States 
 Courts or service as an officer or enlisted man in the Army, Navy, or Marine 
 Corps. 
 
 Question 12. Use " W " for white, " N " for Negro (including persons of mixed 
 Negro blood), "I" for American Indian (including persons of mixed Indian 
 blood). For other (yellow-brown) peoples, state whether "Chinese," "Japa- 
 nese," " Filipino," or " Other." 
 
 Question 15. Use " E " for elementary or grade ; " H " for high ; " O " for 
 college or university ; " P " for professional or technical ; " O " for other. After 
 each symbol enter in figures the numbers of years attended. Add in paren- 
 thesis the degi-ee taken, if any, and the course of study if not shown by the 
 degree or if no degree was taken. Examples, E8; H3 (business) ; H4 (tech- 
 nical) ; C5 (AB, AM, political science) ; C2 (architecture) ; P3 (LLB) ; PI 
 (law). 
 
 Question 16. State whether single ("S"), married ("M"), widowed (includ- 
 ing widowers ) ( " W " ) , or divorced ( " D " ) . 
 
 Question 17. If the employee served in the Civil or Spanish war, Philip- 
 pine or any Indian Insurrection, or other military engagement of the United 
 States, answer, "Civil," "Spanish," "Phil," "Indian," or "Other" (specify- 
 ing) ; if not, answer "No." ^. . ^ ^ ^^ 
 
 Question 18. This answer must show the Congressional District and the 
 State (under present Congressional apportionment) to which present appoint- 
 ment is • charged. Example : Congressional district and State, 7 Virginia ; 
 
 County, Madison. . ^. ^^ • .. ^ -i,. 
 
 Question 19. For classified employees (not including those appointed with- 
 out examination under special provisions of law or under Schedule A, Civil 
 Service rules) answer " C." For persons in positions excepted from examina- 
 tion bv law or Schedule A, Civil Service rules, answer " B " ; for persons ap- 
 pointed by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate, answer _ PC ; 
 for other unclassified employees, such as unskilled laborers, answer U. 
 
 For Presidential appointees and employees in excepted positions who have 
 retained a prior classified status, add the word " Classified to the abbrevia- 
 tions '^ivoii 8,t)ovG. . 
 
 Question 20 If the employee is classified (unless he holds a position ex- 
 cepted from examination by law or by Schedule A, Civil Service rules) state 
 whether he originally obtained his classified status by competitn'e examination 
 ("CE"); noncompetitive examination ("NCE"); individual Executive order 
 
90 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE BETIKEMENT. 
 
 which specified the name of the employee ("lEO") ; blanket Executive order 
 which covered in an entire class (" BEO ") ; or act of Congress which required 
 no Executive order to carry it out (" AC ). 
 
 Extension of the period of eligibility for reinstatement by individual or 
 blanliet Executive order should be reported as " lEO," or " BEO," as the case 
 may be 
 
 Reinstatement to a position that was covered into the classified service by 
 blanket Executive order or act of Congress during the employee's separation 
 from that position should be reported as " BEO," or " AC," as the case may be. 
 
 Transfer from the Philippine Service should be reported as " CE " for " com- 
 petitive examination." 
 
 If the employee is not classified or occupies a position excepted from ex- 
 amination by law or Schedule A, Civil Service rules, write " NC " for " not 
 classified." 
 
 Question 21. If a traveling employee, give permanent station or headquarters. 
 
 United States Civil Service personnel records — Numder system. 
 
 [Cards for each department or service are grouped first, by employees in Washington, and second, bv em- 
 ployees outside of Washington, each group arranged by bureau according to code, and alphabetically by 
 name of employee within bureau. For card numbers 1 to 157000 see P. O. D.] 
 
 SUMMARY. 
 
 Department and service. 
 
 Employed July 
 
 1, 1916. 
 
 Separated five years. 
 
 Card Nos. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Sheet Nos. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Executive (all) 
 
 157001-157044 
 
 157051-157343 
 
 158501-184242 
 
 190501-207901 
 
 222501-224502 
 
 1-37950 
 
 44 
 
 293 
 
 24, 857 
 
 16,818 
 
 1,940 
 
 37, 950 
 } 18,748 
 
 1 
 
 
 State (all) 
 
 3-4 
 
 
 Treasury (all) 
 
 31-1119 
 
 
 War (all) 
 
 1301-1863 
 
 
 
 2001 2016 
 
 
 Post Office; 
 
 900001 907H4 i 
 
 
 
 /-f-205 
 
 4851^975 
 
 
 
 \43001-61542 
 
 63001 
 
 
 First and second class post offices 
 
 2051-4647 
 
 
 Inspection service 
 
 144801-145320 
 
 145401 
 
 520 
 
 2044 2046 
 
 
 
 2026-2042 
 
 
 Postmasters 
 
 147401 
 
 
 
 
 Navy (all) 
 
 226751-260955 
 
 
 5101 6264 
 
 
 Interior (all) 
 
 262751-273410 
 
 273001-284485 
 
 284531-289245 
 
 289331 
 
 10,505 
 11,485 
 4,714 
 
 6401 6639 
 
 
 Agriculture (all) 
 
 6651 6730 
 
 
 Commerce (all) 
 
 6751 6798 
 
 
 Labor (all) 
 
 6811 6829 
 
 
 
 291361-303261 
 
 303286-306122 
 
 11,750 
 1,821 
 
 6841 6968 
 
 
 Government of the District of Columbia 
 
 6976-7015.. 
 
 
 (all). 
 
 
 
 DETAILED. 
 
 Executive 
 
 State 
 
 Treasury: 
 
 Office of the Secretary 
 
 Office of the chief clerk 
 
 Division of Appointments 
 
 Office of the Supervising Architect . . 
 
 Office of theComptroller of theTreasury. 
 
 Office of the Comptroller of the Cur- 
 rency 
 
 Office of the Treasurer of the United 
 States. 
 
 Office of the Register of the Treasury. . . 
 
 Office of the Commissioner of Internal 
 Revenue. 
 
 Office of the Director of the Mint 
 
 Office of the disbursing clerk 
 
 Coast Guard headquarters 
 
 Bureau of the Public Health Service . . . 
 
 Section of Surety Bonds 
 
 Division of Bookkeeping and Warrants . 
 
 Division of Customs 
 
 Division of Loans and Currency 
 
 Division of Public Moneys 
 
 Division of Printing and Stationery.. 
 
 Division of Mails and Files 
 
 157001-157044. 
 157051-157343. 
 
 158501-158531. 
 158536-158857. 
 158861-158878. 
 158881-159135- 
 159251-159288. 
 
 159291-159451 . 
 
 159461-160022., 
 160031-160051., 
 160052-160572. , 
 
 160591-160602.. 
 160606-160618. . 
 160621-160672., 
 160681-160721., 
 160731-160735. . 
 160736-160784.. 
 160791-160833.. 
 160836-160933.. 
 160936-160954.. 
 160956-160975. . 
 160988-160995.. 
 
 44 
 293 
 
 31 
 322 
 
 18 
 255 
 
 38 
 
 562 
 
 21 
 
 521 
 
 12 
 13 
 52 
 41 
 5 
 49 
 43 
 98 
 19 
 20 
 10 
 
 1... 
 3-4. 
 
 1 Rural separations listed on cards. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE KETIREMENT. 
 
 91 
 
 United States Civil Service personnel records — Number sijsteiii — Continued. 
 
 DETAILED— Continued. 
 
 Department and service. 
 
 Treasury — Continued. 
 
 Division of Secret Servce . . . 
 Division of Special Agents . 
 
 Auditor for tlie Treasury Department . 
 
 Auditor for tlie War Department 
 
 Auditor for tlie Navy Department .... 
 Auditor for tlie Interior Department . . 
 Auditor for the State and Other De- 
 partments. 
 Auditor for the Post Office Department 
 
 Bureau of War Risk Insurance 
 
 General Supply Committee 
 
 Bureau of Engraving and Printing. 
 
 Supervlsipg architect at large- 
 Public building service 
 
 Custodian, janitor service 
 
 Mini and assay service 
 
 Customs service 
 
 Internal-Revenue Service 
 
 Subtreasury service 
 
 Public Health Service 
 
 Coast Guard service 
 
 National bank examiners, etc 
 
 Federal Farm Loan Bureau 
 
 191908-192026., 
 192027-192066. 
 192067-192129. 
 192130-192392.. 
 192393-192423.. 
 192424-192438. 
 192441-198062. 
 198381-203204. 
 203381-207.539. 
 207581-207701. 
 207741-207827. 
 207831-207896. 
 207901 
 
 War: 
 
 Office of the Secretary 190501-190606. 
 
 Office of the Chief of Staff i 190607-190691 . 
 
 Office of The Adjutant General 190692-191264. 
 
 Office of the Inspector General 191265-191275 . 
 
 Office of the Judge Advocate General. . . 191276-191294 . 
 
 Office of the Quartermaster General 191296-191582 . 
 
 Office of the Singeon General 191583-191714 . 
 
 Office of the Chief of Engineers 191715-191818 . 
 
 Board of Engineers of Rivers and Har- 191819-191907. 
 Harbors. " 
 
 Office of the Chief of Ordnance 
 
 Office of the Chief Signal Officer 
 
 Bureau of Insular Aflairs 
 
 Office of Public Buildings and Grounds . 
 
 Division of Militia Aflairs 
 
 Office of Chief of Coast Artillery i 
 
 Quartermaster Corps of the Army 
 
 Engineer Department at large 
 
 Ordnance Department at large 
 
 Signal Service at large 
 
 United States Military Academy 
 
 National military park commissions-. . . 
 
 Board of Ordnance and Fortification . . , 
 
 Other 
 
 Justice: 
 
 Office of the Attorney General 
 
 Office of the Solicitor for the Interior 
 Department. 
 
 Office of the Solicitor for the Post Office 
 Department. 
 
 Office of the Solicitor for the Depart- 
 ment of State. 
 
 Office of the Solicitor of the Treasury. . . 
 
 Office of the Solicitor of the Depart- 
 ment of Commerce. 
 
 Office of the Solicitor of the Depart- 
 ment of Labor. 
 
 Office of the Solicitor of Internal 
 Revenue. 
 
 Antitrust Bureau 
 
 Bureau of Investigation (in the District 
 of Columbia). 
 
 Customs Division 
 
 United States penitentiaries 
 
 Offices of the United States attorneys . . 
 
 Offices of the United States marshals. . . 
 
 Bureau of Investigation Field Ser^'ice.. 
 
 National Training School for Boys 
 
 1 Office of Coast Artillery's Office is a part of C 
 
 Employed July 1, 1916. 
 
 Card Nos. 
 
 161001-161009 
 
 Included in Secre- 
 tary's Office. 
 
 161011-161111 
 
 161116-161319 
 
 161321-161420 
 
 161421-161521 
 
 161526-161600 
 
 161601 
 
 162171-162173 
 
 Included in Sccre- 
 
 retarv's office. 
 162176-166239 
 
 184106-184242. 
 166246-170371. 
 170431-171095. 
 171101-177587. 
 177611-181562. 
 181611-181915. 
 181931-183618. 
 183631-183681. 
 
 184086-184096. 
 
 r+i 
 
 1222501-222777. 
 222781 
 
 222786. 
 222791. 
 
 222796-222810. 
 222811-222821. 
 
 222826-222832. 
 222836-222837. 
 
 222841-222.851 
 
 With Attorney 
 General's Office. 
 
 222856-222877 
 
 222881-223106 
 
 223107-223515 
 
 223531-224317 
 
 224331-224447 
 
 224451-224502 
 
 Persons. 
 
 101 
 204 
 100 
 101 
 
 75 
 
 487 
 3 
 
 4,064 
 
 137 
 4,126 
 
 665 
 6,487 
 3,952 
 
 305 
 
 1,688 
 
 51 
 
 11 
 
 106 
 
 85 
 
 573 
 
 11 
 
 19 
 
 288 
 
 132 
 
 104 
 
 119 
 
 40 
 
 63 
 
 263 
 
 31 
 
 15 
 
 5,622 
 
 4,824 
 
 4,159 
 
 121 
 
 87 
 
 66 
 
 1 
 
 Separated five years. 
 
 Sheet Nos. 
 
 61-83. 
 
 91 
 
 96-614 
 
 801-809... 
 816-903... 
 951-1015.. 
 1031-1039. 
 1046-1119. 
 
 1301-1315. 
 
 1321-1454. 
 1551-1646. 
 1701-1803. 
 1851-1853. 
 
 1862 
 
 1863 
 
 1861. 
 
 278 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 
 15 
 11 
 
 7 
 
 2 
 
 11 
 
 22 
 226 
 409 
 787 
 117 
 
 32 
 
 2001-2006. 
 
 2013-2016. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 hief of Staff's Oflce. 
 
92 CIVIL SERVICE KETIREMENT. 
 
 United States Civil Sen-ice personnel records— Numlier s2/sfem— Continued. 
 
 DETAILED— Continued. 
 
 
 Employed July- 
 
 1, 1916. 
 
 Separated five 
 
 years. 
 
 Department and service. 
 
 Card Nos. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Sheet Nos. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Post Office: 
 
 1-37950 
 
 - 37,950 
 \ 18,747 
 
 900001-907114 1 
 
 
 
 /+205 
 
 4851-4975 
 
 
 First and second class post offices 
 
 \43(K)1-61542 
 
 2051 
 
 
 63001-63549 
 
 63601-63605 
 
 63611-63775 
 
 63801-64205 
 
 /64226-67615 
 
 549 
 
 5 
 
 165 
 
 405 
 
 1 3,413 
 
 2051 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2071 
 
 
 
 2086 
 
 
 
 2121 
 
 
 
 1+23 
 
 66291 67220 * 
 
 
 
 
 67616-68362 
 
 67723 fiS119 
 
 757 
 
 223i 
 
 %.... 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 2266 
 
 
 
 b96Bl-69792 
 
 69801-70691 
 
 70711-71187 
 
 71196-72026 
 
 i32 
 
 887 
 477 
 831 
 
 2301 
 
 
 
 2311 
 
 
 FloriHti 
 
 2316 
 
 
 
 2351 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 72066-72126 
 
 72146-72332 
 
 61 
 207 
 
 2396 
 
 
 
 2401 
 
 
 Tllinnic 
 
 2431 
 
 
 
 80681-82469 
 
 S1264-S171S 
 
 1,789 
 
 2641 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 82531-83978 
 
 84011-84937 
 
 84961-85758 
 
 1,448 
 927 
 798 
 
 2736 ■ 
 
 
 
 2826 
 
 
 
 2896 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 85781-86380 
 
 600 
 
 2936 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 86411-86937 
 
 86956-88046 
 
 86970-87896 
 
 527 
 1,091 
 
 2961 
 
 
 
 2991 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 88066 
 
 
 3011 
 
 
 
 93856-96326 
 
 2,471 
 
 3111 
 
 
 Detroit 
 
 
 
 
 96371-98093 
 
 723 
 
 3201 
 
 
 St. Paul 
 
 
 
 Mississippi 
 
 98141-98446 
 
 306 
 
 3266 .. . 
 
 
 Missouri 
 
 3291 
 
 
 
 
 
 3346 
 
 
 
 101876-102669 
 
 102691-102743 
 
 102756-103087 
 
 794 
 
 53 
 
 332 
 
 3366 
 
 
 Nevada 
 
 3401 
 
 
 
 3406 
 
 
 
 3431 
 
 
 New Mexico 
 
 
 
 3501 
 
 
 New York 
 
 
 
 3516 
 
 
 North Carolina 
 
 121141-121709 
 
 121731-121925 
 
 569 
 195 
 
 3721 
 
 
 North Dakota 
 
 3761 
 
 
 Ohio 
 
 3786 
 
 
 OkJahoma 
 
 126946-127582 
 
 127606-128236 
 
 637 
 631 
 
 3901 
 
 
 Oregon 
 
 3946 
 
 
 Pennsvlvania 
 
 3981 
 
 
 
 ■135891-135948 
 
 135961-136505 
 
 136546-136885 
 
 136906-137106 
 
 137146-137975 
 
 58 
 545 
 340 
 201 
 830 
 
 4176 
 
 
 Rhode Island 
 
 4186 
 
 
 
 4201 
 
 
 South Dakota 
 
 4236 
 
 
 Tennessee 
 
 4266 
 
 
 Texas 
 
 4301 
 
 
 Utah 
 
 139911-140189 
 
 140236-140463 
 
 279 
 228 
 880 
 
 1,045 
 424 
 
 1,564 
 
 
 
 Vermont 
 
 4406 
 
 
 
 
 
 Washington . . 
 
 141436-142480 
 
 142566-142989 
 
 143036-144599 
 
 4481 
 
 
 
 
 
 Wisconsin 
 
 4561 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 144711-144777 
 
 144801-145320 
 
 145401-145760 
 
 145771-145977 
 
 145981-146082 
 
 146091-146469 
 
 146476-146879 
 
 67 
 520 
 
 360 
 207 
 102 
 379 
 404 
 
 4641 
 
 
 
 
 
 Post Office Department- 
 Office of the Postmaster General 
 
 2026-2028 
 
 
 
 2030 
 
 
 Office of the Second Assistant 
 
 2032-2033.. 
 
 
 
 2035-2037 
 
 
 Office of the Fourth Assistant 
 
 2039-2042 
 
 
 • Rural separations listed on cards. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIEEMENT. 
 
 93 
 
 United states Civil Service personnel records — 'humher si/stem — Coutinued. 
 
 DETAILED— Continued. 
 
 Det)artment and service. 
 
 Post OiEce— Continued. 
 
 Motor vehicle service 
 
 Sea post clerics 
 
 Village carriers 
 
 Mail Dag equipment shop. . 
 
 Navy: 
 
 Office of the Secretary 
 
 Office of the Solicitor 
 
 Office of Naval Records and Library - . . 
 
 Office of the Judge Advocate General.. 
 
 Office of Naval Intelligence 
 
 Office of the General Board 
 
 Office of the Board of Inspection and 
 Survey. 
 
 Office of the Naval Examining Board . . 
 
 Office of the Naval Retiring Board 
 
 Office of the Board of Medical Examin- 
 ers. 
 
 Office of Target Practice and Engineer- 
 ing Competitions. 
 
 Navy Disbursing and Allotment Office 
 
 Headquarters of the Marine Corps 
 
 Nautical Almanac Office 
 
 Bureau of Navigation 
 
 Naval Observatory 
 
 Hydrogiaphic Office 
 
 Bureau of Yards and Docks 
 
 Bureau of Ordnance 
 
 Biu-eau of Construction and Repair 
 
 Bureau of Steam Engineering 
 
 Bureau of Supnlies and Accoimts 
 
 Bureau of Medicine and Surgery 
 
 Division of Naval Militia Affairs 
 
 Communication Office 
 
 Office of the Admiral of the Navy 
 
 Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. 
 Navy yards — 
 
 Boston 
 
 Charleston 
 
 Mare Island 
 
 New Orleans 
 
 Norfolk 
 
 Philadelphia . 
 
 Portsmouth. . 
 Puget Sound. 
 
 Washington 
 
 Naval training stations 
 
 Torpedo stations 
 
 Naval War College 
 
 Naval proving ground, Indian Head . 
 Naval stations 
 
 Naval Home, Philadelphia, Pa 
 
 Naval Academy, Aimapolis, Md 
 
 Naval radio station. Radio, Va 
 
 Navy aeronautic station, Pensacola, Fla 
 
 United States Marine Corps at largo 
 
 Hydrographic Survey service 
 
 Navy pay offices 
 
 Navy coal depots 
 
 Inspection and construction service 
 
 Naval hospitals 
 
 Naval Medical School 
 
 Naval medical supply depot 
 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 Interior: 
 
 Office of the Secretary 
 
 Office of the Solicitor ■ . 
 
 General Land Office (in the District of 
 
 Columbia). 
 Office of Indian Affairs (in the District 
 
 of Columbia.) 
 
 Employed July 1, 1916. 
 
 Card Nos. 
 
 146886-147085. 
 
 147151-147388 
 
 Includedin Fourth 
 Assistant Office. 
 
 226751-226808. 
 226809-226816. 
 226817-2268.32. 
 226833-226842. 
 226843-226852. 
 226853-226858. 
 2268.59-226868. 
 
 Included in Wash- 
 ington Navy 
 Yard. 
 
 226869-226894 
 
 226895-226911 
 
 226912-226936 
 
 226937-227002 
 
 227003-227053 
 
 227054-227157 
 
 227158-227209 
 
 227210-227243 
 
 227244-227367 
 
 227368-2274:38 
 
 227439-227531 
 
 227532-227547 
 
 227.548-227657 
 
 [Included in Wash- 
 \ ington Navy 
 I Yard. 
 227558-227576 
 
 Persons. 
 
 238 
 
 227581-230123. 
 230158-231376. 
 231391-2.34110. 
 234151-234468. 
 
 {24146i-244786; 
 
 (+2 
 
 1 244881-247259. 
 
 247461-248923. 
 
 248941-250563. 
 
 /+1 
 
 12.50601-254696. 
 254801-254879. 
 254880-256028. 
 256116-256128. 
 
 Omitted 
 
 257071-257982. 
 
 258611-258649. 
 258666-259342. 
 269366-259370. 
 269371-259611. 
 2.59616-259954. 
 259956-259989. 
 259991-260011. 
 260016-260069. 
 260201-260484. 
 260491-260929., 
 260941-260946.. 
 260951-260955. 
 
 262751-26302S. 
 263029-263062. 
 26306.3-263589. 
 
 263600-263857. 
 
 26 
 17 
 25 
 66 
 51 
 
 104 
 52 
 34 
 
 124 
 71 
 93 
 16 
 10 
 
 19 
 
 2,543 
 
 1,219 
 
 2,729 
 
 318 
 
 I 3, 325 
 
 1,463 
 1,623 
 
 4,096 
 
 1,149 
 13 
 
 39 
 
 241 
 339 
 34 
 21 
 .54 
 284 
 439 
 
 278 
 34 
 .527 
 
 258 
 
 Separated five years. 
 
 Sheet Nos. Persons. 
 
 4707-4710. 
 5006-5006. 
 
 5151-6223 
 
 5501-5505 
 
 5226-5293 
 
 5301-5366 
 
 5371-5398 
 
 6401-5430 
 
 5431-5434 
 
 5601 
 
 5676 
 
 6001 
 
 6101-6112 
 
 6116,6118,6119.6121, 
 6122-6125,6128;6129, 
 6131-6140,6146,6131. 
 
 6148-6152 
 
 6156-6162 
 
 6176 
 
 6186-6187 
 
 6194-6195 
 
 6205^6216," 6220-6225 
 
 6231-6264., 
 
 .6401-6404. 
 6406-6418. 
 6426-6475. 
 
94 
 
 CIVIL SEBVICE BETIEEMENT. 
 
 United States Ciril Serinee personnel records — Number system — Continued. 
 
 DETAILED— Continued. 
 
 Department and service. 
 
 Interior — Continued. 
 Bureau of Pensions. 
 
 Patent Office 
 
 Bureau of Education (in the District 
 of Columbia). 
 
 Geological Survey (in the District of 
 Columbia). 
 
 Reclamation Service (in the District 
 of Columbia). 
 Bureau of Mines (in the District of Colum- 
 bia). 
 
 OiRce of Superintendent of Capitol 
 Building and Grounds. 
 
 Office of recorder of deeds 
 
 Office of register of wills 
 
 Board of Indian Commissioners 
 
 Inspectors in the Office of the Secretary. 
 
 Land Service 
 
 Indian Service 
 
 Geological Survey field service 
 
 Reclamation Service 
 
 Bureau of Education field service and 
 Alaska field service. 
 
 Bureau of Mines field service 
 
 National parks and reservations 
 
 Territorial service 
 
 Alaskan Engineering Commission 
 
 Institutions in the District of Colum- 
 bia — 
 Government Hospital for the Insane 
 Columbio Institution for the Deaf. . 
 
 Howard University 
 
 Freedmen's Hospital 
 
 .^.giuculture: 
 
 Office of the Secretary (in the District 
 of Columbia). 
 
 Weather Bureau (in the District of Co 
 lumbia). 
 
 Bureau of Anrraal Industry (in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia). 
 
 Bureau of Plant Industry (in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia). 
 
 Forest Service (m the District of Colum- 
 bia). 
 
 Bureau of Chemistry (in the District of 
 Columbia). 
 
 Bureau of Soils (in the District of Co- 
 lumbia). 
 
 Bureau of Entomology (in the District 
 of Columbia). 
 
 Bureau of Biological Survey (in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia). 
 
 Di-\TSion of Publications 
 
 Library 
 
 Employed July 1, 1916. 
 
 Card Nos. 
 
 263858-264971. 
 l+l 
 
 \264972-265910. 
 265911-265985. 
 
 265986-266405. 
 
 266406-266501. 
 
 266506-266604. 
 
 266605-266625. 
 
 266626. 
 266627- 
 
 266631-266635. 
 266636-267312. 
 267326-270999. 
 271026-271458. 
 
 r-i-1 
 
 \271461-271878. 
 271891-271905. 
 
 271906-272136. 
 272141-272238. 
 272241-272258. 
 272261-272405. 
 
 Di%dsion of Accounts and Disburse- 
 ments. 
 
 Bureau ofCrop Estimates 
 
 States Re'ations Service (in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia). 
 
 Office of Public Roads and Rural En- 
 gineering (in the District of Columbia) 
 
 Insecticide and Fungicide Board (in 
 the District of Columbia). 
 
 Office of Farm Management 
 
 Office of Information 
 
 Office of inspection 
 
 Federal Horticultural Board (in the 
 District of Columbia). 
 
 Office of Markets and Rural Organiza- 
 tion (in the District of Columbia). 
 
 Office of the Secretary fieM ser'\uce 
 
 Weather Bureau field service 
 
 Bureau of Animal Industry field service. 
 
 Bureau of Plant Industry 'field service. . 
 
 Forest Service field service 
 
 272406-273194. 
 273201-273270. 
 273271-273350. 
 273351-273410. 
 
 273001-273317. 
 
 273318-27:i.50. 
 
 273531-273910. 
 
 273911-274575. 
 
 24576-274872.. 
 
 274873-275194. 
 
 275195-275330.. 
 
 275331-275442. . 
 
 275443-275512.. 
 
 275513-275680. 
 275681-275713. 
 275714-275742. 
 
 275743-275853. 
 275854-276050. 
 
 276051-276235. 
 
 276236-276275., 
 
 276276-276385 
 
 Included In Secre- 
 tary's Office. 
 ....do 
 
 276386-276404 
 
 Persons. 
 
 276405-276641. 
 
 276642-276651. 
 276652-277308. 
 277309-280866. 
 280867-281297.. 
 281298-28373S. . 
 
 1,114 
 940 
 
 75 
 
 420 
 96 
 99 
 21 
 
 1 
 
 1 
 1 
 5 
 
 677 
 3,674 
 
 433 
 
 419 
 15 
 
 231 
 
 Separated five years. 
 
 Sheet Nos. 
 
 6501-6S08. 
 6511-6617. 
 6521 
 
 6522-6527. 
 6531-6536. 
 6581-6588. 
 6591 
 
 Persons. 
 
 18 
 145 
 
 78 
 59 
 
 317 
 
 213 
 
 380 
 
 665 
 
 297 
 
 322 
 
 136 
 
 112 
 
 70 
 
 168 
 33 
 29 
 
 111 
 197 
 
 185 
 
 40 
 
 110 
 
 19 
 
 237 
 
 10 
 657 
 
 3,558 
 431 
 
 2,441 
 
 6598-6599. 
 6601 
 
 660.3-6630. 
 
 66.34 
 
 6638-6639. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIBEMENT. 95 
 
 United states Civil Service personnel records — Number system — Continued. 
 
 D ETAI LED— Continued. 
 
 Bepartment and service. 
 
 Agriculture— Continued. 
 
 Bui-eau of Cliemistry field service 
 
 Bureau of Soils field service 
 
 Bureau of Entomology field service 
 
 Biolosical Survey field service.. 
 
 Bureau of Crop Estimates field service. 
 
 States Relation Service field service 
 
 Office of Public Roads and Rural En- 
 gineering field service. 
 
 Field service of the Insecticide and 
 Fungicide Board. 
 
 Field service of the Federal Horticul- 
 tural Board. 
 
 Office of Markets and Rural Organiza- 
 tion field service. 
 
 Office of Farm Management field serv- 
 ice. 
 Commerce; 
 
 Office of the Secretary 
 
 Bureau of the Census 
 
 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com- 
 merce (in the District of Coliunbia). 
 
 Bureau of Standards (in the District of 
 Columbia). 
 
 Bm-eau of Fisheries (in the District of 
 Columbia). 
 
 Bureau of Lighthouses (in the District 
 of Columbia). 
 
 Coast and Geodetic Survey (in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia). 
 
 Bureau of Navigation (in the District 
 of Columbia). 
 
 Steamboat and Inspection Service (in 
 the District of Columbia). 
 
 Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Com- 
 merce field service. 
 
 Bureau of Standards field service 
 
 Bureau of Fisheries field service 
 
 Lighthouse Service 
 
 Coast and C.eodetic Survey field service. 
 
 Bm'eau of Navigation field service 
 
 Steamboat-Inspection Service field 
 service. 
 Labor: 
 
 Office of the Secretary (in the District 
 of Columbia). 
 
 Bureau of Labor Statistics 
 
 Children's Bureau 
 
 Bureau of Immigration 
 
 Bm'eau of Naturalization 
 
 Immigration Service at large 
 
 Naturalization Service at large 
 
 Independent offices: 
 
 Bureau of Efficiency 
 
 Interstate Commerce Commission — 
 Division of Valuation (in the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia). 
 Other divisions in the District of 
 
 Columbia. 
 Division of Va'uation (field service) . 
 
 All other (field service) 
 
 Civil Service Commission- 
 In the District of Columbia 
 
 In the field 
 
 Federal Reserve Board 
 
 Federal Reserve Board (Office of the 
 Comptroller of the Currency). 
 
 Federal Trade Commission 
 
 The Panama Canal- 
 Washington office 
 
 United States (outside of the Dis- 
 trict of Columbia. 
 
 In the Canal Zone (gold roll) 
 
 Government Printing Office 
 
 Employed July 1, 1916. 
 
 Card Nos. 
 
 283739-283980. 
 283981-283987. 
 28398S-28418S. 
 284189-284246. 
 2S4247-2842&S. 
 284289-284356. 
 284357-284437. 
 
 284438-284443. 
 
 284444-284453. 
 
 284454-284473. 
 
 2S4474-284485. 
 
 2S4531-284700. 
 284701-285271. 
 285272-285383. 
 
 28.5384-285708. 
 
 285709-285788. 
 
 285789-285S27. 
 
 28582S-286115. 
 
 286116-286146. 
 
 286147-286157. 
 
 286158-286201. 
 
 286202-286249. 
 286250-286663. 
 286564-288845. 
 288846-288910. 
 288912-288986. 
 288987-289245. . 
 
 289331-289404. . 
 
 289406-289507. . 
 289608-289583.. 
 
 289584 
 
 289643-289706.. 
 
 289707 
 
 -1-2- . 
 291272-291350. . 
 
 291351-231363. 
 
 291371-291720. 
 
 251731-292366. 
 
 292371-293296.. 
 233301-293478. . 
 
 293481-293657. . 
 293661-293705. . 
 293711-293762.. 
 23376.5-293770. . 
 
 293771-293939. . 
 
 293951-294052. . 
 294091-294127. . 
 
 294131-238103.. 
 298111-301971.. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 242 
 7 
 
 201 
 58 
 42 
 68 
 81 
 
 170 
 571 
 112 
 
 39 
 288 
 31 
 11 
 44 
 
 314 
 
 2,282 
 
 65 
 
 75 
 
 259 
 
 102 
 76 
 
 13 
 
 350 
 
 636 
 
 926 
 178 
 
 177 
 45 
 52 
 
 102 
 
 37 
 
 Separated five years. 
 
 Sheet Nos. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 6651-6730. 
 
 6751-6752. 
 6753-6755. 
 6756 
 
 6757-6761- 
 6762-6766. 
 6767-6792. 
 6793-6795. 
 
 6796 
 
 6797-6798. 
 
 6813 
 
 6814 
 
 6816-6828. 
 
 6841-6852. 
 
 •6866-6857. 
 
 ■6858-6859. 
 6861 
 
 6864-6867. 
 
 3,973 
 3,861 
 
 6871-6905. 
 6906-6924. 
 
96 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE EETIREMENT. 
 
 United States Civil Service personnel recwds — Niiinher system — Continued. 
 
 DETAILED— Continued. 
 
 Department and service. 
 
 Employed July 
 
 1, 1916. 
 
 Separated five years. 
 
 Card Nos. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Sheet Nos. 
 
 Persons. 
 
 Independent offices— Continued. 
 
 Office of the Superintendent of tlie 
 State, War, and Navy Department 
 Builaing. 
 Boards and conunissions under tlie 
 President- 
 Board of Mediation and Concilia- 
 
 1 + 1 
 
 i 205 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 313 
 
 fiQ31 fiQ39 
 
 
 ■301991-302194 
 
 302211-302215 
 
 302221-302222 
 
 302225-302538 
 
 302i)41-302631 
 
 302641-302776 
 
 302781-303116 
 
 303121-303135 
 
 303136-303155 
 
 303156-303215 
 
 .303216-303221 
 
 303226-303230 
 
 303231-303261 
 
 303286-303297 
 
 303301-303346 
 
 303351-303383 
 
 303386 
 
 
 
 tion, 
 Commission of Fine Arts 
 
 
 
 Library of Congress — 
 
 |6951-6955 
 
 / 
 
 
 91 
 
 {.... 
 
 
 
 Library Building and grounds 
 
 136 
 
 336 
 
 15 
 
 20 
 
 60 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 31 
 
 12 
 
 46 
 33 
 
 6956-6957 
 
 
 Smitiisonian Institution- 
 
 6961-6983 
 
 
 International Exchanges. 
 
 6964 
 
 
 
 6965 
 
 
 
 6966 
 
 
 Astrophysical Observatory. 
 
 
 
 
 6968 
 
 
 tific Literature. 
 
 
 
 Government of the District of Columbia: 
 Executive office. . 
 
 6976-7015 
 
 
 
 
 Auditor's office. . . 
 
 
 
 6976-701.T 
 
 
 Board of Charities 
 
 303396-303418 
 
 303421-303432 
 
 303436-303455 
 
 303461-303464...... 
 
 303466-303477 
 
 303481-303487 
 
 303491-303566 
 
 303571-304099 
 
 304111 
 
 23 
 12 
 20 
 
 4 
 12 
 
 7 
 
 76 
 
 529 
 
 
 
 
 Collector's office 
 
 
 
 
 Cnrporflfinn cnnnspl's pfficp 
 
 
 
 
 District building superintendent's office 
 
 
 
 
 Fire department . 
 
 304121-304581 
 
 304601-304674 
 
 304681-304715 
 
 304721-304739 
 
 304746-304763 
 
 304766-304770 
 
 304776-304778 
 
 304781 
 
 461 
 74 
 35 
 19 
 18 
 5 
 3 
 
 
 
 
 Home for the Aged and Infirm . 
 
 
 Industrial Home School (white) 
 
 Industrial Home School (colored) 
 
 
 Municipal lodging house 
 
 
 National Training School for Girls 
 
 
 
 
 304811-304825 
 
 304831 
 
 15 
 80 
 82 
 
 
 Police department 
 
 
 
 305761-305842 
 
 Other cards re- 
 ceived. 
 
 305846-305864 
 
 305871-305908 
 
 305911-305913 
 
 305916-305938 
 
 305941-305976 
 
 305981-306054 
 
 306061-306122 
 
 
 Public schools 
 
 
 Public Utilities Commission 
 
 19 
 
 38 
 
 3 
 
 23 
 
 36 
 74 
 62 
 
 
 Purchasing office 
 
 
 Soldiers and Sailors Temporary Home. . 
 Superintendent of weights, measures, 
 
 and markets office. 
 Tuberculosis Hospital 
 
 
 Wfl.'Rhing^on A^iylnni TaH 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CIVIL SERVICE BETIBEMENT. 
 
 97 
 
 Nonparticipating Insurance Company premium for deferred nnnulty compared 
 with proposed 21 per cent deduction. 
 
 
 Interval. 
 
 To age— 
 
 Premium 
 
 per $100 1 
 
 (male). 
 
 ' $1,200 
 
 $2,000 
 
 Age. 
 
 Annuity. 
 
 Insurance 
 premium. 
 
 Govern- 
 ment de- 
 duction. 
 
 Annuity. 
 
 Insurance 
 premium. 
 
 Govern- 
 ment de- 
 duction. 
 
 20 
 
 45 
 40 
 35 
 30 
 25 
 20 
 15 
 
 45 
 40 
 35 
 30 
 25 
 20 
 15 
 
 65 
 66 
 65 
 65 
 65 
 65 
 65 
 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 
 $5.47 
 7.11 
 9.38 
 12.64 
 17.52 
 25.36 
 39.09 
 
 3.81 
 4.97 
 6.60 
 8.98 
 12.59 
 18.51 
 29.11 
 
 $600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 480.00 
 360.00 
 300.00 
 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 600. 00 
 480.00 
 300.00 
 300.00 
 
 $32.82 
 42.66 
 56.28 
 75.84 
 84.10 
 91.30 
 
 117.27 
 
 22.86 
 29 82 
 39.60 
 53.88 
 60.43 
 66.64 
 87.33 
 
 $30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 30.00 
 
 $600. 00 
 600.00 
 600. 00 
 600.00 
 540. 00 
 480.00 
 420.00 
 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 540. 00 
 480. 00 
 420.00 
 
 $32.82 
 42.66 
 56.28 
 75.84 
 94.61 
 121.73 
 164.18 
 
 22.86 
 29.82 
 39.60 
 53.88 
 67.99 
 .S8.85 
 122.26 
 
 $50. OO 
 50 00 
 
 25 . 
 
 30 
 
 ■50 00 
 
 35 
 
 
 40 
 
 45 
 
 50.00 
 
 50 
 
 50 00 
 
 25 
 
 50 00 
 
 30 
 
 50.00 
 
 35. 
 
 50 00 
 
 40 
 
 50 00 
 
 45 
 
 m. 00 
 
 50 
 
 50.00 
 
 55 
 
 50.00 
 
 
 
 
 Interval. 
 
 To age— 
 
 Premium 
 
 per $100 1 
 
 (male). 
 
 $4,000 
 
 $6,000 
 
 Age. 
 
 Annuity. 
 
 Insurance 
 premium. 
 
 Govern- 
 ment de- 
 duction. 
 
 Annuity. 
 
 Insurance 
 premium. 
 
 Govern- 
 ment de- 
 duction. 
 
 20 
 
 45 
 40 
 35 
 30 
 25 
 20 
 15 
 
 45 
 40 
 35 
 30 
 25 
 20 
 15 
 
 65 
 65 
 65 
 65 
 65 
 65 
 65 
 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 70 
 
 $5.47 
 7.11 
 9.38 
 12.64 
 17.52 
 25.36 
 39.09 
 
 3.81 
 
 4.97 
 
 6.60 
 
 8.98 
 
 12.59 
 
 18.51 
 
 29.11 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 $600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 540.00 
 480.00 
 420.00 
 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 540.00 
 480.00 
 420.00 
 
 $42. 66 
 56.28 
 75.84 
 94.61 
 121. 73 
 164.18 
 
 22.86 
 28.82 
 39.60 
 53.88 
 67.99 
 88.85 
 122.26 
 
 $100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 100.00 
 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 $600.00 
 600.00 
 540.00 
 480.00 
 420.00 
 
 $56.28 
 75.84 
 94.61 
 121.73 
 164.18 
 
 $150.00 
 
 35 
 
 150.00 
 
 40 
 
 150.00 
 
 45 
 
 150.00 
 
 SO . . .. 
 
 150.00 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 600.00 
 540.00 
 480.00 
 420.00 
 
 29.82 
 39.60 
 53.88 
 67.99 
 88.85 
 122. 26 
 
 150.00 
 
 35 
 
 150.00 
 
 40 
 
 150.00 
 
 45 
 
 150.00 
 
 50 
 
 150.00 
 
 55 
 
 150.00 
 
 
 
 1 The premium for females is from $2 to $9 higher. 
 
 Statistics of " Permanent " employees in the Civil Service of the United States. 
 
 Branch of service. 
 
 All 
 
 Postal 
 
 City carriers 
 
 Postal clerks 
 
 Railway postal clerks. . 
 
 'Rural carriers 
 
 Others 
 
 In District of Columbia 
 
 Male 
 
 Female 
 
 Elsewhere 
 
 Male 
 
 Female 
 
 Of these, mechanics 
 
 Number 
 in service 
 July 1,1916 
 
 263,152 
 
 139,070 
 
 34,300 
 
 43,050 
 
 18,749 
 
 42,971 
 
 124,082 
 
 33,511 
 
 24,322 
 
 9,189 
 
 90,571 
 
 84,805 
 
 5,766 
 
 22,822 
 
 Average 
 
 39.9 
 39.3 
 40.9 
 36.7 
 38.9 
 40.8 
 40.6 
 41.8 
 41.9 
 41.5 
 40.1 
 40.3 
 36.8 
 39.8 
 
 Average 
 
 length of 
 
 service 
 
 (years). 
 
 10.3 
 
 10.6 
 
 11.9 
 
 10.7 
 
 12.6 
 
 8.6 
 
 10.0 
 
 13.2 
 
 13.1 
 
 13.4 
 
 8.8 
 
 8.9 
 
 6.7 
 
 9.7 
 
 Average 
 basic 
 salary. 
 
 $1,138 
 1,172 
 1,115 
 1,134 
 1,379 
 1,164 
 1,100 
 1,184 
 1,318 
 
 829 
 1,069 
 1,095 
 
 684 
 1,105 
 
 The foregoing statistics apply only to bona fide Government civilian emp'oye^i 
 the character of whose employment might properly be considered as permanent 
 
 79180—18 7 
 
98 
 
 CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 Temporary employees, and those rendering only part-time or seasonal service, 
 or whose appointments are for definite periods of less than a year, or until the 
 completion of particular constructional jobs, etc., have been excluded. These 
 numbered approximately 250,000 in 1916. 
 
 To the regular service of postal employees shown in the table must be added 
 an average substitute service of about two years in the case of city carriers, and 
 about one year in the case of postal clerks or railway postal clerks. 
 
 The local navy yard, like the local post office, is treated as part of the general 
 service and has been included under " Elsewhere " rather than " In the District 
 of Columbia." 
 
 The decennial censuses indicate a population growth of about 2 per cent annu- 
 ally. In the five-year period Just preceding July 1, 1916, the growth of the 
 Postal Service was about 2.7 pei' cent per annum, and of the other branche.S 
 about 4.2 per cent, an aggregate of about 3.4 per cent annually. The abnormal 
 growth during the five years was no doubt partly induced by the European war, 
 which was in progress two of the five years, but was probably as much or more 
 a reflection of the increased governmental activity of recent years, State and 
 municipal as well as Federal, which has been quite independent of war, and is 
 likely to go on for some years to come. It must be noted, however, that the 
 assumption of a higher year-in, year-(mt rate than that of the population, 2 per 
 cent, would be equivalent to assuming that eventually the entire population 
 would find Itself in the Govern)nent employ. 
 
 From all the evidence at hand, it seems reasonable to expect the Postal 
 Service to continue to grow at a fairly constant rate of about 2 per cent annu- 
 ally, and that in the other permanent classes the yearly increases which now 
 .appear to be not far from 10 per cent can hardly continue at such a rate longer 
 than 1920, whether the war goes on or not. On this assumption, there would be 
 about 180,000 permanent employees other than postal in the civil service in 
 1920. Without the abnormal influence of the war, this figure could hardly have 
 been reached before 1930, and it is surely conservatively high to assume that a 
 figure of 180,000 reached in 1920 will be maintained without increase or de- 
 crease until 1930, and will then go on increasing at a normal constant rate of 2 
 per cent. 
 
 The table appended shows the estimated size of the permanent service at 
 different periods according to these assumptions. 
 
 Year, 
 
 Postal. 
 
 Annual 
 increase. 
 
 Number. 
 
 Other. 
 
 Annual 
 increase. 
 
 Number. 
 
 All perma-- 
 
 nent 
 employees. 
 
 1911 
 1916 
 1917, 
 1918 
 1919 
 1920 
 1930 
 1940 
 
 2.7 
 2.0 
 2.0 
 2.0 
 2.0 
 2.0 
 2.^0 
 
 121, 522 
 139, 070 
 141,900 
 144,700 
 147, 600 
 150, 500 
 183, 000 
 215, 000 
 
 4,2 
 10.0 
 10.0 
 10.0 
 10.0 
 0.0 
 2.0 
 
 100, 776 
 124,082 
 136,500 
 150,000 
 165, 000 
 182,000 
 182,000 
 210, 000 
 
 222,298 
 263, 152 
 278,400 
 294, 700 
 302,600 
 332,600 
 365,000 
 425,000 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. Mr. Chairman, I would like to have Mrs. Havens 
 read Curfew, something she had put in the Federal Employee some 
 time ago. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MRS. RUTH D. HAVENS, EMPLOYEE TREASURY 
 DEPARTMENT, OFFICE OF AUDITOR FOR THE NAVY DEPART- 
 MENT. 
 
 Mrs. Ha\tens. Mr. Chairman and ladies and gentlemen, it seems 
 that they desire these verses incorporated after Dr. Maddrill's state- 
 ment, as a supplement. They are entitled Cutfew. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE EETIREMENT. 99 
 
 [The Federal Employee.] 
 
 CUErEW. 
 [By Ruth G. D. Havens.] 
 
 " The curfew tolLs the ltne]l (if parting day ;" 
 
 Or would toll, if there were a curfew bell ; 
 And, joyful, we should " wend " our " weary way," 
 
 If wending it would bring u.s home to dwell. 
 
 Our " parting day " now parts at half past four ; 
 
 Though, years ago, it used to part at three; 
 And if Chief Borland held the winning oar, 
 
 Heaven only knows just when the part would be. 
 
 " Retirement " does not come with parting day. 
 
 Nor dying year nor closing century ; 
 It holds its breath till " Bureau E " shall .say, 
 
 To the last farthing, what the price shall be. 
 
 And if we wait while experts stack the cards — 
 
 For still the Index needs a million more — 
 We can expect no share in its rewards. 
 
 We shall hav4^ died a score of years before. 
 
 We lack not faith in mystic calculations. 
 
 Xor doubt they will be full and accurate. 
 The trouble is, too many generations 
 
 Will have expired before their final date. 
 
 War's end will have subdued the cost of living, 
 
 A World Democracy have bred content ; 
 Foes will be joining in a glad Thanksgiving, 
 
 Nor know nor care what all those ttgures meant. 
 
 They will be framed, like other hieroglyphics. 
 And in museums hang — a source of wonder — 
 
 And no man, 'twixt Atlantic and Pacific, 
 Can feel the tragedy he's standing under. 
 
 O, dear companions, painfully tottering toward 
 Whichever H is due your miu-al rating, 
 
 I know you feel, with me. both grieved and bored — 
 Evangeline had nothing on our waiting. 
 
 If we were only heathen, allied nation, 
 
 Paupers, insane, sick, criminal or lost, 
 We might expect a big appropriation. 
 
 Without such endless reckoning of the cost. 
 
 Since we are only Uncle Samuel's servants. 
 Faithful and loyal, to the last red drop, 
 ■• " Bled white," we stagger on, industrious, fervent, 
 Though Death alone shall kindly bid us stop. 
 
 'Tis told at home, and e'en across the ocean. 
 
 That this fair land is prodigal of gold; 
 Yet punishes, with hardships and demotion. 
 
 Its culprits who have sinned by growing old. 
 
 Revise your prayer book, dearest Christian brothers. 
 And cease to plead life be not swiftly ended ; 
 
 But beg your God to spare your fathers and mothers 
 From length of days, with old age unbefriended. 
 
 IMrs Ruth G D. Havens, the author of the above poem is a lady 77 years of age, 
 who has been empoyed in the service ot the Government for 43 years, and in the 
 TccounHng offices ot the Treasury Department 42 years. Her sentiments on the retire- 
 ment situltion, therefore, seem entitled to considerable weight.— Ed.] 
 
100 CIVIL SERVICE KBTIREMENT. 
 
 On a day in June, 1918, it was announced that the Associated Press 
 had decided to retire its old employees ; — -and further — that it would 
 begin July 1 ! 
 
 Nearly 25 years ago, the Congress was considering retirement of 
 the civil service. It is still considering. Committee after com- 
 mittee has taken evidence. Bill after bill has been printed. Pa- 
 thetic instances of suffering from lack of legislation have been heard 
 and read with tears. Elaborate card systems have been said to exist 
 which have never reached the surface. In many sections it is un- 
 believable that this sentiment has not been incorporated in legislation. 
 And now war emphasizes the need that every civilian, as well as 
 every soldier, shall give his quota of service, and the old, with in- 
 creased houi's and diminished vacations, are straining every nerve 
 to fulfill their tasks. But, oh, the pity of it. 
 
 Congress talks in billions, but we, with expenses increased over a 
 hundred per cent, and incomes frequently reduced — we have to think 
 in pennies. 
 
 Green B. Eaum, once said in a speech before the retirement associa- 
 tion that Congress was likelj^ to think that the executive officers 
 should probably have greater pay and greater emolument, but that 
 the routine workers already receive more than their work demands. 
 Now, he said after being at the head of two of the largest offices in the 
 United States service, the Pension Office and the International Reve- 
 nue Office : " My experience is that the executive officers, like my- 
 self, — that their duties consist in signing letters they have never read 
 in answer to letters they have never seen, while the routine workers 
 are doing the task of the Nation." 
 
 It is true that children are receiving appointments at what may 
 be considered extraordinary wages for beginners; but it is equally 
 true, and especially of women, that many have been in the service 
 25 or 30 years and have not reached the salary now offered to ap- 
 plicants, and their advancement in grade is not even discussed. 
 Most of these will probably be eligible for the $120 granted by the 
 Congress for this year. So there has been small chance for clerks 
 with familjr ties to accumulate anything worthy of mention in con- 
 nection with the necessities of old age, and few are without depend- 
 ents. 
 
 In my office today are, I believe, 13 clerks of retirement age and 
 5 not so old but pitifully disabled. Of these two classes, two are 
 understood to have had each two strokes of paralysis; four are on 
 two crutches, one is trembling with what seems like paralysis agi- 
 tans, one has an artificial leg and a cane, one has a bullet in his 
 frame from the Civil War, one has been disabled by a street-car 
 accident, one is rallying from illness and surgery, six are obliged 
 to go to and from work in hired private conveyances, seven are sim- 
 ply feeble, because they are old. 
 
 I am not here by the request of these, and if I represent them it 
 is on my own responsibility. But I should consider it a poor and 
 narrow mission to come up here and plead for myself alone, and 
 I was using my best endeavors for retirement of the civil service 
 when I had not yet realized that I could ever be weak or old. 
 
 And I beg of you not to go to your homes until you have provided 
 for the immediate relief without a month's delay of the old civilian 
 
CIVIL SERYIOB EETTREMENT. 101 
 
 servants of your government and mine. There will be time for 
 other amendments in all the coming centuries. 
 
 I have been taught that England and France maintain both civil 
 service and old-age pensions and I am proud of them. 
 
 I have been told that Eussia has, or has had, for many years an 
 old age pension for all; and I blush. I have heard that Germany 
 maintains an old age pension for all civilians apart from its military 
 pensions, and I hang my head in shame. 
 
 Yon, gentlemen of the Congress, represent your country's char- 
 acter and aims and ideals, and by your standards is your nation 
 judged. 
 
 I pray you do not permit this fair land longer to lag behind the 
 civilized world in its humanities, in its honor to womanhood, its pro- 
 tection of childhood, its reverence for old age, its extension of a 
 democracy, inclusive of both sexes and of every race, for which the 
 world is to be safe and for which the hour has struck and for which 
 the man has spoken. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. Mr. Chairman, I would like to hare the committee 
 hear Mr. Thomas G. Allen, of the United States Civil Service Ee- 
 tirement Association. 
 
 STATEMENT OF ME. THOMAS G. ALLEN, MEMBER OF THE UNITED 
 STATES CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION. 
 
 Mr. Allen. Mr. Chairman, I am just here to-day simply to hear 
 the different views of the persons present. I have no intention of 
 saying anything at all. I have just been trying to support this 
 matter in my Avay for the last 25 years, or maybe not quite so long 
 as that. 
 
 I am heartily in favor of the present proposition. I think we are 
 on the way to succeed. It has been a very discouraging proposition 
 but it looks brighter to me to-day and I am very glad to be here and 
 liear the different views and I sincerely hope that it will not be long 
 till we have a statutory law that will receive the civil service em- 
 ployees that are superannuated. 
 
 Dr. Eeed. How long have you been in the service ? 
 
 Mr. Allen. Thirty-one years. I am 79 years old. 
 
 Mr. Alcorn. I would like to have the committee hear Mr. Duffiell, 
 a member of the National Association of Machinists. 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. MARTIN F. DUFFIELL, COLUMBIA LODGE NO. 
 174, INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MACHINISTS. 
 
 Mr. Duffiell. Mr. Chairman. I wish simply to announce that at 
 a deferred hearing, Mr. N. P. Alifas will speak on this subject. His 
 position as president of District 44, International Association of Ma- 
 chinists, carries him to various parts of the country wherem the 
 Government has established navy yards and arsenals, and when he 
 appears before you on his return, I am sure he will convey some 
 verv useful information to you. for he will be in a position to give, 
 not only his own views, but the views of Government employees 
 other than those employed right here in Washington. 
 
 However, there is just one thing I wish to touch on : Dr. Jordan 
 spoke here a few minutes ago relative to the cost of retirement being 
 
102 GIVIL SEBVICE BETIEEMENT. 
 
 borne equally by the Government and employee. On the surface 
 his arguments appear as perfectly logical, and will apply in perhaps 
 a majority of cases ; but how ' about the underpaid Government 
 employee who can not perhaps afford to contribute even the small 
 amount required. 
 
 If my memory serves me right, I believe that some years ago there 
 was some agitation in the State of New York relative to establishing 
 an old age pension or retirement fund to care for those, who by 
 reason of old age or through disability, were unable longer to properly 
 support themselves, and the data collected at that time, pertaining 
 to the cost of such a system to the State, showed conclusively that it 
 would be much cheaper to care for the indigent under a pension sys- 
 tem than under the present system of establishing large community 
 institutions, commonly known as "poorhouses" or "county homes," 
 with their costly installations of water, sewer, heating, and lighting 
 systems ; and on top of all that the ever attendant overhead charges 
 of maintenance. It is well known that there are comparatively few 
 persons who have not some relative or friend with whom they niay 
 or could live if they only had some slight income to help bear the 
 burden. Mr. Chairman, 1 firmly believe that within the lifetime of 
 those here present that there will be enacted by Congress legislation 
 which shall lift the burden of care of the agecl and infirm from the 
 shoulders of society and place it on the Government where it properly 
 belongs. 
 
 Mr. Alcorx. I would like for you to hear Mr. Pittman, President 
 of Local 215, International Holders Union. 
 
 STATEMENT OF ME. VIRGIL G. PITTMAN, PRESIDENT, INTER- 
 NATIONAL MOLDERS, LOCAL UNION NO. 215. 
 
 Mr. PiTTMAx. Mr. Chairman, I hope to be able to get some of 
 our international officers who have a wider view than I have to ap- 
 pear before the committee at some later hearing and they can present 
 the molders' viewpoints better than I can. 
 
 I have noticed in the navy yard service, the foundry branch, these 
 old men that are working there when they ought to be resting are 
 actually often in the way of the competent workmen. I have 
 noticed apprentices when they come to work, start at much smaller 
 wages than even the old men are getting. They are inclined to 
 measure their entire output by the work the old men do, seeming 
 to figure if the old man gets away with a certain amount of work 
 and more money than they are getting, everybody ought to be satis- 
 fied with that. 
 
 I think this has a tendency to keep down efficiency, not only while 
 he is an apprentice, but all of his life. I would like to see this bill 
 give these people much larger sums than $600 a year. I think it 
 ought to be doubled all the way through, although the way prices 
 are now I don't see how they could stand over 2^ per cent. I speak 
 for mechanics and I know that many of our people would not be 
 able to make ends meet if it were over 2^ per cent — they would not 
 be able to do it at all were it not for overtime, because of the high 
 cost of living and so on. Yet they favor it. It is all the hope they 
 have for their old age. 
 
 I believe that is all I have to say. 
 
CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 103 
 
 STATEMENT OF MR. ROBERT H. ALCORN, CHAIRMAN JOINT CON- 
 FERENCE COMMITTEE ON CIVIL SERVICE RETIREMENT. 
 
 Mr. Alcoen. Mr. Chairman, I believe that is about all that are here to be 
 heard. I would like to say just a few words in conclusion. 
 , First, I want to siiy in behalf of those not here, members of the conference 
 committee and all interested in this legislation, I desire to thank the chairman 
 for granting us this hearing and I would like to say further that we shall be 
 very pleased to meet when you think it is convenient for you to have the com- 
 mittee meet again and give us a chance to hear those who are not here to-day. 
 
 Dr. Macldrill in commenting on the McKellar-Keating bill from the view- 
 point of an actuary, points out certain actuarial shortcomings of the bill. In 
 considering his criticisms, I would also like you to consider a certain economic 
 and social omission from the bill, which is that it makes no provision for 
 those eases of physical and mental disability occurring under the ages of 
 65 and 68 for the two groups of employees concerned. It is not merely age that 
 determines the state of superannuation, it is the bodily condition. In order to 
 obtain the measure of relief from superannuation desired, a retirement bill 
 should make provision for careful consideration of those cases of disaliility 
 on account of age occurring under the year limits set for the average cases. 
 If any changes in the bill are to be considered, this feature should also receive 
 serious consideration. 
 
 I would further invite your attention that the first object to be obtained by 
 the enactment of this proposed bill would be to provide proper subsistance for 
 the superannuated employees now in the civil service and that during the days 
 of war-time i)rices. A iiensioii of $(ii)0 per annum is only .$50 i)er month and any 
 less than that amount would fail to keep a "man and his old wife who have 
 labored together these many years. 
 
 The scale of $6 per year for 30 years would only net a man $180, a 
 pension of 50 cents a clay for 30 years service. Let us make it a 
 dollar a day for 30 years' service. A dollar a day would bring the 
 pension up" to $360. Next in order to bring the pension up to the 
 lowest possible subsistence figure for the present superannuates, raise 
 the other $6 factor proposed, up to $8, totaling $140 for 30 years' 
 .service, and making a grand total of $600. 
 
 Under this modification the bill would read : 
 
 The Government grants you a dollar a day for thirty years faithful service, 
 all employees from now on purchasins in addition .■m annuity based on a two 
 and one-half per cent contribution from his or her salary made as a loan to the 
 Government, and for the period prior to the passage of this bill, the (iovernment 
 grants each employee .$8 for each year of service in addition to the dollar a day. 
 
 The McKellar-Keating bill is the result of a determined effort on 
 the part of many men of many minds to agree on certain fundamental 
 principles. It provides a bare subsistence for the present, superan- 
 nuates above certain ages only, it provides sufficient revenue to finance 
 the first few years of its operation, it directs the keeping of records 
 and the making of reports to the Congress of the actual operation of 
 the svstem, and we believe that if passed without change it will be a 
 tonic to the civil service. If its actuarial shortcomings are to be con- 
 sidered and remedied, we pray that the basic principles of adequate 
 care for the present superannuates, of not more than 2^ per cent con- 
 tribution and of safeguarded provision for those physically superan- 
 nuated while still under the prescribed ages, be carefully considered 
 and preserved in the revised draft. . ^., . ,, 
 
 The Chairman I think we had better wait until a quorum of the 
 committee returns to the city so that they may be present. It may be 
 that some of the committee wants to examine or cross-examine some 
 of the gentlemen who have appeared to-day, and if they do w^ will 
 notifv the gentlemen that have appeared to return here. 
 
 (Thereupon, at 3.40 o'clock p. m., the committee adjourned.) 
 
 X 
 
JK 79l.A5'l918e '"''"'' '■'■'"'^ 
 ^lilliHmm!imS,!S^"'"«^ 
 
 3 1924 002 434 185 
 
• f^"' '^ -" 
 
 ■ I. 
 
 '"■>/ . .*