nts to be patriotic and do all these several things, and ide for a son's family when his boy is called to the front. ent departments have been calling the attention of Consuperannuation and been urging for the relief that a give them, but while passing "River and Harbor bills " millions it has been strangely silent on the subject of for those who have grown old in the service of the me superannuated. It has sat silent while a witness d men from the pay rolls of the different departments. e has been age, and the only charge made against them ed long enough and served long enough to be physically l as they did 40 or 45 years ago.

-ong! Yet to be fair to those who are responsible for ent departments and branches of the Government service, me for this state of affairs lies with Congress. The de1 to the relief a retirement law would give them. They ces they should with 7,000 superannuated employees doing t of work.

e, and so if these Congressmen find themselves the ref protests from those whose salaries are being reduced, nber that it is because they have not acted on a subject s been for several years, the most important social issue , and is the paramount issue among Federal employees. 1"big business" to show them the way to adopt up-to-date their employees, and yet has not taken advantage of the ion law would bring to their own employees.

d should be done to relieve the situation. Congress can ive and witness deserving employees, many of them vetr, reduced in salary so as to earn just an existence. he issue to-day with the employees of the civil service and til such a time that Congress places a just and equitable v on the statute books of the United States, and so we hope ovement or progress be advocated, even in the special quick action may result as soon as Congress meets next

Ss for civil service!

Il prepare the Government for a more efficient service! iency and economy with humanity!

I want to say at the outset that I have no plan I have not studied the subject sufficiently to have but I would like to have your idea now how many d be affected.

The CHAIRMAN. Representative Austin, of Tennessee Mr. GOLDSCHMIDT. Yes, sir. Four per cent to eight p present time our salaries could not stand it. That w many years ago when the cost of living was not so high stand any such contribution to-day as we are right dow tom on the cost of living. It is a fifty-fifty propositio now. If they must have a contribution from the em Government can not stand it all, they should divide the

I am employed in the Postal Service. We did not co 5 per cent increase, and here we are getting the sam liberty bonds to buy, our little bit to do, Red Cross care of the families of those we are related to, doing to assist the Government in its time of need. We hav ways to spend the little salaries we are getting at the That is not exaggerated.

The CHAIRMAN. What position do you hold in the I partment?

Mr. GOLDSCHMIDT. I am in the New York post office The CHAIRMAN. In the New York post office, under Department?

Mr. GOLDSCHMIDT. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. You say that 5 and 10 per cent in only to the Washington office?

Mr. GOLDSCHMIDT. It does not apply to any part Service.

The CHAIRMAN. You mean it does not apply to an Postal Service?

Mr. GOLDSCHMIDT. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Does it apply to every other service Mr. GOLDSCHMIDT. I believe it applies to every other civil service.

Mr. THOMAS F. FLAHERTY (secretary of the Nation of Post Office Employees). In the Senate the so-called ment was inserted in the postal appropriation bill pr per cent increase to postal employees receiving $480 a

employee give en a large

ocates a fifty-fifty plan and says it is the only just, le plan. This plan has been put through now in eachers' pension bill for the city of New York.

. Do you want the document put in the record of the

IDT. Yes, sir; I would like to have that put in the

. Very well.

referred to is here printed in full as follows:)

I PROBLEM AND THE PHILOSOPHY OF CONTRIBUTIONS. densky, Bureau of Municipal Research, New York City.]

INTRODUCTION.

fund in this country was established about 60 years ago by rk for policemen. Since then many States and cities have legislation, the number of retirement funds has increased any thousands of public employees have been covered by

ns.

Although the expansion of the movement has been means reached its limit. As yet a number of States and pted any retirement legislation; the 300 pension funds for do not include all employees of those two groups; the 100 nds cover only about half of the teachers; and the remainately 40, cover only a small fraction of all other classes of municipal employees. The most significant fact about the ovement is that new ideas and methods are clashing with evailing. The pension movement is now reaching a critical

the existing retirement funds which were patterned one larming. The recent collapse of a number of them showed structure have been unsound from the beginning, and must at they embody little or no public purpose and are the outal movements is indicated by the fact that almost 400 of three best organized groups of public employees as against to all others. Frequently the local leaders of these probills and pushed them to passage while the Government ined quiescent. Opposition was avoided by the promoters' e systems would cost little and by provision for small con

system.

At the present time, however, a really consistent endeavor develop safe standards for pension funds.

The new ideas involve a recognition that a retirement syster only a professional but also a public purpose and must be app employees; that it must be based upon an actuarial determina vided with adequate contributions and an adequate reserve a as solid and permanent as a rock"; that all the facts must and discussed by all the parties involved and an agreement on cost reached; that a careful consideration by the legislature and that the system once established must be periodically actuary. The first in this country to apply new methods to the lem were Mr. H. D. Brown, of Washington, D. C., who prep remarkable reports,' and the Commission of Economy and Effi F. A. Cleveland. At about the same time the Massachusetts Pensions made an investigation which resulted in the establish sound system in this country-that for the Massachusetts tea bureau of municipal research made an actuarial investigation police pension fund and published an exhaustive report which establishment of the commission on pensions in charge of the and pension experts of the bureau, to investigate all the nine New York City and to prepare a plan of reorganization. Thi cently published three reports, which will have a tremendous in reorganization movement in this country and the first two of to give effect to their recommendations. The Carnegie Foundat reports has made valuable contributions to the movement. municipal research continued its work along the following lines aration of a handbook on the theory of the retirement problen the first of a series, on the history and practice of retirement country and abroad, which will soon appear in print; and (2) the necessary technical force for the investigation of retirem installation of sound pension measures.

In the present pamphlet an attempt is made to outline the pl tributions, because the experience of pension campaigns has de misunderstanding of the purposes underlying the establishm nance of a retirement system is the main cause of disagreem Government and the employees. Fundamental principles must before discussing the entire framework of a proposed pension tempt is made here to outline an ideal system. The fundament cussed apply generally to all branches of the public service, to firemen, clerks, and laborers.

1777-17

1 Published by the United States Government.

-2

od on the payroll and making the service less efficient, at ng an invalid and perhaps doing an injustice to its employee. remedy for this condition is the establishment of a retireetimes the employees themselves, for the sake of their own retirement association supported by membership dues. As rom their fund almost invariably increase after a few years eed its income, the employees finally call upon the governo the fund and to save it from depletion. Thus the teachers to supplement their own fund, which was badly depleted, establishment of a fund supported entirely by the city; the oklyn teachers secured, in 1898, a city subsidy in the form ibution from excise taxes; and the Buffalo teachers, in 1909. und a city contribution equal to their own.

overnment itself, to promote greater efficiency, establishes a ree from dues on the part of its employees. As the pension the government finds itself compelled to request the emte in the expense. Austria presents an example of such a ent of Austria established, in 1870, a retirement system for questing them to contribute. In 1896, however, it introduced lary amounting to 3 per cent and increased them 10 years cent of salary.

e employees and the government agree to establish and to tirement system which will promote both the welfare of the efficiency of the service. For instance, in the United States local retirement systems for teachers, 78 systems are now the teachers and by the government.

that in this country retirement systems have been generally actuarial estimates of their future liabilities and the adee provided to meet them; they have, therefore, either ap 2 or, if a clause has been provided compelling the Goernleficiency that might develop, they have become an increason the community."

this pamphlet originally appeared in the October, November, Deruary and March, 1917, issues of the American Teacher. Revisions text and new sections added. ement funds of New York, Boston, and Providence and Newport. ice pension fund also presents an interesting illustration of such d was established in 1857, and was provided with an inadequate rewards and sale of unclaimed property. A number of laws inthe application of various new revenues. One of the laws (1892) ciency must be supplied by the board of estimate. The first defi$197,000, appeared in 1904. During the 11 years since 1904 the ve rapidly increased, reaching, in 1915, $1,465,800, or almost 60 mount needed for the payment of pensions during that year. (Resion fund of the city of New York, 1913, and report on the nine city of New York, 1916.)