man and Machinist Julius C. Bartels, who hapine about repair work, cheerfully assisted in the e this appereciation of the services of the officers WILLIAM C. REDFIELD, Secretary. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE, Washington, February 14, 1916. taken by the lighthouse tender Columbine, under e of the bark British Yeoman, with all on board, ion during the progress of a gale which it encounHawaii, from January 17 to 19, 1916, has been ue it appears that had it not been for the courage, nce displayed by you, and the hearty cooperation other employees of the Lighthouse Service on board e British Yeoman would have been wrecked on the commending you for your gratifying exhibition of th this rescue, and also desire to express my high s rendered by all on board during the rescue, in the Lighthouse Service have been upheld so well. the inclosed copy of this letter to be brought to the ; who assisted in the service rendered. en commended will be noted on the records as part Survey, w arship, m and study their duti to be som of justice Governm ployees. However, any system of retirement that w ole I would favor. Secretary Redfield, of the Depart erce, has strongly advocated the retirement system w tter has been brought to his attention. I thank you. CHAIRMAN. Very well, sir, we are obliged to you. Mi u wish to say something in reference to this? MENT OF HON. EDWIN S. SWEET, ASSISTANT SECH OF COMMERCE. SWEET. Mr. Chairman, I will not take much of the tim ttee. I brought along with me some clippings from th Secretary of Commerce dealing with this subject, like to leave with you. CHAIRMAN. Will you have them put in the record? SWEET. Yes. I haven't any particular recommenda CHAIRMAN. Have you any views on the subject? I e the first subject upon which you have not had any vie many years. SWEET. I haven't any such definite views that I would ss as to the details of a measure on this subject, but I ny belief is based upon the experience of something o now as Assistant Secretary of the Department of Co t would be very profitable for the Government to provi ment system by which the older clerks in the departme cularly in the Lighthouse Bureau and in the Coast and ey, where, as you know, we have a great many men of fir p, men who have devoted their lives to scientific inves study, who are, through age and disability, unable to duties as they should be performed. Now, there certainl some provision for caring for people of that kind as a stice to them, and I am sure that in our department at rnment would be ahead from a financial standpoint give young, ambitious, and deserving employees cement, and would generally improve the value of e tone of the service. (Annual Report, Secretary xecutive civil service is seriously impaired by reaployees, and that the prompt enactment of some law is one of its greatest needs, are facts conIs who are at all familiar with the problems of the 1 justice to employees demand a comprehensive, scheme of retirement pensions, the advantage of widely recognized by progressive commercial estabvernments. While doubtless the cost of a civilld for a few years add to the expense of adminisvestment, and in a short time the service would lay many times over by the saving it would render ficiency would be raised, the work could be done ld be accomplished without heartlessly throwing women who for decades have given their best d who have no means of subsistence other than nnual Report of the Secretary of Commerce, 1916, ighthouse Service who has served for 40 years the coming of a retirement system which would age after so many years of faithful work. A proemployees of the Lighthouse Service who after bility for further active duty by age or disability ential to full efficiency in administering the service. arine Corps, and the Coast Guard, including those rd cutters, such a retirement system now exists. I think, an unintentional discrimination against ice and in favor of those who serve in others. house ships and who serve in the various light e Government as truly as does an Army or Navy by reason of their special knowledge be required me of war. in many respects a dangerous service. By every f humanity and by the precedent of the practice t in other services and of other governments as of work, these men are entitled to retirement pay. e Commissioner of Lighthouses for the fiscal year showing the practice of foreign countries with yees in other lighthouse services. This shows that - with favorable results in all of the countries menunenviable isolation and inaction on our part. advancing the age of as an Ar justice, u service. inasmuch better able To-day have pass Governme in touch v part of th Gon of re employees lation, bu 1916, pp. em to save any considerable amount of money. The result is tha cing years they are forced to attempt to continue at their duties e of 64 they should be allowed to retire at a substantial pension Army, Navy, Public Health Service, or Coast Guard officer. e, under prevailing conditions, to ask that these men retire At the same time, frankly speaking, the service is har uch as their places should naturally be filled by younger me able to meet the hardships. day in the Coast and Geodetic Survey there are 15 or more passed the retirement age, and they should be properly cared nment to which they have devoted their lives. No one exc ich with the situation can realize what their services have mea of the Government work. While I have particularly dwelt on of retirement for hydrographic and geodetic engineers here, o yees of the bureau are deserving of recognition under retiren , but along different lines. (Annual Report, Secretary of pp. 195-196.) e CHAIRMAN. The committee will now hear Gen. Mc TEMENT OF BRIG. GEN. HENRY P. McCAIN, ADJUTA ERAL, UNITED STATES ARMY. en. MCCAIN. Mr. Chairman, I did not come prepared al statement; in fact there was not much notice given hearing, but it is a subject in which I am very much in he CHAIRMAN. Any views you may have will have a g ffect with me. I have a great admiration for your view en. MCCAIN. I have a large force there and many of ing to be old men. he CHAIRMAN. Have you any figures of them, General? en. MCCAIN. There are 77 of them who are 70 years The CHAIRMAN. What is your total number of clerks? en. MCCAIN. The entire number we have is 583 clerks the old force, and we have also quite a number of te ks, but this has application to the permanent force. The CHAIRMAN. The regular force. Gen. MCCAIN. Yes. We have in the lower grades of ks who have been there for years and never will get hig Just as capable as oay, think, able ng duty of the very highest class. I have been invaluable to me in this crisis. It stake to fix it so that clerks like that must ot think there is any contemplated legisla› without some investigation made by some under the law. I do not think that ought think there ought to be a board that they oplication to, and then that board decides particular person. an efficiency board composed of the chiefs in my office goes over these every six months, ninistrative efficiency. d want that board to pass upon the ements of the Government. ean the general board, Senator? 1 by law for the purpose of passing upon ve cited. There may be hundreds of them et, I know of dozens of them myself, that it the Government if their services were dislation along this line that I have had anyIways insisted that that provision be put in ard appointed to pass upon all employees ment but from all the departments of the cases as you cited. iculty about that would naturally be that e a direct knowledge of the work the clerks eir duty to find out. lo, they are liable to interfere in a business rn them. dea is that it ought to be under the departrtment? articular department. The Secretary can ould satisfy him and have it work, if neces |