salaries provided for by section ten hundred and ninety-one of the charter shall be thereby reduced ,and shall certify monthly to the comptroller, the amounts so deducted; and said amounts shall be turned into the said retirement 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 withheld 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 sáid 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 education 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 principals, 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 district 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 unexpired 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 staff of the public day schools 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 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 supervision, 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.

After the board of education may retire from active service any member of the said teaching or supervising staff who shall have attained the age of sixty-five years and shall have been engaged in the work of teaching or school supervision 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 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 who has been en

gaged in the work of teaching or of school or college supervision, or of examination 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 in 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 college 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 recommendation 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 professor 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 retirements 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 retired 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 appointed 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 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.

§ 2. Section ten hundred and ninety-two-a, as amended by chapter one hundred and seven of the laws of nineteen hundred and five, section ten hundred

and ninety-two-b, as amended by chapter five hundred and five of the laws of nineteen hundred and nine, and section ten hundred and ninety-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 seventeen, except as to subdivisions B, C, D, E, paragraph 5; subdivision F, paragraph 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 provides that if any person entitled to make such election fails 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 the 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 compensation 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 quarterly throughout life, for every such employee on arrival at the age of retirement 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 annually, 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 established 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 ascertained 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

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 town, omitting debts created for supplying the inhabitants 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 authorized 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 and investing the funds created by this act, a board of investment is hereby created, composed of the Treasurer of the United States, the Comptroller of the Currency, 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 efficiency 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, however, That after the first day of July, nineteen hundred and twenty, no person to whom this act applies shall be continued in the service beyond the age of retirement as herein provided. Upon the failure of the head of the department or independent office 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 retirement age a deduction of ten per centum of his monthly salary, pay, or compensation 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 employee may withdraw his savings, with the increment of interest as herein provided, under 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 provision that in case of the death of the annuitant before he has received in annuities 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

his heirs no account shall be taken of the annuities paid to him by 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 foregoing 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 retirement shall be credited thereto for a period not exceeding twenty 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 he 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 the 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 compensation during the first six months of his employment; 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 withheld 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 act, 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 retirement: Provided, however, That, unless prorated by the Secretary of the Treasury as hereinafter provided, the allowance for disability, due to accident, shall be equal to not less than twenty per centum of the average annual compensation 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 service. 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 sufficient to purchase an annuity, payable quarterly throughout life, for such employee on arrival at the age of retirement equal to his annual disability allowance, the Secretary 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 the money then to his credit, with 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 purchase 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 terminate the disability allowance granted to any employee whenever in his judgment it is proper to do so, and such action on his part shall be final and conclusive.

In case of the death of an employee while in the receipt of a disability allowance, 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.