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: EDITORIAL PAGE NATIONAL PROBLEMS SPECIAL ARTICLES EDITORIAL SECTION r Society News Part 2?18 Pages WASHINGTON, D. C., SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 5, 1922. PAY ON A NEW BASIS UNDER PROPOSED ACT - j Designed to Keep Services at High Effi ciency and to Correct Individual Injustices. BY G. UOll.D LINCOLN. THE new pay bill, readjusting the pay ami allowances of the commissioned and enlisted personnel of the Army. Navy, Marine Corps, coast guard, coast and geodetic survey and public health service, drafted by a joint congres sional committee, contains several entirely new principles in dealing with the services. First, the fluctuation of the cost of living is recognized, and a certain Amount of elasticity to cover these fluctuations is provided. This is con tained in the provisions made for the subsistence and rental allowances for the commissioned personnel. Second, the principle js laid down that a certain number oi years' serv ice and experience are necessary to entitle an officer to the pay fixed for the various ranks up to and includ ing colonel. Third, the principle is laid down also that an officer who has served without promotion an unreasonable time is en titled to more pay. Fourth, the bill takes into considera tion. in making subsistence and rental allowances to the officers of these services, the matter of dependents. If an officer has a wife, minor chil dren or dependent mother, he is held to ha\e dependents and receives the regular allowances. But if he has no dcpendei^s. then his allowances are cut down. It has been estimated that about 90 per cent of the com missioned personnel of the services have dependents. The new pay bill, which was re ported last week from the joint com mittee to both houses of Congress, will make an immediate saving to the government of approximately $13,000,000 in the pay of these serv ices. and an ultimate saving of about $28,000,000, if the strength of the services remains as it is today. Nevertheless, the compensation of the commissioned officers and of the enlisted men, except for the new en listed private and the man who has been in the service but a year or two, will not be lowered. In fact, there is a slighp increase in the com pensation of the commissioned per sonnel over the present compensation. The new bill goes back to the basic pay of the act of 1908 for the commissioned personnel. Today they are being paid under the act of 1920. giving a temporary increase in pay of about 20 per cent Jo officers and enlisted men. B?>t allowances for subsistence for the commissioned personnel are entirely new, and the rental allowances Cor officers who are housed on government-owned posts are increased from $12 a room to $20 a room. The subsistence al lowance is 60 cents a day. According to their rank and dependents the of ficers are allowed a greater or ..m number of daily subsistences. This is where the actual compensation of the commissioned forces is increased, although their basic pay goes back to the 1908 law. * * * * So far as the unlisted personnel is concerned, the bill leaves the pay for all the non-commissioned, warrant ami petty officers of the services as it Is today, with the increase. It re duces, however, the pay of the newly unlisted private and the man who has had but a year or two of service. The recruit will receive $21 a month in stead of $30. But the $21 is 40 per cent more than he received before the war, when his pay j**as only $15 a month. The man who has a year or two experience, or enlisted men of the sixth grade, as they are called, will receive $30 a month instead of $33 and $35. as they receive in the .Army and Navy, respectively, today. In deciding to reduce the pay of the recruit to $21 a month, the fact was taken Into consideration that these men are clothed, housed, fed and given medical attention free. Their only expenses are for laundry. It was the judgment of the Services that they can be recruited as well at $21 a month as at $30. The recruits have no dependents, or, if they have, "they have no business enlisting," as one of the drafters of the bill put it. But the joint committee took into; consideration the fact that men who stay in the enlisted personnel of the services, making It a career, are en- ; titled to recognition. The family life Is recognized as the normal life.; JThese men have families and pro- j vision must be made for them. So | they have no reduction in their pres- 1 ent pay. They draw, of course, their! rations, clothing, etc., from the gov ernment, just as the recruit does. * * * * The bill establishes a'r pay periods for the commissioned officers. The basic pay for these periods is as fol lows: First period. $1,500; second, $2,000; third, $2,400; fourth, $3,000; fifth, $3,500 and sixth, $4,000. There is longevity pay for the of ficers, however, as there is for the enlisted men. In the case of the of -ficers, they are allowed an increase of 6 per cent of the base pay of their reriods for each three years of serv ice up to thirty years. The length of service for the vari ous periods is as follows: First period, tip to three years; second period, three years up to seven; third period, favfp years up to fourteen years; fourth period, fourteen years up to twenty years: fifth period, twenty years up to twenty-six years. The first period covers the second lieutenant as he entered the service. It covers, too, the man who has by unusually rapid promotion gone to the rank of first lieutenant withii/ the first three years of his career as a commissioned ?flficer. The commit* tee did not think it was fair to the porernment to hare a man just ?rrad uated from West Point, for instance^ j and who because of vacancy was ad vanced to the frank of first lieutenant I within a few weeks or months re I ceive the advanced pay. So a first I lieutenant will continue to receive the pay of the first period until he has had three years' service. But the committee also took care of cases where there may be slow promotion. An officer who serves mora than five years and still re mains a second lieutenant will re ceive the pay of the second period, the basic pay of a first lieutenant and also the longevity pay. This plan runs through the entire series of pay periods. A colonel who has served less than twenty-six years will re ceive the pay of a lieutenant colonel until he has* completed the twenty six years required to place him in the sixth period. But a lieutenant color.cl wno has served thirty years will rece've the pay of a colonel. ? * * * The testimony gathered by the com mittee established the fact that liv ing costs are about 100 per cent greater than in 1908, when the last permanent pay schedule was estab lished. and about 75 per cent greater than in 1913, before the war,, While the act of 1920 gave a certain amount of relief (approximately 20 per cent increase), it absorbed only about one third of this Increased cost of living in the case of officers, leaving about two-thirds to be borne by the indi vidual. Actually the purchasing power of the present pay is much less than that of 1908. - The relief afforded by the act of 1920, however, is temporary, in most of its provisions that act expires by limitation on June 30 of this year. Should Congress fail tx> legislate on Hje subjert. the pay of the great ma jority of the personnel affected will revert automatically to the 1908 schedules, with disastrous results. The committee in its report to Con gress asserted that it had been clear ly demonstrated that officers and com missioned officers and petty officers experience great difficulty in main taining themselves and their families under present conditions. Further more, there is no prospect of a lower ing of living costs in the future to a point where the saiaries of 1908 would be adequate. In framing legislation to meet this I situation the committee has under taken to accomplish the following re sults: "A reduction in total cost below that of the 1923 budget estimates,! with a readjustment of pay in such' a manner as to give especial aid where most required. The budget estimates are based upon the present temporary pay schedules and the present strength of the services. "Adoption of a schedule which will' reasonably compensate officers and enlisted men of the service for rank, responsibility and length of service, and at the same time so arranged as to ofTer a promising career to young men entering in the lowest grades. In view of pending legislation to re duce the military and naval estab lishments. it is important that any ( new pay schedule shall be so drawn | as-to provide reasonable remunera tion to such personnel as shall re main. It becomes doubly essential, if these services are to become numeri cally smaller, that their personnel shall be maintained at a point of high efficiency. "To establish a parity of pay In all the services concerned. "To introduce an element of pay which shall, within a fixed maximum, vary automatically with the cost ofj living. ! "To do away with petty allowances and multiplicity of accounts and thus J to cheapen and simplify administra tion.;' * * * * The pay schedules have been so work <d out ill the proposed legislation as to offer a reasonable careor to young men of a desirable kind. The compensation is commensurate with the duties and responsibilities attached to rank, pro vides for increases due to increased ex perience and efficiency apart from rank. It automatically and effectuallv pro tects the interests of the National Guard and reserve officers brought temporarily into the active service of the United States. The bill abolishes many inequalities between the services whose duties are at all fines comparable and In time of war identical. It facilitates their finan cial administration, and for clarltv to this end the assistance of the controller general or the United States has been secured in its preparation. The Secretary of War. Secretary of the Xavy, Secretary of the Treasury and the Secretary of Commerce have ail approved the proposed legislation. Canadian Visitor Urges Reciprocal Trade Relations MtaUtrr at iiute mt Ike Dtuhin ?f Cauda, w?# eaiftrre* with Ike PrcaMeat reatcrflay relative to trade rrlatlMn ami tart* rrftpraefty tc tweea the two (mbMn, CONGRESS IS IN A SERIOUS MOOD OVER MERCHANT MARINE ISSUE BY N. O. MESSENGER. RESIDENT HARDING launched the mer chant marine bill in the presence of the assembled Congress, and now it rides at anchor ji?st out of the fairway, waiting for the finishing touches to be put on it by the House and Senate. It is rather an awe-inspiring hull as it looms to the legislative view and needs much of joiner work, machine fitting and all that before it can get under way. Praises be if barnacles don't grow on it be fore it gets steam up.y Looking down from the press gallery while the President addressed the master-workmen who are to finish the job he arid the Shipping Board have started, one was impressed by the seriousness of their manner as they listened to his utterances. You could tell it was a new sub ject to some of them, and no disparagement of them at that?all that talk about tonnage, and rates, and custom dues, and speed in knots, and so on. fThe President talked in terms of millions, which did not dismay his listeners; they are accustomed to that now. A million dollars is a mere bagatelle to the men who expec,t to parcel out three billions and more in regular appro priates. Queer it is how the word "subsidy" grates on ?he nerves of the average congressman. There seems to him to be something sinister in the sound of it. In the sense in which it is applied to the project under way it ought to be harmless enough, yet it is a certainty that the unfriends of the undertaking will ring the changes of "subsidy" until it will assume hor rific proportions in the interior districts. And in the very same week in which the merchant marine bill was presented to Congress there met at the capital the National Rivers and Harbors Congress, whose major proposition un der discussion was the construction of the St. Lawrence ship channel, to connect the great lakes with the Atlantic ocean. It was urged by men from the Mississippi valley, the'very heart of the interior, its objective being to float a great fleet of carriers by water. The question might well be asked why go to the expense of providing a waterway if pro vision is not made fdr vessels to use it, and ft is a primary proposition of the simplest that some means must be adopted to aid the mer chant marine or it cannot exist. United States Senator Ransdell of Louisiana, who is president of the National Merchant Marine Association and greatly interested in waterway development, addressing a meeting of the association last Friday, took cognizance of the sometime unpopularity of subsidies, and pointed out in what particular the pending plan differs from former^ suggestions for merchant * * * * * * * * sj: 5?e 5(c $ marine relief. "Subsidy/*'' said Senator Ransdell, "has been a very offensive word to the Ameri can people, not alone those of one party, but those of both parties. Measures of relief along the lines of subsidy have time and again been presented to the American Congress and time and again have they been refused. But the sit uation is altogether different now. There are reasons n<Sw why we should accept this subsidy that did not exist in the past, and the measures of relief advocated by the President, under the advice of the Shipping Board and their advisers, refer not alone to a subsidy, but to several other important matters." * * * * Senator Ransdell explained that great bene fit uouid accrue to the cotton growers of the south, the grain growers of the west and manu facturers everywhere in the rebate of 5 per cent on the total amount of freight paid on exports and imports. Pie said that the provision in the bill to build up the naval reserve with the mer chant marine should commend it to all thought ful men. He insisted that it would be impossible to maintain the United States Navy on a parity with Great Britain without"a strong merchant marine. The merchant marine now existent is not well balanced, the senator contended. It is short of first-class combined freight and pas senger vessels of speed, and there are other in equalities which would be corrected. s Senator Ransdell called attention to the fact that the pending bill was the joint work of democrats ?nd republicans on the Shipping Board, and, therefore, not to be considered a partisan measure. He suggested that if the bill is to be opposed by a considerable number in the House or Senate on the ground of sub sidy, the opponents must be prepared to offer some better plan, and he asserted that the American people will so insist. As a senator of the minority party, he pledged liimstelf to stand by the general principles enunciated by Presi dent Harding in his address to Congress. * * * * Chairman Lasker of the United States Ship ping Board, addressing the-same meeting of the National Merchant Marine Association, com mented upon Senator Ransdell's reference the non-political aspect of the board. "It is my de light to state," he said, "that the only manner in which we ever know that the Shipping Board is a bi-partisan board is when we hear it re * ferred to by someone else. The seven members of the present board have never realized that they were democrats or republicans. We have been in office more than eight and one-half months, and save on one or two matters of the smallest importance, we have never had a divided vote." Referring to the pending project. Chairman Lasker said that it represents the enthusiastic and unanimous view of the Shipping Board, none of whose members looks on the board as a po litical organization or on its affairs as having to do with politics or to be brought into politics. "Kach member of the board is inspired by the knowledge and belief that this is an all American problem (the merchant marine) which has come to the forefront in our national life in a major way, and which cannot longer be put off in solution." / * * * * Deep interest is felt in congressional and departmental circles over the friction now cur rent between the appropriation makers of the House and the' War and Navy departments in . the proposed appropriations for the Army and the Navy in the next year and deficiencies in the appropriations for this year. So serious has the situation become that President Harding has found it advisable to step in and mediate between the legislative and administrative branches. He is now seeking to pour oil on the troubled waters and bring about a better understanding between the appropriat ing powers that be and the heads of the depart ments for which the funds are designed. * * ? * Briefly, the squabble is this: The congress men contend that certain proposed sums for the Navy are sufficient in amount, and the Navy heads say that they are not. and that If the amounts are not increased the Xavy will be dis abled. The congressmen maintain that the ap propriations for the Army must be cut down and the personnel reduced, and the Army heads say that if the reductions are as drastic as now proposed the entire military establishment will be disrupted. This dispute puts the average citizen in a quandary. He is supposed to be in favor of economy and reduced expenditures for military purposes especially, but he is not likely to want his Navy and his Army disorganized. Who is right, he may ask, in these contentions as to the adequacy or inadequacy of the sums pro posed?the technical officials in charge of the services, or the men who have absolute control of the purse strings of the government? * * * * President Harding, the conciliator, believes that the wrinkles can be ironed out between the legislative and administrative branches, as both are working in the best interests of the coun try, as viewed by each. But the President is not in favor. It is understood, of carrying the reductions in Navy personnel to the point where failure to provide enough men to man the ships would put the effectiveness of the Navy below a parity with ?'England as fixed in the naval limitation treaty. * * * * It is contended that it would be a farce to ratify a treaty fixing the parity of the United States Navy and Great Britain's navy at 5-5 and at the same time refuse to supply men and money sufficient to keep it 5-5; instead, actually pushing the United States' ratio away below that figure, and approaching the ratio of Japan. Resumption of Relations With Germany Brings Millions in War Claims Forward BY EUUAKU XEI.SOV UINGLBY. RESUMPTION" of diplomatic re " lations with Germany not only reopens a page ot tragic history, but presents impor tant problems for solution. February 2 and 3, 1917, witnessed exciting. nay tragic, events in Wash ington. Germany had definitely threatened to resume her ruthless submarine warfare against all ships found in the restricted ocean area. The lives and property of American citizens, from the hour when the Lusitania was submarined to the last similar outrage, had been destroyed by the German undersea pirate. Germany's at|itude precipitated a clash. The submarine situation swept on, and every hour meant a nearer approach to a break, which everybody knew meant war. The clash was only a matter of time, per haps hours. The challenge to the honor of the United States had to be met. j On the night of February 2 Presi | dent Wilson held a conference with his cabinet and fifteen democratic senators. To the senators the execu tive said: "Gentlemen. I have come to exchange views." An hour later a newspaper man asked: '.Mr. Presi dent. what will be done?" The Presi dent replied: "That depends on how I feel in the morning." * * * * < Early on the morning of February 3, 1917, the executive decision was made?the die was cast. President Wilson sent word to Congress that he had an Important message to deliver to the two branches Jointly assem bled. That message, historic and | tragic, announced the break with i Germany. After reciting the facts I leading to the decision, the President said: "I have, therefore, directed the' Secretary of State to announce to his excellency the German ambas sador that all diplomatic relations between the United States and the German empire . are severed and that the American ambassador at Berlin will Immediately be with drawn: and, in accordance with this decision, I have directed the State Department to hand to his excellency his passports. 1 cannot bring myself to believe that they (the German government) will Indeed pay no re gard to the ancient friendship be tween their people and our own or to the solemn obligations which have been exchanged between them and destroy American ships and take the lives of American citizens in the will ful prosecution of the ruthless naval program they have announced their intention to adopt. Only overt acts on their part can make. me believe it even -now. We do not desire any hostile conflict with the government of Germany. God grant we may not be challenged to defend American rights from acts of willful injustice on the part of Germany." ? * * # * The seen* in the House wa? mem orable. Congress and the nation cheered the message to the echo. Am bassador James W. Gerard, at Berlin, I was ordered to return home, with his staff. Later the diplomatic break with Austria followed, and Fred C. Penfield. ambassador at -Vienna, was recalled. Count Bernstorff left Washington February 3. dor Hoboken, where eleven days later he sailed away from a patient and hospitable country on the American-Scandina vian steamer Frederick VIII. For eight years he had represented the German Empire in the United States. Departing with a retinue of i I sixty people and scores of German consuls in various American cities, he ! thanked his friends and said: "I hope that war may be averted and that the I close, friendly relations between the United States and Germany will soon be restored." No whistles blew as the Frederick VIII slowly steamed down the bay. There was no dipping of color except on a few German and Austrian ves sels nearby. The" flag of Denmark, not of,Germany, was dipped in re turn. It was a silent farewell, as far as America was concerned. On the 14th of March Bernstofff reached Ber lin. The tragedy of grim and cruel war opened. * * * * * The purpose of this article is to present, briefly, the commercial and economic high spots arising out of America's entrance into the war, trace yie background of the picture before which final peace was consum mated, and outline some of the finan cial and economic problems involved in a resumption of diplomatic rela tions between Germany and Austria on the one hand and the United States on the other. A new ambassador to Germany has been appointed and con firmed. Approximately five years will have elapsed since the diplomatic break and the arrival of the new American ambassador in Berlin. Six months after war was declared It became necessary to stop all trade land commerce with the central pow ers and seize all enemy property In the United States. October 6, 1917, the "trading-with-the-enemy act" was passed. In section six of that law the President was authorized to appoint an alien property custodian "to re ceive all money and property in the United States due or belonging to an enemy, or ally of enemy, to hold, ad minister and account for the same." Later the law was amended to permit the custodian to sell the property. This custodian was a common-law trustee clothed with power (through the President) "to manage such prop erty and do any act or things in re spect thereof, or make any disposi tion thereof, or any part thereof by sale or otherwise." * * * * Five bureaus were created?(1) the bureau of administration, (2) the bureau of investigation, (3) the bur eau of trusts, (4) the bureau of au dits, (5) the bureau of law. The law compelled all American citizens to notify the custodian of all aiien?pro perty in the United States of which they had knowledge. During Decem ber, 1917, alone, 12,000 reports were received. At the close of that month, the total alien property in the hands of the custodian was $134,60S,231? cash, $330,250; stocks, $53,9*4,704: bonds, $25,i>47,03S; mortgages, $3,754,. 7-46; notes receivable, $2,725,370; ae icounts receivable, J37.733.713; real estate. J2.206.21S; net merchandise. J8.323.197. In addition, there were sixteen alien Insurance companies doing business in the United States, and having- gross assets of J40,612,887. At the close of 1917 there were 193 employes in the alien property cus todian's department, drawing sala ries amounting to J410.968. At the close of December. 1919. there were 22.296 trusts with an aggregate value of $502,945,724. This property was distributed as follows: German enemies, J326.S65.090; Austrian ene mies, J39,555.i)j7; Interned enemies, J3.4D7.898; American enemies. J91, ?66,053; other enemies, J40.371.3S4; net income In Treasury from these interests, J839.770. At the end of ,1921 there were 35,000 trusts valued at approximately J750.000.000?the largest trust in the world. The ex pense of administering these trusts [ up to February 15, 1919, was about Jl,000,000. Up to date the expense has been about 11,800.000. * ? ? * During the war It was discovered that the principal German investments in this country were for the produc tion of essentials for warfare. The policy of the government was to turn I these investmerts into 100 per cent capacity for government business. Every device known to the law, as well as many unknown to the law, served the purpose of evading the consequences of the war. These in vestments were divided into two classes; (1) Private investments of Germans in the United States, (2) combined German, capital in America. When the "trading-with-the-enemy act" was passed the exact, or even approximate, extent of "German in dustry in the United States was not even dreamed of. Germany had a tight industrial grip on America In 1914. The "trading-wlth-the-enemy act" was in force until November 14, 1921. The act stated that the "end of the war shall be the date of proclamation of exchange of ratifica tions of the treaty of peace, unless the President shall by proclamation declare a prior date. In which case the date so proclaimed shall be deemed to b? the end of the war." The separate treaty of peace with Germany was ratified in Washington November 14, 1921. Section 5 of the proclamation recites that "all prop erty of the imperial government, or its successors, and of all German na tionals which has come into the pos session of the United States, and also property of Austrian government or citizens, shall be retained by the United State* and no tflsposition thereof made, except as shall have been specifically provided by law, un til the German and Austrian citizens shall have made suitable provision for the satisfaction of all claims against Germany and Austria of all persons who owe allegiance to the United States and who have suffered through the acta of Germany and Austria." thia is the substance and plain Intention of the proclamation in the treaty. In the treaty proper ths United States reserve* Che right to participate in the reparation commission, according to the terms of the Versailles treaty, or not to participate, as it shall elect. This reservation may hare an important bearing- on the final adjustment of all property and other claims between Germany, Austria and the United States. * * * * , Now that diplomatic and normal commercial relations between Ger many and Austria on the one hand and the United States on the other have been resumed, what is to be done with the German and Austrian property seized? What is to be the final dispo sition of the trusts? Obviously the solution of the question rests with Congress. In 1919 the alien property custodian said: "All is available In this office for use at such a time as the claims of every person shall be disposed of, according to the will of Congress." Long ago Germany sequestered all American property In Germany and liquidated or sold most of it to. Ger man subjects. Practically none of It ever will be returned to the owners, it is said; but the American owners will not be put by their own government to the necessity of seeking redress from the German courts or German government in their claims for prop erty taken during the war under Ger man laws. They can rely on their own government, the United States, to lake care of the claims of its own na tionals. The United States government, it is said, will see that all American citi zens are properly reimbursed for their losses. Each government will have sufficient property belonging to ene mies to provide for the claims of Its own nationals. It is said that there will be no confiscation, but each gov ernment will pay the claims of its own people apd have property of enemies with which to pay. * * * * It is understood that treaty provi sions for the settlement of claims of American citizens against Germany and Austria lapsed some time ago. and that new diplomatic negotiations with Germany and Austria may be neces sary to pave the way for a settlement. By the terms of the separate treaty with Germany and Austria the United States reserved the right to in+tlate, within ninety days, the creation of a mixed arbitral commission to consider claims arising out of the world war. The ninety days have elapsed and no action has been taken. It is suggested that steps will be taken again to create a joint com mission to settle these claims. This must., be done by the State Depart ment, probably wltlj the consent of Congress, it is said. While the State Department might negotiate a plan of settlement, will not Congress have the last say? When Ambassador Houghton reaohes Berlin and gets a firm grip on the situation he will be the repre sentative of the State Department and the American people to reach-a settlement. Five years have elapsed sinoe the United States entered the war. but not until the appointment and confirmation of ? new ambasa> _ (Continue* en Third rage.) MAY PUT ASIDE PLAN OF REORGANIZATION t Inability of Cabinet Members to Agree Likely to Result in Piecemeal Legislation. BV WILE* P. KK\MEDY. COMPREHENSIVE, thorough re organization of the administra tive branch of the federal government, in tiie interests of economy and efficiency?one of the prin cipal campaign promises made by Pres ident Harding, and of bread-and-butter interest to the army of government em ployes, who have been wondering for about a year in which direction they would be moved on the checkerboard of the federal service?now seems very likely to be indefinitely postponed. ""resident Harding finds himself in a hard dilemma, striving to adjust a com prehensive program of reorganization that the administration can stand as a unit behind. A serious situation has arisen with respect to the forest service, now under the Department of Agricul ture, which Secretary Fall is determined shall be placed under the Interior De partment under the reorganization pro gram. President Harding, it is said, lias about reached that stage where lie would put his foot down firmly and say, "there it stays." Of one other thing the President Is overtired and he has let it be known that he wants no more inter-departmental press-agent contests, such as has attended the forest service controversy. * * * * There are somewhat similar im passes between other departments? notably between Secretary Hoover of the Department of Commerce and Secreary Wallace of Agrilture over which shall have jurisdiction ever the bureau of markets, now admin istered as part of the Department of Agriculture. Secretary Hoover is especially determined that this ac tivity of the government must be in- j eluded in the new Department of i Commerce. Secretary Wallace is just! as determined in his stand. In the meantime, while the cabinet , members are in dispute among them- | selves over activities they desire to j direct, and while President Hard.ng is growing more and more impatient ?to the verge of washing his hands of the whole matter until after elec tion, at least? Congress, which took the initiative in starting the effort for reorganization, is patiently wait ing. ? * # * ? It is only fair to recall here that it was a democratic member of the House, Representative R. Walton Moore of Virginia, who first proposed departmental reorganization, and Rep resentative C. Frank Reavis, republic an, of Nebraska, who introduced the , fi*-st ?ill making definite allocation of, service in a suggested scheme of re organization. For eight months now Congress has been waiting to get a report from a joint committee named to study the various bills and to recommend a j definite program of reorganization, i And in that eight months the joint committee has not met?because it was waiting to get the President's I promised recommendations. * * * * But the situation is not so entirely | desperate and impossible as it seems, j While the original intention was to do a j thorough, whole and complete job in one! lump?to give the people a complete I picture of the entire federal service as ' it is and as it is proposed it shall be | with each bureau and division and com mission fitted into its new position on j the economy-efficiency chart?it is now realized that not only for political ex pediency, but because it would be a practical legislative impossibility to get it through, this all-at-once reorganiza tion scheme will have to be abandoned. It has been shown above where three cabinet members are working now at cross purposes.*- If a com plete reorganization program was an nounced these cross currents would be multiplied1; practically every differ ent unit would be geeing or hawing. Then, again, all the outside interests ?business, financial, engineering, ag-j ricultural. scientific, practical and theoretical?would be oriscrossing wires and fretting and stewing. How Congress would react to such influ- j Drops Career in Texas to Become Dollar-a-Year Man Jl'DGE HENRY J. DANKENBAl'M, Who Will direct the Zionist drive In connection with the Pnlentine Foun dation Fund. For yenrn he hnn been ? lender in civic affalm In Trxan. Be wan Mtate food .dmlnl.tr.tor daring the war. worked a. depnty nnder At torney General Wlckernh.nl for the enforcement of the Nam net. etc. At a aalary of $1 a year he wHI direct a grrnuD of volunteer, la the present drive. I ences is shown in 1 lie case of tariff and bonus legislation today. So it may as well be. admitted right now that there isn't going: to be any gen eral program of reorganization put through at any early day?as far as ran be seen on the present political horizon. * * * * \ And yet, son?*> definite action is contemplated?piecemeal action. Suppose the reorganizers announced their decision that the bureau of mar kets should be placed i.n the Depart ment of Commerce instead of th? De partment of Agriculture. as is con templated in the tentative program now before the President, that would arouse all the agricultural interests. Suppose it was announced that the Department of l^abor would bo all broken to bits; th^t the divisions of immigration and Americanization would be taken away as agencies or national concern rather than of re stricted group concern, because la bor's interest in immigration is mere ly because it might prove a competi tor, while the whole nation is con cerned in making the immigrant a good citizen; again, that the children's bureau would be taken away, and finally that labor might be made one bureau of a new department of wel fare?surely that would arous? all the labor interests. Take just one more illustration The proposal for a new department of education, with specific legislation pending in Congress, lias stirred up the alwavs-to-be-d'plored religious issue. If, then, it was announced that education was to be subordinated as a section of the welfare department it can readily be seen that the edu cational interests would be resentful. So there you have both the religious and the educational societies aroused. * * * # Bring out the whole reorganization program at once, and you would have all of these groups of blocs?agricul ture, labor, religious, educational and scores of others?uriud against it. What chance would it have with an already sorely harassed Congress? So those who are planning to do the best they can bv putting through the reorganization program in sections f.gure that they are employing dis cretion as the better part of valor by meeting these opposing blocs or groups one at a time. Members of the joint congressional I committee on reorganization haven't made any move yet. except to put their fingers to their lips when asked "What's doing?" * * # V It is piobable that wh'n the pro posed unit construction of the new framework of Uncle Sam's adminis trative plant is started that the first section attempted will be tlie rebuild ing of the Interior Department into a new department of public works. There are three good reasons ac tuating those who are considering putting this first on the reorganiza tion program. One is that the orig inal bill, introduced by Representa C. Frank Reavis of Nebraska, pro vided for reorganization of the Inte rior Department to place therein all the engineering and public work ac tivities of the federal government. It is argued that this is the most comprehensive bill yet offered, an? I that Representative Reavis. who if chairman of the House section of the joint ?pngressional committee on re organization and who has announced that he will not seek re-election to Congress, ought to be given a chance | to put through his bill. * * * * A second reason is the converse of I the reason for not bringing out a general reorganization bill. The j massing of th* opposing blocs or groups was feared, but with the Rea vis public works department brought out, there is already assurances of organized support from the engineer ing profession, which has been bring ing pressure to bear individually upon members of Congress to support this measure. The third reason is that the setting up of a public works department would prepare the way for the next piece of reorganization contemplated, which is to unite the War and Navy departments into one great Depart ment of national defense. \ The idea is to take from the present War Department all civil peace-time activities, such as rivers and harbors improvements?which are practically all engineering works?making the proposed new department of public works a recepticle into which all such engineering functions of the government could be gathered. This would leave only strictly na tional defense functions and activities in the War and Navy departments, which could then be easily united, ac cording to those who are now figur ing a way in which the present ad minlstratioh can make good?in part, at least?its reorganization promise to the voters. Many Students Spurn $5 Prize for Learning Sermon on Mount By the Asuociated I'rew. OBFKMV Ohio. Moreb 4-? Five dollars for memorising the Sermon on the Mount did prove to he wo**rent nn induce ment for Oberlin Colic**- *lu dentn nn hnd been anticipated by faculty members. Out of about l.ttOO students, only 275 took, the examination. Of thin number women predominated and mowt of them were self* supporting. ^ It took the student* one hour and thirty minute* to wrltr the llll verses of the sermon. Those vrinlRg the award will be ai uounrcd 1b a few days. r