12
News from Other States
(Continued from page 11)
cal activity. While every citizen has
the right to political activities, never
theless, reasonable rules can be adopted
with respect to State employees.” The
Denver Post lauds the ruling in an edi-
toria 1 from which the following is
quoted:
“In upholding the civil service com
mission rule prohibiting State employees
from taking active part in political
campaigns, Judge Walsh made this per
tinent observation. ‘The rules on reli
gious and political actiivties were passed
so that the public employee should be
given SECURITY against dismissal or
demotion for trivial, personal, religious,
racial, political or other extraneous
reasons/
“That should be a reminder to people
that their government never gives some
thing for nothing. For their security of
employment, under civil service, State
employees have to pay by giving up a
part of their political freedom.”
RAISE PUBLIC EMPLOYEE WAGES
URGES SENATE GROUP
The wartime health and education
subcommittee of the senate labor com
mittee submitted the following recom
mendation:
“That the WLB cease applying the
Little Steel wage formula to sub
standard wages and that a sound,
simple and expeditious procedure for
raising such wages and salaries be
developed.”
The committee found that 20 mil
lion white collar, many of them public
employees, have been overtaken by in
flation and are suffering serious pri
vation.
The procedure recommended by the
senate committee follows in part:
1. That employers be permitted to
raise wages to $200 monthly for fam
ily heads and $150 for unmarried
persons without application of any
kind to the WLB.
2. That state, county and muni
cipal governments increase salaries
of low-paid workers, especially sal
aries of teachers.
3. If local governments fail to
make salary adjustments to meet
higher living costs, the federal gov
ernment should provide relief through
higher income tax exemptions for
such workers.
Veterans Preference
At the Civil Service Assembly Con
ference, held April 26 and 27, at the
Hotel Shoreland in Chicago, Dr. Leon
ard D. White, Professor of Public Ad
ministration, University of Chicago,
discussed the question of veterans* pref
erence during 1944 and in the future.
Dr. White emphasized the need for a
definite policy on which to grant vet
erans* preference—a policy which does
not close the doors to non-veteran em
ployment, which maintains entrance
standards, and which concentrates pref
erence to entrance examinations. He
pointed out that “the greatest guarantee
that the public service will not suffer,
lies in the ingenuity of personnel offi
cers in making the most of the rich
human resources which the veterans
collectively possess.”
—from the Civil Service Assembly
NEWS LETTER
May 1944