9
cessary to set up a system which would
provide for the retirement of police
men, firemen, and other employment
groups engaged in strenuous or hazard
ous occupations at a younger age than
might seem desirable for clerical em
ployees or for members of the teaching
staff in the colleges and universities
where the age of 70 has been set for
retirement. There are examples of such
flxibility in some of the state-wide pen
sion systems that are now in effect and
I think this will need to be fully dis
cussed.
P ension M eeting
A Pension Meeting sponsored by the
League of Oregon Cities was held at
the Portland Chamber of Commerce
July 27, 1944.
Groups represented were the League
of Oregon Cities, University of Oregon
Faculty, Oregon State Employees As
sociation, Portland Police Association,
Portland Fire Fighters Association, Ore
gon State Fire Fighters Association,
Oregon Finance Officers Association,
Oregon Association of City Police Of
ficers.
Fred C. Inkster, President, of the
League of Oregon Cities, opened the
meeting by saying that the group had
been called together to see if it would
be possible to pool the ideas of all or
ganizations working for pensions for
public employees. He said that he felt
the best solution to the problem would
be to start at the state level by taking
care of state employees in a state-wide
system and then having an enabling
act to make it possible for local gov
ernmental employees to be covered on
an optional basis.
Mr. Kehrli outlined the history of
pensions in Oregon and told of the
state-wide pension systems in other
states such as California, New York
and Ohio. Each representative expressed
the willingness of his organization to
work together for a unified plan, with
lower retirement ages for such groups
as police and fire employees.
After some discussion it was agreed
that the secretary of the League of
Oregon Cities draft an outline for a
proposed bill. The draft should be drawn
to fit all public employee groups in the
state and should be presented to the
executive committee of all the organ
izations represented. It was agreed that
bills.
The Executive Secretary and Secre
tary-Treasurer of the Oregon State Em
ployees Association attended the pre
liminary meeting held in Portland June
27, 1944, and it was their sentiment
that the League of Oregon Cities was
rendering the state of Oregon a definite
service in assuming the initiative in
coordination of the efforts of various
public employee groups and in the de
termination of a pension plan satisfying
the needs of all public employees.
AUGUST DAY
R e c ip e
Take one old rail fence, an irrigation
ditch. Add a few haystacks and the
Blue Mts. for a background.
Season to your taste with billowy
clouds. And you have an Eastern Ore
gon landscape.
August Day, the cover subject for
this issue was made near Prairie City
in Eastern Oregon.