Mr. MOYER. I would like to make this further observation. The custodial work was transferred from the Treasury Department to the Post Office Department by Executive order about a year ago, and we had very few registers in the field because during the past 3 or 4 years the Commission's appropriation was reduced to such an extent that examinations could not be announced. We held very few examinations in 1930, 1931, and 1932. When that work was transferred to the Post Office Department the Commission had a few old registers. What registers were in existence were old registers and the requirements were changed. When this force was transferred to the Post Office Department it was absolutely necessary in most instances that new examination requirements be formulated, because in the reorganization the duties were changed. So the Commission did not use the registers that were more than 1 year old for the custodial service, but formulated, with the Post Office Department, examination requirements to provide upto-date eligible lists. Mr. LAMBERTSON. Would it be reasonable to say that an eligible list over a year old would be unreasonably old? Mr. MOYER. Our period of eligibility is a year. The period is extended whenever the Commission considers it in the interest of the service to extend the eligibility, but the Post Office Department pointed out that in this reorganization there was a change of duties in a number of positions and asked that we not use the registers more than a year old and announce new examinations, with new requirements, which were agreed to by the Post Office Department and the Commission. Mr. WOODRUM. Have such examinations been announced and held? Mr. MOYER. They have been announced and held for a good many offices. We are announcing them as fast as the Post Office Department secures Presidential authority. Some positions, however, have been filled by reinstatements and transfers. Some new buildings have been located near the railroad tracks, which necessitated quite a curtailment in the motor-vehicle service. A good many of those men were transferred to the custodial department. It has been necessary to make a number of temporary appointments. Had the Commission announced examinations before the Post Office Department had decided what new appointments were necessary, the Commission would have spent a great amount of money that would have been wasted. Mr. LAMBERTSON. I am afraid the Post Office Department is not very strong for the Civil Service. Mr. MOYER. We have not had any trouble with the Post Office Department. Mr. MITCHELL. We have had no trouble at all. The Post Office Department has been very strict in the enforcement of the rules Sometimes they have backed down. But Mr. Farley has particularly been very sincere in observing the Civil Service rules. BENEFICIARY AND STATISTICAL WORK Mr. WOODRUM. In this break-down of the $116,571, what is the first item for, designation of beneficiary and statistical work? Wil you explain that? Mr. VIPOND. Congress, at the last session, authorized the designating of a beneficiary under the civilian retirement act; and the annuitants as well as the persons contributing to the fund are permitted to designate a beneficiary. There are something like 460,000 persons who can do that, and instead of notifying them directly, we have gone through the Departments and saved expense to that extent; and the forms are coming in designating beneficiaries, at the rate of from 6 to 10 thousand a day at present. Next year, of course, the work will be on a permanent basis, and we figured it would take six people to maintain that list. Mr. WOODRUM. How many employees are engaged in that work now? Mr. VIPOND. We have 15 on the temporary roll, and they had to assign additional people from the service record and retirement division to handle it. Mr. WOODRUM. Also in the $116,571 item, there is an item of lapses. What is that? Mr. VIPOND. That is to carry through the pay of people now on our roll. If their pay is carried through the next fiscal year it will take that amount of money for the entire year. That is the form in which the Bureau of the Budget wanted that stated. It seems. an unfortunate term to call it lapses. Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. That refers to salaries? Mr. VIPOND. Yes; it represents salaries. If the salaries of our present staff are carried through the next fixcal year it will take $49,000 of that $116,000 additional money. Mr. WOODRUM. Are those employees engaged in examination work? Mr. VIPOND. The new employees added to our organization are largely in connection with the examination program. Mr. WOODRUM. That is a very unusual way to set it up. I never heard of its being set up like that before. Mr. VIPOND. I will take a single instance, which would be something like this: If we employed a person at $1,200 on the 1st of September, that would be only $1,000 for this year. Next year it would be $1,200, which would be $200 of the $49,000. Mr. WOODRUM. In other words, the difference between the salary from July 1 to the date they went on will be the increased amount that will be necessary for next year, because next year they will be on from July 1? Mr. VIPOND. From July 1; yes, sir. Mr. CUSTER. The appropriation was not available until June 19, d, of course, when we got the force on duty it was into August or September. That was the time required to procure presidential hority for the filling of those positions. PRINTING AND BINDING M. WOODRUM. Next is the item for printing and binding: For all printing and binding for the Civil Service Commission, including all of its treaus, offices, institutions, and services located in Washington and elsewhere $75,000, of which not to exceed $20,000 shall be immediately available. Do you want to say something about that? M. VIPOND. Our estimate is for the same amount that we have for the current year, and that includes over $40,000 for the printing of our three major items of work-announcements, examination questions, and application blanks. That would be about $45,000. The Official Register of the United States costs $3,200, and the printing of the annual report, act and rules, and information pamphlets that we use to save correspondence will cost about $7,000. Mr. CUSTER. There is no increase in the amount estimated for 1936 over the funds available for 1935, or pratically none. It is some $67 difference. But the Commission will be required to absorb some $2,000 of unusual expenditures for printing and binding in connection with the actuarial evaluation and the designation of beneficiary and statistical work that it will be called upon to do next year. Mr. WOODRUM. Do you have any funds transferred to you from any of these emergency organizations? Mr. YADEN. Not a penny. Mr. WOODRUM. The C. W. A. or any of those things? ADMINISTRATION OF RETIREMENT ACT Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. In what cases does the Commission act on retirement? Mr. VIPOND. We have the entire administration of the Retirement Act now. The administration of it is all in our hands, for all types of retirement-retirement for disability, retirement for length of service, and retirement because of age and length of service. Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. It requires action by the Commission in each individual instance? Mr. VIPOND. By the Commission's office. The cases do not go to the Commissioners personally, but to the Commission's office. Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. Have you any idea how many retirements there have been during the period under consideration? Mr. VIPOND. Yes; I have that here. last fiscal year. Mr. WOODRUM. The fiscal year 1934? There were 14,477 for the Mr. VIPOND. The fiscal year 1934; yes. The year before that there were 6,966, and that was about the average year, but last year they doubled. Mr. WOODRUM. How about this current year; what is the trend? Mr. VIPOND. The proportion is running just as high. Mr. WOODRUM. How do you account for that? Mr. VIPOND. There are so many retirements in the Postal Service of people who have had 30 years' service. Mr. WOODRUM. Under that authority that we wrote into the appropriation act? Mr. VIPOND. Yes, sir; they are dropping them on account of reduc tion of force, and there seems to be a large proportion of those tha have been dropped on that account that have had 30 years' service Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. Would it be possible to insert a little table at this point, by Departments, showing the act under which the retire ment is effected? Mr. VIPOND. Yes, sir. Mr. WIGGLESWORTH. Can you insert the grade also? Mr. CUSTER. It is possible that we do not have that information i that particular form. TABLE NO. 2.-Statemeni showing by vocation, sex, and cause of retirement, the number and average annuities of the annuitants on the roll June 30, 1934—Continued In each of the above tables the columns headed "Involuntary, 30 years' service" show the retirements made during the fiscal year 1934 under the provisions of section 8 (a) of the Independent Offices Appropriation Act, 1934, act of June 16, 1933. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1934. EMPLOYEES' COMPENSATION COMMISSION STATEMENTS OF MRS. JEWELL W. SWOFFORD, CHAIRMAN ; MR. JOHN M. MORIN, COMMISSIONER; MR. WILLIAM MCCAULEY, EXECUTIVE SECRETARY; AND MR. Z. LEWIS DALBY, CHIEF COUNSEL GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. WOODRUM. We now take up the estimates for the Employees' Compensation Commission. Mrs. Swofford, do you wish to make a zeneral statement before we proceed to the items in the bill? Mrs. SwOFFORD. I should like to make a brief general statement, Mr. Chairman. The Commission has filed with the committee a detailed statement explaining and justifying the estimates of approprians for the fiscal year 1936, and I do not wish to take up the time he committee by repeating the information contained in that statement. I would like, however, to emphasize the very large increase in the work of the Commission since we last appeared before you. I refer particularly to the increase in the number of cases reported and claims. for compensation filed under the compensation law applicable to civil employees of the United States. The increase may be traced almost entirely to the emergency and relief activities, in which the Federal Government is engaged, during TABLE NO. 2.-Statement showing by vocation, sex, and cause of retirement, the number and average annuities of the annuitants on the roll June 30, 1934 Total.. 890. 20 841 924.83 836 877.69 344 995.06 1, 572 841. 71 475 595.86 98 823.95 513 813.74 132 516. 29 31 620.97 286 $1, 177. 06 1, 222 1, 200. 65 411 1,199. 64 647 1, 200. 62 312 1, 200. 65 401 1, 184. 69 9 504.56 190 544.86 41 452. S 26 585.62 21, 537 1, 010. 11 7, 251 859. 97 3, 705 1, 194. 18 6, 600 1, 154. 50 1,666 564.95 |