Show UNCLE SAM AS EMPLOYER The United States government Is the largest argest single employer of ot men and women in this country At the present fine In the executive civil service Ice of ot the Federal government and exclusive ot of f t the e army anny and ond navy there re are employed employed em em- approximately work workers f'S rat one In tn 73 of or all aU r residents on Amerl Amerl- I i LaD can n soil soli ten years lears o of at are age je or over ei ell en engaged g g in gainful occupations A little I while ago ngo when the number of ot federal employees was even eTen larger than It IB is isnow now one person Deron out of every enry 68 in the United States who had any arty sort of ot a 0 aJob ajob Job at all was working for tor tl the e govern govern- ment meat The These c calculations are arc based d on re recent nt estimates s of the b bureau au of th the census In anticipation of ot the results results results re re- of ot the fourteenth general census Prior to the outbreak of the war In l 1014 14 the number of men and women In civil evil positions In the executive s service service e was was approximately In 1010 1910 It had grown to In 1917 after our ur entry into the war It was wag On June 30 OO the number was The number on July 31 1920 was va These figures figure are confessedly approximations ap ap- Since the signing of or the armistice the number of fe federal eral employees employees em em- has been de decreasing Undoubtedly Undoubtedly Undoubtedly Un Un- the decrease In force will continue to be made for months to come hut but the growth of ot the government govern govern- government ment business In the past few years ha has been hem such a u as to make It a larger r employer In the war post period than thau It Ii had ever been heen In the war pre period These thou thousands of men and women working for fOt the tile government com comprise rise every type of ability and Intelligence Their duties coyer cover a range of activities that far exceeds that exercised for th o public or private employers for besides Its task of ot lawmaking and law Jaw enforcing of national defense and national finance the government I is 1 charged with promoting the health and anti antiI welfare of ot Its people of ot promoting their home Interests their agricultural J mining manufacturing shipping flab flab- h. h n tag Ing and transportation Interests To do 10 this It must Investigate con control D' D and eradicate diseases that attack persons plants and animals it It must Inspect livestock foods and drug drugs It must study conditions and progress In education labor and commerce It must prevent Individual men or CTr groups upS upS' of men from using unfair business methods whether In banking trans tram transportation trade or manufacture The government government mu must t administer ter public lands and the affairs of ot the Indians and educate children In In Alaska It grants grant patents of ot Inv invention n. n tion It t sets ts the clocks clock of the country fore forecasts the weather and mak makes observations of the stars star and amI heavenly bodies It con constructs buildings docks roads rends bridges irrigation works builds canals and aeroplanes makes ordnance and ammunition clothing and other supplies for Its soldiers and sailors It makes all aU Its own money and does all nIl Its own printing It distributes dl dis distributes tributes all mall man and many packages The government does everything that any employer In the thc United Unite Stat States does does In addition to a Q great reat many things that no other employer does doeg How does docs it treat Its people I Is II It Ita Ita ita a good employer or a Q bad had employer er Art Are Its employees 15 contented These are questions that I should advise Ise the railroad men the miners and ether r workers who seek nationalization of Industry to look Into before they commit commit commit com com- mit them themselves Lc Let t them find out for tor themselves what government ownership would mean to them The first thing they will discover dIsco as asI asI I 1 U discovered when I began the present inquiry Is that nobody knows and nobody in the government service Is charged with knowing the exact number of employees In the service from from day to day Even gen more astoundIng astoundIng astounding astound- astound Ing nobody knows or Is 18 charged with I knowing even approximately ly the sum I of ot the la payroll roll of or the United States 8 It is not possible to find out ont with within hundreds of thousands of ot dollars how much mud the United States pays paS yearly yearl or monthly In salaries and wages wage I went to the Treasury department t to the appropriations appropriation committee of ot congress congress con con- gress and ana elsewhere where I thought though the Information might be lodged but nobody knew I was told vaguely that tha the government nt w s not run ron on an nn asset and liability basis hams and therefore It was n not nt t necessary to know the exact act number of employees on the payroll If It the nv average compensation is 1 1100 1100 1 the federal civil service payroll now v amounts to more than seven hundred million dollars annually The lar largest cst single branch Is the Post Office department with nearly em em- The War department basmore bas hai more than civilian employees the Navy de department about am and the Treasury department abo about t No other branch has as many as employees s Any Institution that t employs employs em em- m. m plo ploys s one In three seventy of all this COUn country's s workers and ond calls for tor the tha f expenditure of such sueh a large part of ot our annual anneal revenues is entitled to your s serious con consideration You and you yon alone put up the money i |