| Show decent wage however Is paid for 1 days labor washington aug 10 prof wallia T moore chief of the united states weather bureau today issued a sign ed statement denying allegations 0 graft in the management of the weather bureau station in the blue bridga mountains disclaiming the existence exis tenca of any irregularities in the administration of his office and offering full opportunity for the investigation of any specific charges by any person A few days ago a statement was published la washington to the effect that it was reported unofficially that the secret service department has dispatched agents to the mountain station mount weather of the united weather bureau where the sleuths for the past two days have been noa ing around according to the report thesa sleuths discovered that the weather bureau was paying 53 per day for unskilled labor which is twice the amount paid laborers in the city 0 washington and that there is a complaint on the part of the employers adjacent who only pay 75 cents to t per day it is a fact that the weather bureau has never paid 3 per day to any laborer employed at foont weather or at any other place and it the re porter who wrote that statement had taken the trouble to ask tor tho privilege of examining the pay rolls 0 the weather bureau he would have saved his readers the opportunity of reading secretly secured scandal instead of openly procured news 1 I would like to have tho pay rolls of mount weather or of any other portion of the weather bureau published BO that the public may know whether there is an extravagant management inside of the bureau or ana falsification 1 I do not doubt that I 1 have als the labor market in this vi of mount weather and I 1 ara proud of the fact for I 1 was told of men working from sunrise to sunset for 50 cents per day and board or 73 cents pa aay and boarding them selves 1 I believe that such hours of laboe and such wages do not contribute to f the betterment of american citizen ship or the welfare of the state and so far as I 1 ha e the power as the of a large government bureau I 1 shall ever strive to alter such conditions as these on the approval ot secretary wib son I 1 established a wage scale of per day for stone masons kir carpenters and for day labor ers it the sleuths had been a more vigilant they would have discovered that I 1 established an beigh hour day and that from 50 to 60 mea had been for some time receiving tha advantages of such a scale and such hours of labor these wages are not high aad surely they aro not extravagant had we been employing these people in places ahers the cost of living was high the wages would have been greater if this Is evidence of ex trava gance and bad management 16 may as well be told now that tha wage scale of each and every class ot skilled or unskilled labor in the weather bureau has materially increased during the past eight acar by secretary walson on my reccio 1 I believe that wherever government officials in any measure havo been recreant in their trusts their reo should be inquired into and they be held in strict accountability and I 1 also believe that the greatest enemies of graft are the representatives ot aho american press who should ba given free access to the files and reo orda of every public office david wilkenson 27 and miss maria downs 22 both of ogden have asea granted a license to marry |
