Item does not appear in 1935 bud
get. 1934 appropriation—$11,370.
Some time ago, at the request ol
Delegate Qimond and national of
ficers of several of the railroad
brotherhoods. Secretary of the In
' terior Ickes ashed Comptroller Gen
eral McCarl for a ruling upon the
contention advanced by the Dele*
gate and the brotherhood officers
that operating employers of the Al
aska Railroad were perlorming
their duties as the result ol con
tracts entered into with the gov- j
eanawnt, sveee not federal employ- j
ees in the established meaning of :
that term and accordingly should
not be subject to salary reductions.
Mr. McCarl subsequently ruled
that "Any contract or employment ;
by an agency of the federal gov
ernment is subject to any change j
or condition which the Congress
may see fit to make applicable
thereto. The employees of the Al
aska Railroad are rendering serv
ice in or under a branch of the
federal government and are. there
fore, subject to the percentage' de
ductions required by the economy
acts.”
With that ruling before him, Mr.
Dimond has concluded that if op
erating employees of the railroad
are to classified with other federal
employees they ought to be entitled
to all the rights of the latter
group. He has, with that object in
view, taken up with Secretary
Ickes the matter of proper classi
fication and in a letter addressed
to the Secretary says in part:
“Does it not logically ioiiow.
