WHOLE VOL. APPr.IED ENTOMOLOGY HOWARD l8l 



told me that he had worked for years and had raised and educated his 

 family of children on a salary of $2,500 a year. 



In 1929 a report was published by Congress entitled " Report of 

 Wage and Personnel Survey," drawn up the Personnel Classification 

 Board. From this report it appears that the salary figures presented 

 for the comparable grades indicated that the government salaries were 

 superior to those paid by the universities, and that in the case of 

 land-grant institutions the workers in every rank were receiving con- 

 siderably less than government employees holding approximately cor- 

 responding positions, the differences in the respective instances varying 

 from $761.66 to $900.85. The opportunities for outside work during 

 the long summer vacations, however, undoubtedly have resulted in the 

 reduction of this apparent discrepancy. It is interesting to note from 

 this report that whereas 69 per cent of those in the Federal service 

 received $3,500 or less per annum, only 46 per cent of those in educa- 

 tional institutions received this figure or under. In a general way, of 

 course, these figures hold for the men doing entomological work. 



Such cases as that cited in the next to the last paragraph were I 

 believe not exceptional. But rather recently there has come a change 

 and the men in the colleges and stations are much better paid. For 

 principal men, salaries ranging from $4,000 to $5,000 are not uncom- 

 mon ; in fact, I believe that there is one at $6,000, and even one in a 

 State university at $6,500. Here, however, and in fact in many cases 

 the duties of the officials combine teaching with research and the di- 

 rection of research. I do not wish the inference to be drawn that the 

 salary situation is satisfactory in the States or commensurate with the 

 value of the services rendered, for I am informed that there are 

 several important posts in the entomological service of the State Ex- 

 periment Stations that are still underpaid, a number of salaries 

 ranging below $4,000, in one case as low as $2,700. 



These statements regarding States have all concerned head men in 

 entomology. The assistants, even the principal ones, were very poorly 

 paid as a rule prior to, say, 1920. In one of the prominent midwestern 

 States, for example, the highest salary paid to a principal assistant 

 prior to 1920 was $1,800 a year. But since that date the rate of com- 

 pensation has increased considerably. In the same State under con- 

 sideration at the present time field men are being paid from $2,700 

 to $3,000, research men $3,000, and so on. 



From the financial point of view it seems strange that more of the 

 promising and competent young men have not left the Federal Govern- 

 ment and the States to go into commercial work such as the great 

 and rapidly growing industries dependent on the warfare against 



