At the same time that we have curtailed the number of employees, we have shortened the workweek by one-sixth or more throughout the Government and have restored holidays.  The process of readjustment has been complicated and costs have been increased by a heavy turn-over in the remaining personnel—­particularly by the loss of some of our best administrators.  Thousands of war veterans have been reinstated or newly employed in the civil service.  Many civilians have been transferred from war agencies to their former peacetime agencies.  Recruitment standards, which had to be relaxed during the war, are now being tightened.

The elimination last autumn of overtime work for nearly all Federal employees meant a sharp cut in their incomes.  For salaried workers, the blow was softened but by no means offset by the increased rates of pay which had become effective July 1.  Further adjustments to compensate for increased living costs are required.  Moreover, we have long needed a general upward revision of Federal Government salary scales at all levels in all branches—­legislative, judicial, and executive.  Too many in Government have had to sacrifice too much in economic advantage to serve the Nation.

Adequate salaries will result in economies and improved efficiency in the conduct of Government business—­gains that will far outweigh the immediate costs.  I hope the Congress will expedite action on salary legislation for all Federal employees in all branches of the Government.  The only exception I would make is in the case of workers whose pay rates are established by wage boards; a blanket adjustment would destroy the system by which their wages are kept aligned with prevailing rates in particular localities.  The wage boards should be sensitive now, as they were during the war, to changes in local prevailing wage rates and should make adjustments accordingly.

I hope also that the Congress may see fit to enact legislation for the adequate protection of the health and safety of Federal employees, for their coverage under a system of unemployment compensation, and for their return at Government expense to their homes after separation from wartime service.

(m) Territories, insular possessions, and the District of Columbia.

The major governments of the world face few problems as important and as perplexing as those relating to dependent peoples.  This Government is committed to the democratic principle that it is for the dependent peoples themselves to decide what their status shall be.  To this end I asked the Congress last October to provide a means by which the people of Puerto Rico might choose their form of government and ultimate status with respect to the United States.  I urge, too, that the Congress promptly accede to the wishes of the people of Hawaii that the Territory be admitted to statehood in our Union, and that similar action be taken with respect to Alaska as soon as it is certain that this is the desire of the people of that great Territory.  The people of the Virgin Islands should be given an increasing measure of self-government.