University of Wisconsin Madison - Badger Yearbook (Madison, WI)

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THE XOOSE Ol- ECONOMY [16]

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I he r .•u-iiU ;ii frs Turninj; from ,i i;lance at the university as .i whole to study of its coiiiponcTit parts, the investigator notes that for a period of about two years, with hving costs hammered down and salaries stable, the universitv faculty enjoyed comparative ease while the world outside the academic walls fought oft the strangle hold of unemployment and salary cuts. For the first time since 1900 professors and instructors were getting salaries comparable with non-academic professions. Prof. John R. Commons in a survey of conditions showed that not since the start of the Jdth century had salaries of teachers been equitably adjusted to living costs. 1-ortunate was the breathing spell between the years 1930 and 1932, because in July, 1932 economic gravity began to assert its pull. Drastic retrenchments in the budget were being made and the faculty was plastered with a waiver of from 3-13 per cent. Assistants and full pro- fessors alike had to pull in their sails and though the 3 per cent waiver did not apply to married persons in the lowest bracket, yet this first indication of harder times to come was a wet blanket to the comparative ease of the two previous years. The noose of economy began to tighten its hold on faculty necks. This first adjustment was made in this manner: S 1-1500 ... 3% HOl-2000 4% 2001-2500 5% 2501-3000 7% 3001-3500 8% 3 501-4000 ... 9% 4001-4500 10% 4501-5000 11% 5001-6000 12 ' , 6001-6500 12; 2 ' c 7001- 13% When this waiver had run its year ' s course and legislative grants were undergoing new reductions, the faculty rolled up its sleeves and took a deeper slice from its pay envelope. This time the lower brackets were hit and hit hard. With waivers of from 12-20 per cent levied on normal salaries, the key men settled down to penny pinching, and the younger men to fighting oflf poverty. Definitely and far from subtly the faculty ranks split along the old class lines. Old and new faced each other across the vital factor of survival. Hard feelings were expressed in plain talk. The waivers were adjusted in this manner: First S 500 of each salary 12% Next 500 or fraction thereof 16% Next 2000 or fraction thereof 17% Next 2000 or fraction thereof . ?19% Next 2000 or fraction thereof 21% Next 2000 or fraction thereof 23% Next 1000 or fraction thereof 25% All salaries over $10,000 20 ' , ' flat

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Recriiiiin.uioiis tilled tlic .ilr .ind tlic sword of D.imoclcs dangled picc.iriously. If this was not cnougli to keep all concerned on edge, along came the euphemism called the bank mora- torium, and greater indeed was the suffering. The key men, always sincere in their stand on the question of cuts, and the oung instructors, equalU sincere in their denunciation of it, united in the face of this common enemy. A credit exchange was set up to help out faculty men stuck with useless money in the banks. The moratorium healed, but it left noticeable scars; as a matter of fact this marked the beginning of a reign of restless suffering for the younger members of the faculty. The credit exchange developed into the cooperative Faculty Exchange for the distribution of clothes and necessities, and the lons siege was on. Let us see how the small salaried men and women fared. A pamphlet distributed by the Clothes Exchange of the University League to all connected with the administration read in part, Since October this committee has been able to place hundreds of good but unused or outgrown garments to junior members of the faculty where they were able to be used. They have also arranged for the loan of various pieces of furniture. Married graduate students, part- time appointees and many others in connection with the Univers ity have found these services helpful. This is not charity in any sense of the word; it is a friendly sharing and exchange. The response was unanimous and immediate. The older and comparativch ' more prosperous men on the faculty realized that an unprecedented stage of economic poverty had grown in their midst. In a short period of time over 5 00 suits were given out and countless shoes and blankets. The NRA might have been helping commerce, but behind the walls of this academy short rations were still in elTect. Case after case came up before the Exchange. Divorced from the slightest connotation of charity, the Exchange ferreted out the proud and the ailing and did trojan work in their behalf. One assistant lived in a tent on the outskirts of Madison and commuted on soleless shoes. The Exchange forced its attention on him. Another with a wife and child was unable to buy mi lk for his infant; the Exchange arranged for a daily delivery. Still others walked to classes without underw ' ear, with knees protruding; the Exchange arranged for suitable garments. Nor was this all. The list of all the needy among the small salaried men mounted. Far from aggravating the split between the faculty this cooperation acted as a palm. Necessity, always the mother of invention, in this case proved also to be the God-mother of cooperation. Among the key men life was b ' no means a bed of roses. Many professors, with pay re- duced, had not only to support their immediate families but near relatives and dependents. Homes were heavily mortgaged and what was the hardest psychological blow of all, after years of conscientious work, many found themselves gazing into a blank crystal ball. The future held little if anything, and against decades of effort was chalked up a question mark. Yet another factor that added its brunt to the suffering was the fact that professors had to cut out buying books, books that in several instances were necessar ' to their work. Others, dependent upon travel for the enhancement of their teaching in the social sciences, had to stay at home and satisfy their wanderlust vicariously. ' Department conventions, a necessary factor in the coordination of academic work, went by the boards and as there were no calls from other universities during this period of drought, the key men stayed home, living from pay check to pay check. 1171