US Presidency
1910

For the first time in the history of the Government, Congress in the last session supplied this need and made an appropriation to enable the President to inquire into the economy and efficiency of the executive departments, and I am now assembling an organization for that purpose. At the outset I find comparison between departments and bureaus impossible for the reason that in no two departments are the estimates and expenditures displayed and classified alike. The first step is to reduce all to a common standard for classification and judgment, and this work is now being done. When it is completed, the foundation will be laid for a businesslike national budget, and for such a just comparison of the economy and efficiency with which the several bureaus and divisions are conducted as will enable the President and the heads of Departments to detect waste, eliminate duplication, encourage the intelligent and effective civil servants whose efforts too often go unnoticed, and secure the public service at the lowest possible cost.