New-York tribune., 1875-12-10
OPENINGS FOR ECONOMY.

OPENINGS FOR ECONOMY.
DEAD-wooD IN THE DEPARTMENTS WHICH INvEsr-
eating COMMITTEES MIGHT DISCOVER - TX
TRAvAGASCE IN PUBLIC PRiNTlNG-MAGNiFI-
CENT BUREAU LIBRARiEs-TIIE PENSION BUREAU
THE LIGHTHOUSE ESTABLISHMENT.
frROH A REGULAR CORRESPONDENT OF TIE TRmUNEl
WASHINGTON, Dec. S.-The Democratic ma
ority the House viii find 1t easy job TO carry out
their ideas retrenchmcut when they get at the work
Of making appropriations the powerful bureaucracy Of
Washington viii he IN league to deceive them as To the
real necessities of the Government The book Of esti-
mates viii conceal far more than 1t reveals,
and will put numberless fungus srowths of e1tray1-
gance and corruption in the guise OF essential parts OF
body polite. Heads Of departments aud bureaus In
terestei in Keeping The mobile army OF cleehodrs up 10
It's maximum strength 10 make efficient In the cam
p8gn OF year. will be careful not % indicate where
tho prnlnSk knife of economy can be best use and VIII
strive convince the House at 1t cannot be used at all
without cnang ring some important function Of govern
mental action The only safe way for the Democrats To
proceed will send at the outset committees into al
the Departments aud 10 make thorough investigation Of
their workings, and TO delay the appropriation bills until
these committees have reported. The amount OF dead
wood that will he round in some " the
departments Will amaze Mr.. Holman. veteran clerk
in the Treasury informed me to-day that he had long
been convinced that w0thrds of the number Of clerks
now in that Department could do the work. and do 1t
more efficiently, too, than the present force In many
Of the offices the and women so numerous that
they ia an0thers way, and 10 make a snow OF
work .or them ridiculously complex systems OF indors
Ing Aling and recording papers are devised. War
Department official said today that 10 pass 10000
worth of claims through the QuarermastsrG GENERALS,
Third Auditors and Second Controllers Bureaus, Sl50
600 was paid salaries to the clerks examining the
papers. n EewYork dry goods merchant
should have his books and accounts kept
on tie sy used by the Government he would be
in the bankruptcy courts In bureau Of the War De-
partmcnt they have system for correspondence
which they pride themselves. Formerly when letter
WAS received il was ndorsed with name date, and sum
mary OF contents, and fled away. Now after all this
done the cttcr Is copied in eresO in book. What for,
the who do the copying do not know unless lie
TO provide them with something To do There Is end
less amount Of red tape cut II Congress last
10 run the Government on business principles and III
spite " the efforts OF the Republicans t. economic in
cent years. there end OF eXtravagnt aud unauhOr
ised practices alive and houshng like agweed in June.
An example or two win De IN point.
The country generally supVOss that the gross cxtrav
arance In The public printing has M least been checked.
and that the Government Is gradually getting cut OF the
b0ok-ma king business Nothing OF tie sort. have be-
fore me an elegant volume, handsomely bOEnd in
blue cloth and entitled "Waccs I'm Europe" Obviously
the issue of LONDON publishing house the reader
will eav No; the fe-page reveals the astounding fact
that it is printed at the Congressional Printing Office,
and inquiry shows that the contents prepared by
clerks drawing pay from the Uuted States Treasury.
We'll If people are to he taxed for book labor in
Europe, why not for books art in Europe. archi
lecture in Europe, or agriculture railroads ship
ping commerce. war, science anything else pertain
ng 10 European ci Where is this sort Of thing TO end
II any bureau officer set dozen wcllpaid clerks AT
work writing or compiling book and have II printed at
the public expense. with his name on The titlrpage
have also my table another book II contains 1000
pagcs on Cholera the United States Perhaps IL Is
| proper for the medical staR of the army 10
collect aud publish the facts about such
a dangerous scOurge cholera, but need they be
spread 900 broad pagesl Bot no. am wrong
the 200 pages taken mp With catalogue Of books
on cholera already published. Shade of solomon! there
are Coco and odd OF them! And the SurgeonGcneral's
Office owns them ALI And they have all been bought
with the peoples money! Now there 900 books
on disease in the SUIgoonGrnerals possession what
tremendous library he must have t0 be sure! About
10000 volumes, told, and all bought within few
| yearsl A l.hrary that "A European city would be proud
to have accumulated in 20 years. siuge bureau officer
has bought, without special authority or appropriation
| from Congress. ont Of the funds probably allowed
| him for incidental expenses. IL will be answored,
know that tins library f. for the 6euet of the whole
country and that physicians from all sections TO
consult IL srnd for Information from it, Vciy well;
but IL IL the function Of the Government 20 furnish the
doctors with library II So why not one for the farm
ers end another for the mecLauioSl not that
| the Agricultural Bureau has not collected few thou
sand volumes alrcay for the beginning Of grand Gov
ernlneutal farmers library
There s capital opening for retrenchment In the Pen
sion Bureau The whole mi ght be turned over
10 the Surgeon Gcucras Office, and large amount OF
money saved Then there ought to he thorough
hauling OF the pension list The present system ia fright
fully oos3 II costs the country over S3l 100000 an
nuay for pensions nud for tie machinery for paying
them There good reason for believing that thousands
OF men aud ewing pensions who have no
right 10 them-nen who have fully recovered from their
wounds Or who persOnato dead pensioners, and women
who have remarked and manage 20 conceal the fact
from the pens.on agents believe that fully S3Oc0000
could BE- saved annually II all these frauds could be de-
10 wait until after The Presidential election the Demo
cras will have the 10 attempt H. for fear or
hue and cry thai they are hostile 10 the soldiers
The Indian ought to be turned over o the War
Depai tneni At every Indian agency there is
military post where quarermasteT issues supplies to
the troops very similar TO those doat ont TO tbe tnDe
the eodiers arc watch without tho increase of
SINGLE officer or an extra dollar o.! expense for Official
machinery the whole costly operations Of the Indian SER
vice could be performed by the army bureaus Ia Wash
urtnn and the officers and soldiers the frontier.
Dut then the steamgs would be terribly diminished,
and what would become OF the cousins ana
brothersinaw Of Senators who are getting rich "a IN
dian arepts on salaries OF II 800 year The Light
house establishment might be transferred 10 the Hydro
craphie Bureau Of the Navy Department There is no