St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-10
REFORM IN THE TREASURY.
The Globe Representative Inspects
the Method of Business in the
EXchequer.

The Globe Representative Inspects
the Method of Business in the
Exchequer.
Special to the Globe.
WASHINGTON, May 9.-Sixth Auditor
McConville is rapidly reforming and re-or-
ganizing the system of doing business in his
office. The bureau is several months be-
hind in it's current work, but Mr.. McCon-
vile says he thinks under the new system
inaugurated, it will be brought up
even within a few weeks. In the
money order division the sorters
are now more than two months behind.
There are about forty thousand orders is
sued daily, but the force at work count and
sort about one hundred thousand per day,
which enables them to dispose of about
sixty thousand daily more than the current
issue. The auditors Office is in
A WRETCHED CONDITION,
for the reason that the force employed is
very much cramped for room and space in
which to do their work Mr.. McConyille
. escorted GLOBE representative through
the several divisions Office to-day and
explained the many changes and
reforms he had inaugurated since
his appointment. In every room the clerks
are crowded together, there being in some
from four to eight desks, between which
one can scarcely crowd through to reach his
seat. There is little OF no room for filing
the records and documents received at the
office, and in most every room One-third of
the space is taken up from floor to ceiling
with records. which are piled up in several
tiers. A great quantity of these have been
removed to shelving in the main corridors
of the building, but even the relief thus
afforded does not apparently give any more
room. 1t is said that there has been little or
NO SYSTEM
in the management of the office. and as a
consequence the work got very much be-
hind and greatly complicated. In order to
get the affairs out of this terrible tangle the
clerical force in some of the divisions has
found it necessary to work from twelve to
fourteen hours day, instead of seven. as
has been the custom. Mr.. McConville HIM
self has put in fully as much extra time as
any of his subordinates. Al
though the majority of the
clerks leave the department at 4
o'clock, McConville says that it has been
the exception when he has left his Office be-
fore o'clock, and frequently has found it
necessary TO remain until Z. Another re-
form accomplished by the new auditor is in
the matter of
LEAVES OF ABSENCE.
There are about $40 clerks in the bureau
and during the last ten months these gro
persons have lost IL, 663 days, or an amount
equal to forty years, one mans time. The
average salary of the clerk in
this bureau is $1,000 per year.
so that it will be seen that the government
has paid out in the last ten months about
S4S,O 900 for the service of which it has
never received any benefit. Clerks are al
lowed by law thirty days leave of absence
each year, and when they are absent in
consequence Of sickness their pay goes on
and the time is not deducted from their
thirty days regular leave. Now they must
bring physicians certificate when they are
detained from office in consequence of sick
ness.