The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1886-10-15
WASHINGTON LETTER


WAsnINeToN. ID. O., Oct II, 1886.
This is the busy season in the De-
partments at Washington. The heads
of divisions. the chiefs of bureaus and
the Cabinet officers are preparing their
annual reports. The President is
writing his message. The Govern
mental history OF the year must be epi-
tomized, the balance sheet must be
struck off and the chief executive must
suggest by way of recommendation,
the measures be will sanction, provided
they receive the approval of legislation.
All the members of the Cabinet except
the Secretary Of State, have returned.
Mr. Bayard was shrewd enough to post
pone his vacation until autumn and Is
now resting away from the city during
the season which, in Washington, is
most trying to the corpus humans
Extracts from the reports of various
Government officials prove by irrefut.
able figures that the present admins
tration has saved the Government
millions of dollars. That the public
offices are better kept aud that public
work ls better done is not SO suscept-
ible of mathematical demonstration /;
but il is fact patent to every one ac-
quainted with the public service. Dur
ing the past two weeks over five hun
dren useless employees have been dis
charged from the Government Print
ing Office alone. Notwithstanding
this great decrease in the force, the
work of the office has not been at all
impeded. The public land commission
er, General Sparks says in his annual
report. "rhe development of the past
year under the agencies of the new ad-
ministration have justified every word
said in my report for last year in re-
gard to widespread persistent land
robbery. The report states that the
total area over which fences have been
or are to be removed either with or
without resort to the courts is 2,7l4,-
926 acres, mostly in Colorado. The
recommendation for an additional
force of not less than one hundred
special agents is renewed, as is also
that in regard to adequate means for
protecting the timber on the public
lands. About 175,Oo0 acres of land
have been restored for public settle
ment 1,4S5 cases, involving 225,000
acres, have been held for cancellation.
President Cleveland is more sparing
than any Of his predecessors were of
the appropriation made by Congress
for the contingent expenses of the
White House. The contingent fund
covers stationery, kilograms, books
for library, purchase of new carpets
and furniture, cost of keeping carriage
and horses, etc. The appropriation
for Grants last Presidential year was
only $4,000 and Grant spent every
cent. Hayes, at the end of his first
year in the White House, had an
balance of 10 cents
out Of contingent fund of $1,000.
For his last year he had contingent
fund of $4,000 out of which he saved
500. Arthur managed to save only
Sc sc out Of the $4,000 contingent
fund of his first year, and that was the
largest balance he had on hand at the
end of any year while he was the
occupant of the White House. Mr..
Cleveland saved $3,348S1 during his
first year out of contingent fluid of
$4,000.
Without an act of Congress the Sec
retary of the Navy cannot abolish a
bureau or organize one. But he can
distribute the work and transfer some
of it from one bureau to mother. One
of the main features of Secretary Whit
ney's plan of reorganization, as sub
mitted by him TO Congress, would be a
bureau OF supplies, that is, bureau
which would do all the purchasing for
the entire Navy Department. Another
would be to amalgamate several bu.
reaux so that every care involved in
the construction of ships would be con-
fided to single bureau instead of be-
ing distributed over four bureaux, as
at present. Instead of eight bureaux
acting separately and independently,
he would have four bureaux, with a
central council. AT present each bu-
reau advertises separately for and sep
arately purchases whatever it wants.
Each, for instance, goes to the market
separately for the coal, the ice, the tim
Der, the stationary it wants. This plan
results in unnecessary advertising and
in the higher prices charged for small
er purchases. During the past year
Mr.. Whitney has had his own cffice
purchase the coal, the ice, the station
cry for all the bureaux with the result
as an experienced official estimates, of
a saving of $4,000 on these articles
alone. The plan of constructing the
purchasing power will be extended to
other articles, and the purchasing pow
er may be located in some one of the
bureaux now existing. 1t is not likely
that Secretary Whitney will have all
tho purchasing done by his Office.