Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1886-10-29
WASHINGTON LETTER.

divisions, the chiefs of bureaux and
the Cabinet officers are preparing their
annual reportsl The President is writ,
ing his message. The Governmental
history of the year must be epitomized
the balance sheet must be struck of
and the chief executive must suggest
by the way of recommendation, the
measures he will sanction, provided
they receive the approval of legislation.
All the members of the Cabinet, ex
cept the Secretary of State, have re-
turned. Mr.. Bayard was shrewd
enough to postpone his vacation un-
til antumn 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 irrefu
table figures that the present admins
tration has saved the Government mil
lions Of dollars. That the public
offices are better kept and that public
work is better done is not SO suscepti-
bic of mathematical demonstration;
but it is fact patent to every one
acquainted with the public service.
During the past two weeks over five
hundred useless employees have been
discharged from the Government
Printing Office alone. Notwithstand'
ing this great decrease in the force,
the work Of the Office has not been at
all impeded. The public land commits
sioner, General Sparks, says in his an
nual report. EThe development Of
tho past year under the agencies Of
the new administration have justified
every word said in my report for last
year in regard 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 p
7l4,926 acres, mostly in Colorado.
The recommendation for an additional
force of not less than one hundred
special agents are renewed, as is also
that in regard to adequate means tor
protecting the timber on the public
lands. About 175,000 acres OF land
have been restored for public settle
ment; 1886 cases, involving 225,OOO
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 contigent fund
covers stationary, kilograms, books for
library, purchase Of new carpets and
furniture, cost of keeping carriage
and horses, etc. The appropriation
for Grants last Presidential year wal
only $4,000 and Grant spent every
cent Hayes at the end Of his firs'
year in the White House had an un
expended balance of 10 cents out Of :
contingent fund Of 1000. For hi
last year he had contingent fund o
$4,000 out of which he saved $39
Arthur managed to save only s6,8t
out of the $4,000 contingent fune
of his first year, and that was th'
largest balance he had on hand at thu
end of any year while he was the occu
punt Of the White House. Mr.. Cleve
land saved 50 348 81 during his frs
year out of contingent fund Of 50, 900
Without an act of Congress the Sec
retary of the Navy cannot abolish 6
bureau or organize one. But he cal
distribute the work and transfer some
of it from one bureau to another
One of the main features of Secretary
Whitneys plan of reorganization, a;
submitted by him to Congress, would
be bureau of supplies, that is, bu
reau which would do all the purchas
ing for the entire Navy Department
Another would be to amalgamate sew
eral bureaux so that every care in
volved in the construction Of ships
would be confided to single bureau
instead of being distributed over four
bureaux, as at present. Instead o.
eight bureaux acting separately and
independently, he would have four bu
reaux, with a central council. A
present each bureau adveEtises separ
ately for and separately purchase
whatever it wants. Each, for instanc'
goes to tho market separately for thu
coal, the ice, the timber, the station
ary it wants. This plan results in un
nesessary advertising and in the high
er prices charged for smaller purchases
During the past year Mr.. Whitne,,
has had his own Office purchase th
coal, the ice, the stationery for all tn
bureaux with the result as an expert
enced official estimates, Of saving o
$4,000 on these articles alone. Th
plan of concentrating the PURCHASING
power will be extended to other art
cles, and the purchasing power ma
be located in some one of the bureau,
now existing. It is not likely tina