Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1890-03-28
CURRENT AFFAIRS.
SECRETARY or war pRocToP.
What HIe Ens Done During the Pirs,
Wear Of His Administration

what IHe Hns Done During the Pirs,
Year Of His Adn,inistrRIOn.
The first year of cx Gov. Proctor's ad
mnistration Of the war department has
abundantly justified the wisdom of Pres.
dent Harrison in calling a Vermonter 10
that important post The work of the de
partment has grown TO proportions of which
the general public has only small idea
Its purely civil duties have come TO be far
larger than those Of military character
This work consists in the improvement of
rivers and harbors, the supervision Of the
construction Of bridges over navigable wa
ters, the furnishing Of evidence for pend
ing pension claims, and the administration
Of the civil service. The department has IA
force Of about 1900 clerks and in this re.
spect is the third of the executive depart
ments in size-the interior and treasury
alone being larger.
First in importance has been Secretary
Proctor's work in bringing up the delayed
| business Of the pension record investigation.
| When he became the head of the depart
Inent last spring, this work was greatly in
arrears. In the adjutant generals office
there were over 40 900 cases on hand un
disposed Of. There were but few cases
which had not been in the office for more
than 30 days, and the bulk of them from
90 to 90, while there were some Whch had
been la the office from one to two wears.
The department had uncousciously fallen
into a condition Of hopelessness and seemed
to despair Of bringing the work up to date
With that sturdy business sense which is
his notable characteristic Secretary Proc
tor grasped the situation and promptly de
cided ON reform. In spite of the opposi-
ton and fears of lesser officials he issued
an order on July 8 creating the record and
pension division Of the war department, and
transferred to it all the records of the depart
ment relating to pension matters, with a
competent officer in charge of the whole
According to the reports of the chiefs of
the subdivisions, there wero ca the morn.
ing Of that day 30. 800 cases undisposed Of
On July - there were hy actual count 3S.-
!i9 cases on hand On the last day Of Sep
tember there was not ease left undisposed
of in the Office. Since the organization Of
this new bureau the number Of calls re-
ceiyed from the pension office has steadily
increased having reached ON several occa-
sions nearly 2OOO cases in a single day. but
notw outstanding this great increase the
work Is all promptly disposed Of aud none
is allowed to accumulate. the bulk Of the
reports called for being furnished within
q hours Of the receipt of the call
All this has been done not only without
an increase of clerical force but by posi-
tive reduction Of it. On that part Of the
work which was 81 much in arrears a year
ago there were employed last July 31S
clerks II is now being done by only ~;
clerks and the remainder Of the old clerks
hive been transferred TO the work Of per
manently transcribing the records for fut
ure use. This result is a marked illustra
tration Of the business methods introduced
into the war department by its Vermont
secretary. 1t will be appreciated by the
country. 1t will he appreciated also 10y the
Old veterans. the settlement Of whose
claims is hastened by this reform The
work of printing the official records Of the
war Of the rebellion has been reorganized
and pushed ahead that its completion is
hoped for within the next four years, the
secretary wishing, as he says. 10 see it fin
ished before the participants in the war are
all dead
The secretary has bestowed much atten-
tion on the national guard of the country.
and has done much to increase its etiicien-
cy. One Of his most important recon-
mendations is that civilian appointments to
the army be made, after examination, from
the ranks of meritorous officers in the ma
tional guard and from graduates of col
leges giving military instruction
He has done much TO ameliorate the con
dition of the enlisted men in the army, and
in this way has brought about Il largely re-
duced percentage in the number Of d,ser-
tions. Notable in his work in this direcl ion
is the encouragement given to what is
known as the "canteen" system in the
army-the canteen being, in general terms,
club or club house for the privates, estab-
lished at each army post or station. The
plan is for the post TO furnish rooms suita-
bic for the purpose which can be fitted up
as place of social meeting, having a read
ing room, amusement room, etc. The gov
erument of the canteen is in the hands of
the soldiers themselves assisted by coun-
Gil of officers selected for that purpose
The price at which everything is sold is ar
ranged so that there shall be but small
profit and that profit goes to the fund of the
canteen and for its support, and eventually
to the company fund to improve its table
fare. To this system, which until this year
has been in only an experimental stage,
Secretary Proctor has given cordial sup
port and endorsement, and it promises to
become one of the most popular and useful
adjuncts Of army life
To sum up everything in a nutshell, the
first year of the Vermont ex governors
work as secretary of war shows what ex-
ecutive ability, business sense, business
methods aud the courage of ones convic-
tions will accomplish when applied in
business like way to the conduct of one of
the preat government deDartments