Evening star., 1895-06-01
THE CARD YSTEM
The New Method of Keeping the War De-
partment Records.
Opinions us to It's Emcfency-Probnble
Adoption of the System in Othe
Executive Departments.

What is known es the "card-record sys-
| tenn" has been In practical operation in all
the bureaus Of the War Department for ex-
actly eleven months today. Its general in
PRODUCTION into the business administra-
ton Of the entire department was the re-
suit of the success of this system in the
record and pension Office, and its subse-
Quent satisfactory use to more limited
extent, however, in the offices of the quar-
| termaster general and the chief of engin-
eers. These three offices were regarded as
specially adapted for the experiment, owing
to variety of reasons. the chief of which
was in each instance that the correspond
ence in the record and pension Office COW
cred a greater number of individual cases;
| that in the quartermaster generals office
greater variety of articles, and that in the
| office of the chief of engineers related to a
greater expenditure of public funds than
any other single bureau of the military de-
partment.
In 1888 committee of the Senate, with
Senator Cockrell as chairman, made q
minute inquiry into the workings of the
| index-reo ord-card system as applied to the
medical records of the army. In its re-
port to the Senate, the committee describ-
ed the worn and mutilated condition OF
the muster rolls of the volunteer armies
and the various plans that had been pro-
posed for their preservation from impend-
ing destruction through constant handling.
and stated in its conclusions as foiiows:
In the opinion OF your committee this
card-indeX record system is the solution,
and the only practical feasible and eco
nc mical solution, of the vexed question in
regard to the preservation of these rolls
without further wear and destruction, and
the placing of the data contained in them
in an easily accessible and convenient con-
dition for use without the handling of the
rolls. = This work Is SO important
that it should be prosecuted with the great
est vigor and by every available employe.
and. if necessary, there should be an addi-
tional fierce provided for.
In the War Department.
The record cards have since been adapted
to many different purposes, including that
of recording the current correspondence of
large offices, and their use has developed
into a system which has been adopted, in
whole or in part by several bureaus Of the
government outside of the War Depart
ment, as well as by state officials and pri-
vate business firms. The first successful
application of the method on a large scale
to the work Of reproducing and preserving
the public records. however, was that
which was begun in the record and pension
Office in April, 1887.
On May Is, 1894, the Secretary of War
issued an order for a new method of trans
acting the business of that great depart
ment. Its principal provisions involved
the reorganization of the several bureaus
of the department, reduction of the number
of divisions in each bureau, the transfer
Of certain classes of work to designated
bureaus whereby all matters of record
pertaining to them were centered in one
office. instead of being partially recorded
and filed in several places, and finally the
Inauguration of a uniform system of record
keeping throughout the department similar
to that In use in the record and pension
Office.
1t is claimed that a great advantage is
thus gained by being able to take from a
file box such record card of a case over
the former method of tracing the case
through several large and unwieldy books,
with the prospect of finding no reference
to former subsequent volumes in which
action pertaining to the case may be re-
corded.
Generally, under the old method, there
was system of filing precedents and de-
cisions except in the memory of old clerks.
who, by reason of their recollection of them
were reputed to possess superior knowledge
of certain classes of work, thereby hecom-
ing Indispensable to their respective offices.
An Oficinrs Opinion.
when 1t is considered" said a promi-
nent official OF the department to Star
reporter today in a free discussion Of the
subject that all the bureaus of the War
Department are small courts, constantly
passing upon various questions, more or
less of which are repetitions Of similar
questions at some time previously pre-
sented, the value of the knowledge above
mentioned can be appreciated.
when the system was inaugurated 1t
met with all sorts of criticism and oppo-
sition. This was to be expected, for we
are all opposed to changing methods and
customs which have been In use for
years."
other officials seen by the reporter ex-
pressed great satisfaction with the new
system, after a trial of eleven months, and
indicated that the prejudice that was orig
inally felt against it in some of the offices
has almost entirely disappeared Accord
ing to one of the higher officials. the sys,
tenn has been unqualified success. and
| his Judgment on this point was heartily
irdorsed by Gen Doe, the assistant scores
tary of war, who has been specially
charged with the enforcement OF the ordsE;;
nrobahiv he extended to the other executive
departments, on the principle that what Is
good for ore is equally good for the t- oth-
ers Secretary Herbert thinks very highly
of The system and has taken practical steps
for its adoption by the Navy Department