Evening star., 1902-08-13
Routine Work of Treasury
Department Reorganized,
NEW METHODS IN USE
ALL COMMUNICATIONS MUST BE
ACKNOWLEDGED DAILY.
Secretary Shaw a Believer in All
Modern Appliances in the Trans
action of Business.

The treasury Of the United States is now
regarded by business men who have in
spected the new methods of handling the
enormous daily routine OF fiscal transac-
tions as absolutely the best and most thor
oughly systematized business house I'm the
United States.
An account Of what has been done in
this line since the administration OF Secre-
tary Shaw began makes most interesting
reading. Shortly after taking charge of
the department he decided to modernize the
prevailing methods with reference to COM
munications from the public. their aclnowl-
edgment and filing, The details have been
turned over to his private secretary, Mr..
Robert B. Armstrong, who has worked out
a scheme for the expedition of public bust
ness in the department. Card catalogues.
electric time stamps and a new system OF
filing. together with some changes I'm the
manner of handling correspondence. have
resulted in securing to every letter
prompt reply.
Prompt Letter Writing.
BY direction of the Secretary all letters
hereafter will be acknowledged on the
same day they are received. II they cam
not be answered fully, acknowledge
will be made and upon investigation
complete reply will be forwarded at the
earliest possible moment. Mail arriving in
the department heretofore was entered i'm
large books and cumbersome manner of
recording resulted.
Books have been abandoned and card
system keeping track of the thousands OF
letters received in the department every
week has been substituted Under the Old
system only four clerks could be used on
the mail. Under the new system any num-
Der can be placed at work. ii being divided
up as the pressure of public business seems
to warrant
Under the new system the early morning
mail, which formerly was not distributed
to the various divisions of the Treasury De-
partment until some time i'm the afternoon,
is now out of the way before IL O'Clock i'm
the morning. \ greater saving of time is
expected as the clerks become more IA
miliar with the handling of the new sys-
TEN, which was installed on August !.
To Work the Messengers.
In the same connection all kilograms
heretofore have been received by the Treas
ury Department through the medium OF
the omnipresent messenger boy. Delay re-
suited in forwarding the telegram TO the
proper division for consideration and re-
ply Mr. Armstrong has secured the CO.
operation of the telegraph companies and
arranged for the receipt by wire OF all
kilograms addressed to the Treasury De
partment. This will save from one to three
hours in the handling OF telegrams, as all
messages now are received direct by wire
into the building. copied in duplicate on
the typewriter and the original stamped
with time stamp and delivered direct To
it's proper division. All letters and telc-
grams are stamped with the hour and the
minute of their receipt and The responsible
fly for the delay Of moments is now fixed.
Minutes Are Precious.
The delay in all great organiZationS Is
due to the loss Of minutes. This system
will tend to prevent such leakage. Coal-
menting on this new system Mr.. Armstrong
said:
Secretary Shaw believes that the public
should receive the same treatment from the
department that is given it by any first
class business house in the country. There
fore il Is his wish that any person writing
to the department shall receive prompt
acknowled gmeHt to his communication and
a full and complete answer to his inquiry.
whatever it may be. Personally L bell eve
the Treasury Department should be an eX-
ponent of the best and most modern bust
ness methods known in this country. L
believe that il should be a model of busi-
ness enterprise, and that any business man
seeking to improve his methods should be
able to find in the Treasury Department OF
the Unit ed States modern and improved ap-
pliauces and the best and most approved
practices for the conducting Of business,
all of which he may adapt to his own par
ticular uses with much benefit