Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-10-17
OFFICIAL REPORTS
STEPS TAKEN TO REDUCE THEM
IN SIZE.
A Chief Clerks Views as to the Value
of These Documents to
the Public

the Public.
The recent suggestion by the PresidenS
to the heads Of departments that the official
reports are too bulky and that steps should
be taken to reduce them in size raises an
interesting phase of a question which is one
belonging peculiarly to Washington" said
chief clerk to a Star reporter this morn.
ing.
The old saying that no one reads gov
eminent reports is true only in that one
does not read them in the sense that ono
reads novel. They are nevertheless freely
read and consulted and the facts and fig.
ures they contain are Of the utmost inn
portance as they constitute an official
chronicle of the yearly doings of the exc
ecutive departments very much the sams
in limited sense as the Congressional
Record constitutes the bulletin of the do
lngs or the legislative branch while in ses-
sion.
The contents Of official reports, in them
selves usually dry reading, reach the public
In various interesting ways. the principal
OF which is by reference by writer's on gov
ernmental and other topics, who utilize the
information contained in the reports in
newspaper and magazine articles and thus
directly place the public in possession OF
Il. "a
while the reports of the last census would
be hopelessly dry If consumed individually
or as an entirety. the facts and figures sup
pied by these reports are invaluable aid
have from time to time been placed before
the reading public In an interesting. segpe-
gated form in thousands of newspaper arti-
cles and comments
The same is true to a greater or lesser
degree of all of our government publica.
tions The bulletins and special reports of
the Agricultural Department, for instance,
are given publicity in The Star and other
publications at once upon issue. In fact.
the reports of our officials are being drawn
upon constantly in innumerable instances
and ways which circulate their contents in
such a manner that the facts are presented
in valuable shape.
How They Are Compiled.
The collection of the data and figures Of
the annual reports of the officials In the
different departments In Washington is be-
gun for the ensuing fiscal year at the close
of the preceding fiscal year, SO the making
of a report may be said to be continuous
performance on the part Of clerks and SUBJ
ordinate officials whose duty IL my be to
see that this data is all compiled and ready
for use when the head of the bureau or de-
partment begins work upon his own report,
taking the reports of these subordinate off,
Gals a basis upon which to frame his
own showing.
"These final conclusions cannot he reached
without the minute. definite and exhaustive
collection and compilation OF the invaluable
details of the various sections. divisions and
bureaus of a department. For this reason,
as well as for others too many to mention.
the tables of figures. etc, which largely fill
the different reports, and which are ap-
parently of little or no practical value to
outsider. are of the utmost Importance
to the official world and to those who seek
to tap its storehouse of official Information.
For instance in the event Of call from
he he
head of a department for certain Informal
ton regarding any particular subject up
for consideration and investigation the nee
essary reply could not be properly framed
but for the painstaking attention given to
and the collection of details into aggregate
results. and 1t is from these aggregate re-
suits that Congress or the President Is sup
piled with concise and intelligent facts.
while 1t would effect great saving OF
time and some money to reduce the bulk
Of official reports, yet a fact usually not
borne in mind should not be lost sight OF.
While the report Of a head of a department
appears very large and bulky when bound
in a single volume and Endorsed Report Of
the Secretary OF -- for the fiscal year
ended June 80 1902 1t Is not so in fact.
Within it's covers are the separate reports
of all the subordinate bureau and division
officials. ofttmes over score, with their
accompanying tables of figures etc, while
the report of the head of the department
itself may be short and not much over 100
pages.
What They Mean to Cabinet Officers,
"a point about official reports usually
overlooked is this: A cabinet officer rides
conspicuously silhouetted gainst the horizon
of public view for a brief period of official
power and prominence, and then, when his
term expires, often sinks into the obscurity
of private life, scarcely remembered outside
of his home section and forgotten by the
public, unless recalled by reason of some
SinglI13r1y jmnort3Qt of his while In
office. In fact, the cabinet has been termed
for years the graveyard for the burial OF
political hopes and prospects ambitions
and purposes. especially to ultimately Sc
curing nomination for the presidency sew
eral noteworthy instances during the past
generation being still fresh in mind
THE report of head of department,
therefore possesses an Individual value to
its author He looks forward to its COM
pilaton, writing and publication as expect
antly as does a student to the fate of his
first collegiate essay. 1t becomes my first,
my second my last annual report as the
case may be. 1t serves as guide board to
himself to all who come after, and In the re-
counting of his administration of the great
department over which he preSides for a
short time he takes the greatest official and
personal pleasure in laying the most favor
able side before the President, to whom
the report is made, and by showing by COM
parsons, deductions and express statements
how vastly improved is the service he con-
trolls over years ago, and the possibilities
of the future This feeling Of more or less
personal pride Is shared by the subordinate
officials, who In turn report to the Secre-
tary and the annual report in conse-
quence, to all involved is matter cf tho
deepest concern.
''That there IS much redundant matter
interjected into annual reports cannot be
denied Human nature will manifest itself
here as elsewhere. The verbose. circum-
locutlonary writer and the concise. succinct
writer will continue to travel in opposite
directions. In assigning to Secretary Moody
the task of evolving a scheme whereby the
annual reports may be kept down the Presi-
dent has tackled proposition enveloped In
official tradition and red tape which will
tax the ingenuity of those Interested to a
greater degree than they have any idea Of"
Intercollegiate Quarrels.
Prof Ira n Hollis in the Atlantic Magazine.