Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1903-03-07
THE NEW DEPARTMENT
Some Unique Features Of Its
Establishment.
SECRETARY ooRTBLYoU's PLANS.
Choosing His stan with Great Care.
To De Under Civil Service Rules
From the Outset-Scicme OF Or
gnnIzation of the Bureau OF Cor
p~oratfons Decided Upon.

EFOE1 Inc III OG-
gnnIzation of the Bureau OF Cor
poratfons Decided Upon.
Although Chairman Cannon and sorle
Of the other congressman Interested In
appropriations worked themselves al
most into n state of panic over the cs i
mates Of Secretary Co.tciyou for tie
equipment Of the new department OF
commerce, 3fr. Cortsiyou himself has
taken the situation very calmly. SHys
the washington correspondent OF the
New York Post. His expectation is not
to launch d, apartment in o fully or
gnnized condltiou-that Is, not with q
complete equipment Of men, furniture,
supplles. etc.-but e begin in a very
Oldest way, let the ors hization grow
of the necessities Of tie work and
.eave in the treasury or turn back into
ii All that he does not find himself re
CURED to spend lis estimates were
based Oh the theory OF the business
man who does u06 care to enter upon q
new uadertaF.ug III trade without first
assuring liu.se.f of II balance IN bans
large enough 10 t.de lin over a trou-
blous period IL one should come. At
present the department of commerce
occupies II small corner of one room on
the ground aoor Of tie temporary Office
building adjoining the White House.
Its outfit consists Of one desk and three
chairs. The secretary sits In one of the
chairs and uses the desk to write on.
Tie seeretary's new staff. which he
IS choosing with great care, will con
sist Of an assistant secretary, a com
missioner of corporations, a cer1 s
sioner Of manufactures. a 6 I,
and an appointment clerk ano go, 3.
Ing officer. Mr.. Garfield was tfoniptly
selected us commissioner OF corpora
lions. The others will be named before
the fst of July, when the work of the
department begins. OF the fifteen bu-
reaus whicI viii be included in the de-
partment, thirteen are already proyid-
ed for In the general appropriation
bills at a cost of more than $1.000,000.
As this is the only instance in fifty
-four years Of the creation of a brand
new department, all the Others having
been mere developments of plants al
ready existing. it Is interesting to note
the process of constructing it. The first
thing Secretary Cortelyou did was to
decide upon the general plan OF or
g%aniZatlon of the bureau of corpora
lions. AS this was 10 prosecute In
qulries and make examinations into
the condition and conduct of stock COM
pauics he took for his model the office
Of the comptroller of the currency,
whose functions In respect to the ma
tional banks furnish the nearest paral-
lei 70 the work of Mr.. Garield's bu-
reau. Mr.. Garfield will probably begin
work with himself. his private secre-
tary-whom he will have transferred
from tie clerical staff OF the civil serv-
ice commission-and perhaps a clerk
and d messenger. As fast as he needs
examiners for work in the field or
more clerks for his Office he will desig-
nate them. The bureau of manufac-
lures will begin in an equally modest
way. though it's clerical force will
doubtless be recruited from time to
time for emergency tasks, like a S
force. and reduced again as the de-
mand for its employment subsidies.
The new department will be under
the civil service rules from the outset,
and whatever exceptions experience
may prove advisable will be made by
the president as the cause for each
such change arises. AS for the quarter
ing of the bureaus, several of them will
doubtless remain where they are for
the present and transact their routine
business with the central 0dElinistra-
tive Office by messenger and telephone.
In deciding how much floor space will
be required in any new building to be
erected later the present space of the
bureaus already organized and running
will be increased only enough to make
their present work more convenient,
with an allowance for the ordinary
rate OF expansion. In the case of the
new bureaus it is assumed that within
n comparatively short period it viii be
possible to judge fairly well how many
clerks can be proftably employed, and
then an average will be struck of the
number OF square feet of room needed
per clerk in other well housed bureaus
doing analogous work, and the rest
viii be a simple example in multiplica-
ton. H. the bureau of manufactures.
for instance, which will bear "A pretty
close likeness to the census office, the
employees viii probably be crowded
rather close together, like the census
employees, whereas in the bureau of
corporations they Will have more room,
Ike the clerks in one of the great ae-
counting offices. The purpose Is also in
selecting Il site for the new depart
ment building to find one which will
permit of enlargements by wings or
otherwise as the growth Of the depart
ment may require without any radical
departures from the original plan Of
the edidce.
The eXawiDors ard other field agents
for tlt b- au ol corporations % Du-
rc3u of manufactures viii probably
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