Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-14
INCREASE IN CLERKS
Secretary Root Shows How
the Department Has Grown.
ANALYSIS OF FIGURES
NEW DUTIES AS CONSEQUENCE OF
RECENT HosTILITIES.
Force Less Than SO Per Cent Greater
Than Before the War
With Spain.
ANALYSIS OF FIGURES

secretary Root has written a letter to
Representative Bingham of the House COM
mittee on appropriations showing the rela-
ton between the number and cost Of en-
ployes in each of the different divisions of
the War Depart ment before the war with
Spain. at its maximum during the war with
Spain and on the LIST of the present month
of January. He calls the attention of the
committee to the following facts:
That the seventy-four clerks now in the
insular bureau are for an entirely different
field of work, not covered at all by the
War Department before the war with Spain,
and constituting practically a new colonial
department.
The Figures Analysed.
That the apparent reduction in the office
of the adjutant general and the apparent
retention Of the maximum number of en-
ployes in the records and pension Office do
not correctly represent the facts, because
a large number of clerks have been trans
ferred from the adjutant generals Office
to the records and pension office with the
transfer of the rolls and returns divisions.
The eighteen clerks in the general staff
were also transferred from the adjutant
generals Office coincidentaly with the
transfer Of duties from the adjutant gen.
erals office to the general ssaff
The 131 employees. under the head of Sec
TeCdTy VI w df llCiuQt WdLcIIIlSIl, ldUOTeIS,
charwOmen, elevator boys, machinists, fire
men, ETC., ETC., employed in numerous
buildings occupied by the War Department.
1t is estimated that twenty-seven of these
are made necessary solely by the fact that
the Secretary is obliged to scatter the work
of the department in a number of different
rented buildings owing to the lack of room
in the State, War and Navy building.
Proposed Reduction.
The estimates now submitted, says Sec
rotary Root contemplate reduction of
about thirty-five employees. These are most
ly in the Secretary of Wars office and the
records and pension office. If your COM
mittee," says he. lis unwilling to give the
entire appropriation asked for think any
reduction should be made to apply to the
Office Of the adjutant general. and to a less
degree to that of the surgeon general and
the paymaster general. / think that the
time will come before long when there can
be a material reduction In the office OF the
quartermaster general. but owing to the
special construction work which they are
doing at present, do not think that it has
yet come. The duties of the judge advocate
general, the chief of engineers. the chief of
ordnance and the chief signal officer have
enlarged to an extent which l think le-
quires the full number of clerks appearing
in the schedule and l do not think they
could be interfered with without material
injury to the public service.
Increase in War Department Business.
I'm considering generally the clerical
force Of the War Department, I think the
committee should keep in mind:
THAT the force of employees Of the War
Department as it now stands mot counting
the insular bureau. created since the war
and having nothing to do with the War De-
partment proper is less than 33 per cent
greater than it was before the war with
Spain.
THAT the numerical strength of the regu-
lar army, not counting the Porto Rico regl-
ment and the Philippine scouts, is 40 per
cent greater than it was before the war
with Spain
THAT the number of regimental organiza-
tons or their equivalent in the regular army
is more than 48 per cent greater than 1t
ing the Porto Rico regiment and the Phil
ippine scouts it Is more than IS per cent
greater than 1t was before the war with
Spain.
THAT the number Of posts occupied by
the army is IT'S per cent greater than 1t was
before the war with Spain.
That the extent of territory, the variety
of conditions dealt with. with the conse-
uuent difficulty of transportation, supply
and administration, present difficulties ex-
ceedng those which existed before the war
with Spain to far greater degree imam the
increase in the force of employees"
In an accompanying table 1t is shown
that the total strength before the war was
l. 122 and the annual expense o,J16; the
maximum strength during the war 80,
and the maximum annual expense 2,11),-
O36; the strength January 1. 1904 was $50,
and the annual expense 81 S3I ,62S. The
river and harbor force, numbering " en-
pIoyes, at an annual expense of $79.640, Is
not included in the above staten ent-