The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-06-17
ROOSEVELT DESIRES
 IMPROVED METHODS
CONDUCT OF ALI GOVERNMENT BUSINESS TO BE INVESTI-
 GATED.

Committee Appointed to Proceed With
 the Work and Report to Him What
 Changes Are Needed to Conduct All
 Branches on the Most Effective Basis
 in Light of Rest Modern Business
 Practices--Red Tape to be EIiminated
 fin Reports of Army and Navy oficers
 to Beaurocrats.
 Washington. June 16.-The president has appointed committee of five to report to him on improved methods of doing the public business in the yari ous bureaus and departments. The scope and character of the work ex- pected of the committee is indicated in the following letter addressed by Presi- dent Roosevelt to Charles H. Keep, as- sistant secretary of the treasury:
 You are hereby designated as chair- man of a committee. to consist, in ad- dition to yourself, of the following four gentlemen: Frank Hitchcock, first as- sistant postmaster general; Lawrence 0. Murray, assistant secretary of com merce and labor; James R, Garfield. commissioner of corporations, and Gaf- ford Pinchot, forester, department Of agriculture. who are to investigate and ind out what changes are needed to place the conduct of the executive busi- ness of the government in all it's branches on the most economical and effective basis in the Night of the best modern business practices, Tn making this investigation would like you to have in view securing an improvement in the business methods. particularly among the following:
 In the preparation of decisions tor ministerial approval, expert knowledge of actual conditions affecting or af- feeted by such decisions should govern as distinguished from a knowledge of the record alone.
 Salaries should be commensurate with the character and market value of the services performed and uniform for similar service in all departments.
 Government supplies, except such as are required to meet emergencis or or and purchased through central purchasing office.
 1t is the duty of the accounting and auditing officers to facilitate executive work. Fiscal restrictions or regulations should not interfere with executive dis erection; should be uniform, and should be as few and simple as is consistent with accuracy and safety Systems of bookkeeping and accounting should conform to the most approved modern business methods
 The existence of any method, stand- ard, custom, or practice is no reason for it's continuance when a better is of fered.
 The comparative cost of all work for which cost keeping is possible, should be ascertained as between offices and departments and as between the gov- ernment and private enterprise, and should be followed by the adoption of standards of maximum cost
 There should be systematic inter- departmental cooperation in the use of expert or technical knowledge, The business methods of the different de- partments should be substantially uni- form.
 In the adoption of methods and the performance of work every step which lo ilOt SiC61l " 1AidASpSiio1piC ShUuiu UC 
 As between the adoption of a uni- form standard and the actual efficiency of any office, the former must yield.
 No recommendation for change should be made until after full consult ation with all executive officers affect ed.
 There should be published an official gazette to contain all executive orders, statements of changes in organization or personnel, reports of important work begun, in progress or completed by any department, advertisements of all government contracts, all legal no- tices not required to be published local- ly, notices of coming civil service ex- aminations, etc, etc.
 "A resolute effort should be made to secure brevity in correspondence and the elimination of useless letter writ ing. There is a type of bureaucrat who believes that his entire work and the entire work of the government should be the collecting of papers in reference to a case, commenting with eager mil on each and corresponding with other officials in reference thereto.
 (Continued on Eighth Page.)