Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-17
Mr.. KEEPS COMMITTEE
PROPOSED ADOPTION OF BUSI-
NESS-LIKE PRACTICES.
Directions Issued by the President De-
for the Government.

| In a letter addressed by President Roose-
welt to Charles II. Keep, assistant secretary
| of the treasury and chairman of the COM
| mittee of five to report improved meth
DDS In government business, the President
defines the scope and character of the work.
| The letter to Mr.. Keep is as follows:
| You are hereby designated as chairman
of a committee. to consist. In addition to
yourself. of the following four gentlemen:
| Frank H. Hitchcock, first assistant post
| master general: Lawrence o Murray as
| sistant secretary of commerce and labori
James r. Garfield, commissioner of corpora
tons and Clifford Pinchot Forester, Depart
ment of Agriculture who to investigate
and find out what changes are needed to
place the conduct of the executive business
of the government in all its branches on
| the most economical and effective basis in
the light of the best modern business prac-
| tice. In making this investigation / would
| like you to have in view securing an inn
provement in business methods particularly
| among the following:
In the preparation of decisions for min
| isterial approval, expert knowledge Of
| actual conditions affecting or affected by
such decisions should govern, distin-
guished from knowledge of the record
| alone.
| No Discrimination in Salaries.
| Salaries should be commensurate with
| the character and market value OF the
service performed, and uniform for similar
service in all departments.
Government supplies except such as are
required to meet emergencies or for imme-
date in the field should be standard
lied. and purchased through a central pur-
chasing office.
| 1T is the duty of the accounting and aud
| iting officers to facilitate executive work.
| Fiscal restrictions or regulations should not
interfere with executive discretion, should
be uniform, and should be as few and sim
! pie as is consistent with accuracy and
| safety. Systems of bookkeeping and ac-
| counting should conform to the most APP
| proved modern business methods.
The existence of any method, standard,
| custom practice is no reason for its con-
tinuance when better is offered.
THE comparative cost Of all work for
which cost-keeping is possible should be
| ascertained as between offices and depart
ments and as between the government and
private enterprises and should be followed
| by the adoptlon of standards of maximum
| cost.
There Should be systematic interdepart-
| mental cooperation in the use of expert
| or technical knowledge. The business meth
| DDS of the different departments should be
| substantially uniform. In the adoption of
| methods and the performance of work
| every step which is not clearly indispensa-
| Bile should be eltmina ted
las between the adoption of uniform
| standard and the actual efficiency of any
| office, the former must yield.
No recommendation for change should
| be made until after full consultation with
| all executive officers affected.
There should be published an ofhcIal ga
| zette to contain all executive orders, state
ments of changes in organization or per-
! sonnet, reports of important work begun,
| in progress or completed by any depart
| ment advertisements Of all government
| contracts all legal notices not required TO
! be published locally, notices of coming civil
service examinations, exc. etc
The Letter Writing Abuse.
| "A resolute effort should be made to Sc
cure brevity in correspondence and the
| elimination of useless letter writing. There
| Is a type of bureaucrat who believes that
| his entire work and that the entire work
| of the government, should be the collecting
| of papers of reference to a case. comment
| ing with eager minuteness on each and cor
responding with other officials in reference
| thereto These people really care nothing
| for the case. but only or the documents IN
the case. In all branches of the govern
ment there is tendency greatly to increase
| unnecessary and largely perfunctory letter
writing In the army and navy the In
| crease of paper work is serious menace
to the efficiency of hghtlng olHcersr WIZ
| are often required by buTeiucrats 10 speno
| time In making reports which they shouid
spend in increasing the effciency OF the
| battleships or regiments under them. AS
| regards this matter you Will Please CONFER
| with the assistant secretaries OF the war
| and Navy Departments. and request then
| to submit to me Il scheme for doing away
| with the evils referred 10. IN the civil ae-
! nartnants the abuse of letter Wrltlns
/ amounts not merely 10 the waste OF uirle
of the government servant responsible ioF
| it but also to the impeding or puonc pusl-
| ness ..r % an,
| forcing accountability for property
| 1t is officially pointed out that the com
mittee's work is not to discover Hres uiaii-
| ties or to criticise the business or any once
| ar individual but to examine business
| methods outlined
Disbursements in the Treasury.
In connection with the prospective work
of the committee Secretary Shaw has an
nounced two quite radical changes in meth
DDS of making disbursements. Discussing
| officers are required to make acquisitions
for the amount of money needed to cover
semi-monthly payments. In practice they
nearly always ask an amount somewhat in
excess but the Secretary has directed the
treasurer hereafter TO require the pay rolls
to be presented. and to refuse payment
whenever the check calls for an amount In
excess of the pay roll
He also has ordered all salary payments
in the Treasury Department and the De-
partInent of Commerce and Labor, except
In few stated cases, to be made by dis
bursting officers checks instead of cash.
These two changes. involving other de-
partments, are understood to be tentative
and are made at this time to enable the
committee to observe the experiments. Con
siderable opposition is anticipated, espe
cialIy as it is likely to delay the semi
monthly payments for a day or two,