Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1905-06-24
President Roosevelt Names Committee
to do Business.
ALONG IMPROVING METHODS.
Business Rules Should Prevail in all
Departments = To Secure Brevity
Type of Bureaucrat That Can Be
Eliminated.
Eliminated.

Washington, June 10. - The presi-
dent has appointed a committee of
five to report to him on improved
methods of doing the public business
in the various bureaus and depart
ments. In a letter addressed to Chas.
H. Keep, assistant secretary of the
treasury, President Roosevelt says:
You are hereby designated as
chairman of a committee to consist,
in addition to yourself, of the follow
ing four gentlemen: Frank Hitch
cock, first assistant postmaster gen
eral; Lawrence o. Murray, assistant
secretary of commerce and labor;
James r. Garfield, commissioner of
corporations, and Clifford Pinchot,
forester, department of agriculture,
who are 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 practice.
Salaries should be commensurate
with the character and market value
of the service performed, and uniform
for similar service in all departments
THE existence of any method,
standard, custom or practice is no rea-
son for it's continuance, when a bet
ter is offered.
There should be systematic inter
departmental cooperation in the use
of expert or technical knowledge. The
partments should be substantially
uniform. In the adoption of methods
and the performance of work every
step of which is not clearly indispen-
sable should be eliminated
"a resolute effort should be made
to secure brevity in correspondence
and the elimination of useless letter
writing. There is a type of bureau
crat who believes that his entire work,
and that the entire work of the gov
eminent should be the collecting of
papers in reference to a case, com
menting with eager minuteness on
each, and corresponding with other
officials in reference thereto. These
people really care nothing for the case,
but only the documents in the case.
In all branches of the government
there is tendency greatly to increase
Unnecessary and largely perfunctory
letter-writing. In the navy and army
the increase of paper work is
serious menace to the efficiency of
fighting officers, who are often requir-
ed by bureaucrats to spend time in
making reports which they should
spend in increasing the efficiency of
the battleships or regiments under
them. AS regards this matter you
will please confer with the assistant
secretaries of the war and navy de-
partments and request them to sub
nit to me a scheme for doing away
with the evils referred to- In the civil
departments the abuse of letter-writ-
ing amounts not merely to the waste
of time of the government servant re-
sponsible for it. but also to the i'm
peding of public business
please consider also the mtater of
enforcing accountability for prop
erty."
1t is officially pointed out that the
commissions work is not to discover
irregularities or to criticise the bust
ness of any officer or individual. but
to examine the business methods as
outlined