The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-06-17
FEWER LETTERS.
President Roosevelt Says Too
Much Time Is Wasted
By Government Employees in
EpistOlary Correspondence.
A COMMITTEE.
Whose Duty It Is to Find an
Improved Method
Of Carrying on the Business Of
Departments.

Washington, June 1.-THE president
has appointed a committee of five to
report to him on improved methods OF
doing the public business in the various
bureaus and departments. In a letter
addressed to Chas. n. Keep, assistant
secretary of the treasury, President
Roosevelt says:
You are hereby designated as chair
man of a committee to consist in addi-
ton to yourself of the following four
gentlemen: Frank H. Hitchcock, first
assistant postmaster general; Lawrence
0. Murray, assistant secretary of com
merce and labor; James r. Garfield.
commissioner of corporations, and Gif-
ford Pinchot, forester, department OF
agriculture who are to investigate and
find out what changes are needed to
place the conduct of the executive bus
mess Of the government in ali its
branches on the most economical and
effective basis in the light of best mod
ern 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, stand
ard, custom or practice is no reason for
its continuance, when a better one is
offered.
There should be systematic inter
QGBdI lAAlGlLdl CU-OlJEEdIlO 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 is not clearly Indispensable should
be eliminated.
"A resolute effort Should be made to
secure breV1ty in correspondence and the
elimination of useless letter-Writing.
There is a type OF bureaucrat who be-
HeVeS that his entire work and that the
entire work of the government should
be the collecting of papers in reference
to u case, commenting with eager min
uteness on each, and corresponding with
other officials in reference thereto.
These people really care nothing for the
case but only the denoument in the
case but only the denouement in the
there is a tendency greatly to increase
unnecessary and largely perfunctory
letter-Wrftine. In the army and navy
the increase Of paper work is q serious
menace to the efficiency of fighting Of
f1eers who are often required by bureau
Gratis to spend time in making reports
which they should spend in increasing
the efficiency of the battleship or regi-
ments under them.
LAS regards this you will please con-
fer with the assistant secretaries of the
war department and navy department
and request them to submit to me a
scheme for doing away with the evils
referred to- In the civil department.
the use of letter writing amounts
not merely to the waste of time of the
government servant responsible for it
but also to the impeding of public busi-
please consider also the matter of
enforcing accountability for property"
It is officially pointed out that the
committee work is not to discover lr-
regularities or terrorize the business OF
any employer but to examine the BUSH
ness methods as outlined.