The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-07-20
SIGNIFICANCE OF SCANDALS Interest in Washington is Increasing.
  INEFFICIENCY IS MANIFEST Centralizat> n of Power Dis /eossea: Believe at the variou. Bureau" and Dev.stments of the Government Saeuld Have Some Limita-
 tlons Enforced.
 
Advertiser Bureau,
 1925 G. St., N. w.,

1925 G. St., N. w.. Washington, July ls. Interest in the recent scandal grow
 ing from the disclosure of the leak
 fin cotton statistics in the agricultural department is constantly increasing.
 The President has ordered that all ef-
 forts be made to properly place the
 guilt. and when this is accomplished
 that full punishment be meted out. On account of the political signih- canoe of not only this manifestation or bureaucratic ineficiency but also on account of scandals arising in the re- gently corruption in the postoffice de- partment, the rumored leak of sta- | tistics of the tobacco crop and the ln-
 yestigation of graft charges in the Government printing office. local po- litical circles. admitting the necessity | not only of the punishment of guilty narties but also of some action to pre- vent future repetition of such abuse | of power, are seriously discussing the question of a limitation to the powers | of the bureaus and departments to- sether with the termination of prac-
 tices tending to give these bureaus
 
 Apparently the end most desired 1 Ia not the punishment of the momen- | tary offender but a guarantee agafnst | future and more numerous repetitions of departmental scandal, the consensus | of opinion being that such change can only come through halt In the | present tendecy toward bereaucratc | government.
 Increase in Power.
 rig H. | reaus have increased astonishingly Tn | mower of late years and from this rapid growth of power come many evils. The | agricultural department itself has grown from a little bureau ia the in- 1 terior department to grand division | of the executive department with
 seat in the cabinet and with powers that have far outstripped the accom-
 plishment of the purpose for which It
 was created It is daily more strong
 ly advocated by representatives of far seeing and conservative interests that | a halt in our tendency toward cen tralization of federal power in bureaus. | and hence a bureaucratic form of gov
 ernment, Is desirable and necessary | for the conservation of the fundamen- I tai principles of the government
 The Washington Post in commenting upon this subject, together with the l cotton scandal, says: But. after all, | is 1t (the cotton leak) not perfectly natural result of usurped power ana only another illustration of the de- pravity of gratuitous paternaiism m Government? Usuhped power will always be corruptly used and there
 never has been. and never will be, an administration honest enough to re-
 verse that law of human economy. Ine
 whole business Is the offspring of the
 exercise of usurped power. The de- partments are full of 1t"
 In spite of this present condition or | affairs. it seems to be the policy Of at 1 least a part of tho dominant party to favor further centralization of power and government by bureaus, through advocating the creation of federai bureau or commission which. with the
 rate of making power. will regulate the commerce of the country. The dangers of such a step are obvlous'
 with the many examples now oefore the country as illustrated by various
 denartmental scandal, by the convio- tion of two United States senators
 within two years. and by the experi- ence of many large cities in which
 centraIizatisl of power in the hands of few men has resulted in the most 1 corrupt usages.
 The Globes Comment.
 The New York Globe and Commer- | cial AdVertISel, III |oiii 'ii ''ti0 | question. says"
 ..It is commonly assumed If the Inter- 1 stata Commerce Commission were giv- en the rate of making power that what ever mistakes of Judgment might oc- CUT would be executed honestly what | assurance is there that graft would not l show itself? Managers of large inter
 ests are not considered scrupulous: | would they not find means to protect, by fair means or foul. the eight billion | dollars worth of railroad property In 1 their care? Is the danger remote that each railroad or group of railroads with
 common interest should attempt to
 get a friend on the Commission and If the attempt were made and the induce
 ment offered were enough would they
 probably fail? What chance there would be for one railroad to destroy
 rival by orders obtained from the Com
 mission. :. +.":: :.'. @a
 Tt is conceivable that we have out i grown the parable of the talents and | should give power IS to great things | to agents who have been unfaithful as | to small things, but the change seems | risky
 "The majority of people repeat 1 prayer which asks a leading away from | ter1ptation. Should We, with that pe- tition on our lips. seduce by more al- l turing opportunities an officiary not | able to resist those which it now has?
 Local constitutionalists aver that fifty
 years ago bureaucratic administration l of the law was undreamed of and such | departmental scandals as are now un- l happily of too common occurrence were | then impossible. With the centraliza- l ton and usurpation of power has come l this clnseouent abuse and the question | Is becoming more and more to he. where
 will it all end The creation of Fed
 eral body with the rate making power
 would be the greatest and on account | of It's tremendous responsibilities, the
 most dangerous step in the policy which l has by centralization of power made
 possible such misuse of power as in-
 stanced in the case of the scandal in inc Postoffice Department, or the more
 recent one concerning the cotton crop Greater centralization of power means
 greater chance for its abuse and
 ratemaking commission would certainly
 he the most powerful body. the most i extreme illustration of bureaucratic
 government yet erected in the country. | he Of naf.