Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1905-06-23
FOR OFFICIAL REFORMS
The President Urges Sweeping Changes
in Methods. ~<
PAY IN PROPORTION TO The WORK.
Too Much Time Wasted In Perfunctory Letter.
writlng-Offlclal Gazette, Uniform Stand
ards, Central Purchasing Office for Supplies,
and Business Methods In Bookkeeping Urged
paper Work" a Menace 10 Army and Navy.

|
and Business Methods In Bookkeeping Urged
paper Work" a Menace 10 Army and Navy.
Washington (speeiall- The P F'r 81.
dent has appointed a commission OF 1y V
to report to him on improved methods OF
doing the public business in the various
bureaus and departments.
The scope and character of the work
expected Of the committee is indicated
in the following letter. addressed to
Charles H. Keep, assistant secretary OF
the treasury, by President Roosevelt
'"You are hereby designated as chair
man of committee, to consist, in addl-
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 Gift
ford Pinchot, forester, Department of
Agriculture, who are to investigate and
find out what changes are needed to
place the conduct of the executive bust
ness of the government in all It's branches
on the most economical and effective
basis in the light of the best modern
business practice. In making this inves-
tigation | would like you to have in view
securing an Improvement in business
methods, particularly among the follow
| ing:
in preparation of decisions for min
isterial approval, expert knowledge OF
actual conditions affecting or affected
by such decisions should govern, as dis
tinguished from knowledge Of the rec
ord alone.
Salaries should be commensurate with
| the character and market value of the
service performed and uniform for SINH
lar. service in all departments. 81 -
Government supplies, except such as
are required to meet emergencies or for
immediate use in the field, should be
standardized and purchased through a
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
cretion, should be uniform and should
be as few and simple as is consistent
with accuracy and safety. Systems of
! book keeping and accounting should con-
form to the most approved modern BUSH
ness methods.
The existence of any method, stand
ard, custom or practice is no reason for
its continuance 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 enterprise, and should be
followed by the adoption of standards OF
maximum cost. --.
There should be systematic interde-
partmental cooperation in the use of
expert or technical knowledge. The
business methods of the different depart
ments should be substantially uniform
In the adoption of methods and the per-
Torrance of work every step which is
not clearly indispensable should be elm
mated
AS 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 official
gazette to contain all executive orders,
statements of changes in organizations
or personnel, reports of important work
begun, in progress or completed by any
department, advertisements of all gov
eminent contracts, all legal notices not
required to be published locally, notices
of coming civil service examinations, etc.
A resolute effort should be made to
secure brevity in correspondence and the
elimination of useless letterwriting.
There is a type Of bureaucral who be-
lieves that his4entlre work, and that the
entire work OF the government, should
be zthe collecting of papers in reference
to case, commenting with eager mi
nuteness on each and corresponding with
other officials in reference thereto. These
people really care nothing for the case,
btH#enly for the documents in the case.
In all branches of the government there
is tendency greatly to increase I'm
necessary and largely perfunctory letter
writing, In the Army and Navy the
increase Of paper. work IS a serious Irlerl-
ace to the efficiency of fighting officers,
who are often required by bureaucrats TO
spend time in making reports which they
Should spend in increasing the eficief-9
cy OF the battleships or regiments Under
them AS regards his matter you viii
please confer with the assistant seere.
taries of the War and Navy Depart
ments and request them to submit to me
a: scheme for doing away with the evils B
referred to. In the civil departments
the abuse of letter-writing amounts not
merely to the waste of time of the gov
ernment servant responsible. for it, but
also to the impeding of public business.
please consider also the matter of en-
forcing accountability for property"
.,'@s Not a Delegate Came.
La.