Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-03-23

great deal of our government work has be-
come proverbial for the red tape involved.
of course much of the outside criticism
upon red tape Is due to forgetfulness OF the
fact that YOU and / are responsible to Con-
gress FOR every dollar we spend and for
every dollars worth of work that We do,
while the outsider is responsible only to
himself or those interested with him, so
that We not only have to do what is right
and efficient. but have to be able to show
that what we have done is right and eff
cicnt and this inevitably means there must
be certain forms observed which the un-
thinking outsider Is apt to stigmatize as
red tape. Nevertheless II Is true that there
Is always tendency in government work
TO run to needless red tape. l asked the
Keep commission. for instance. to take up
with particular care. through the assistant
ecTetartes of War and Navy, the burden
of paper work resting on the officers OF the
army and navy. l remember very well
the rride with which certain high Off
Ger in. one of the bureaus in the Navy De-
partment a good many years ago, told me-
pointing 10 big case of papers, that IN
that he could find out through the reports
of the officers of each battleship how many
bottles of violet ink each captain of bat
tieship was responsible for. ! remarked
that | did not care snap of my ringer
about the number OF bottles of violet Ink
on the ship. that what ] wanted to know
was whether the men at the guns could
shoot: | did not accept the knowledge of
the whereabouts of the violet ink as sub
Stitu,e for shooting. The paper work must
be Suhordnated in the departments and bu-
TtaUS To the EMERGENCY OF tIlt "olh itSSii
keeping only enough Of 1t to make record
Of what is done
With this in view number of assistant
committees were appointed. consisting or
YOU gentlemen here, carefully chosen men
from the government service, who are al
ready largely responsible for the efficiency
OF the work done in your several depart
ments and bureaus. 1t was a compliment
TO choose YOU gentlemen; though it is one
of those compliments that takes the form
of Imposition of additional labor If you
were not of the type that l know you 20
he ID would not be a compliment thai Would
he appreciated. These committees you gem
tIemen. have been Mt Work Tor ABOUT
month and you are taking up your Work
within your specific fields through study Oh
the data already collected by the committee
on department methods through Bringing
before You men whose knowledge Is OF eN-
pert value and above all by thorousn
study on the ground by experts Tor that IS
what YOU are, Of the conditions and needs
within the departments themselves siail
not eaunerate the different committees
They are now at work. You compose them.
gentlemen, and all told they have a mem
bersfip of about seventy individuals.
of course 1t is Impossible to set any
actual time limit to the work you are
doing hut II would he q mighty good thing
To iraugurate the next fiscal year By adopt
ing the new policies ard methods In the de
partmentaI business. | want to assure you
of one thing. and that ~ that your mere
apunfutment has already produced a very
marked moral effect. The good results OF
seventy men studying local methods and
local needs the ground. in the depart
meuts. does not lie only in the knowledge
gained; you render great service by max
ing The men with whom YOU come IN con-
tact feel that they actually share III this
movement.
The most magnificent architecture that
our race has ever been able 10 produce
the great Gothic cathedral of the middle
ageS-were made, not 10y any known drchi-
rect, not even by any number of architects
h,
do not know the name of an architect or
builder connected with those great master
pieces Each was made by a number of
men. architects and builders, each of whom
felt amply rewarded by the mere fact that
lie Was able to put all the best that there
was in him into his WORK. He did not care
to have his name known he did, not desire
10 b." ImmortalZed in connection with the
work; he cared only TO make the work it
self the best that 1t could possibly be made.
There never was army that amounted
10 anything in campaign or in battle unless
the average soldier had in him the spirit
which made him regard the winning Of the
campaign. the winning of the battle as in
itself the end, and his services If good
CROUCH as in itself the reward He might
WISH other rewards If they happened TO
come; but If they did not, well and good
The doing the duty is OF itself a sufficient
reward for any man.
Two Ways of Doing Work. l.
SO il has to be If the work of the gov
eminent is TO be really well doEe AS
Ruskin has said, there are two ways of
doing work; to work for the fee for The
payment. and to work for the work S own
sake The work done simply to get money
for having done II. will never. under any
circumstances, rank with the work done by
the man whose sense of self-respect whose
capacity for loyalty TO an ideal, makes him
dlseonteuted unless the work that is at
= On Al - 4 Ill III lit
and hand and brain can bring 10 it.
OF course. gentlemen, when you come to
make Your recomme tons y0u will have
To deal with broad principles for the con
duct Of the government business, bat those
broad principles must Ee supported by def
mite piauS ready to be given Immediate eff
teHt. l believe in broad principles, but l
DO not want them so broad that they will
NOS be any given case. In.want general
scheme, but also way to make that gem
eral scheme effective in each department,
each bureau, each section and subdivision
touched by your comnittee. ! do not want
you Ia any case to recommend q change
simply for the sake OF making a change,
nothing could be more foolish. But never
hesitate for moment in baSng your rec
concentrations upon the conditions actually
found and the best way 10 meet them, no
matter how radical may be the departure
from eSta bished methods required AS /
have said before, remember that in the
vastly larger number of cases the essential
need will not be for new legislation; but
Tor better organization ana improved meth
uds under existing law. Now and then you
will lind where there must be a change in
law. but the essential thing Will be 10
change methods so that we can better ad-
minister the existing law.
There Is. however. one fundamental
weakness in the government service which
cannot he remedied without additional legis-
lItion. That weakness lies in the faulty
distribution Of work among the different de-
Iartmynts. II il one Of the most serious of
all the obstacles to good executive work. to
effective work and to economy in the public
service. No matter how well bureau or
division may be organized and directed.
You cannot get the best work out OF It un-
less it IS associated with and cooperating
with the other bureaus and divisions which
are engaged In Cognate lines of work. and
with which 1t naturally belongs. Good team
work Is as much needed in the executive
civil service as it possibly be anywhere
else. And IL IS the only way TO prevent du-
pltcatlon OF work. Your own work is
most important. but 1t covers only half of
the field. To put the departments on the
best and most economical working basis
the President, as | have already RECON-
meuded. should be given power To transfer
any part OF the work of a department to
another department. as was done in the
case OF the Department of Commerce and
Labor.