Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1908-02-11
Principal Assistants Also to Be Per.
manent Appointments.
SUPERVISION TO BE BY DIVISIONS
Report Favors Branch Departments
to Handle Routine.
ACCOUNTS ARE TO BE s1MP1HIED
Detailed Reports From Small Omces
Are 90 BE DiscOntinued and
Useless Machinery
illuminated.

WARRINGTON, Feb I0.-Congress to-
day received a preliminary report from
the joint commission appointed during the
last congress to investigate the business
methods OF the Postoffice department and
postal service and submit recommendations
for legislation to effect changes in their
administration. The commission, consisting
OF Senators Penrose, Carter and Clay and
Representatives overstreet. Gardner CNew
Jersey, and Moon, points out many OBJ
jectionable features to the business meth
DDS Of both departments.
Chief among the recommendation Is a
plan to place the actual direction Of the
business of the Postoffice department and
service in the hands of an officer, with
necessary assistants to be appointed by
the president, ''by and with the advice
and consent of the senate for long terms
so as TO insure the continuity OF efficient
service. Under this plan the postmaster
general, as a member of the cabinet, is
chargeable with general supervisory con
troll and the determination of questions of
policy.
Simpler Business Methods.
The commission also recommends that
the business of the department be de-
centralized so as to avoid the congestion
at the national capital, which impairs the
efficiency and increases the cost of the
service; that the bookkeeping, auditing and
accounting be simplified unified and CEN
tralized to secure greater accuracy, more
prompt methods and elimination Of dupli-
cation of work and that the practice oS
requiring needless detailed reports from
small postoffices be discontinued Tho
moderate application of the non-account-
ing system to small offices will eliminate
about 10000, or nearly one-half, of all
the postoffice accounts from the present
complex report and bookkeeping system,
or would at least greatly simplify the same
The commission says;
II appears too obvious to require argu-
ment that the most efficient service can
never be expected as long as the direction
of the buSiness is, as at present, entrusted
to q postmaster general and certain assist
ants selected without special reference to
experience and qualifications and subject
to frequent change. Under such conditions
a largo commercial or Industrial business
would inevitably so into bankruptcy, and
the PostoffiCe department has averted that
fate only because the United States treas
ury has been available to meet deflcien-
cies
systema of Administration.
Submitted with the report of the COM
mission is a report Of considerable value
from two New York accounting firms who
were assigned to the investigation of the
department by the commission last May.
This report goes at length into the abo-
iltlon OF bureauss the organization of ad-
mlnistrative divisions. the merging of
money-order and postal accounts, use of
labor-savlng devices, classification audit
ing and accounting, and all of the many
branches of the subject. IL contains an
elaborate synopsis of a plan for reorganl-
zatlon OF the divisions. 1t is pointed out
that these criticisms are directed at meth
ods and not at individuals.
The following is a summary of the more
important suggestions made in the COM
missions report:
That the offices of the first second
third and fourth postmaster general be
abolished and that a director OF posts be
appointed at salary sufficient to attract
the best administrative talent ia the
of the operations of the department and
service, subject only to the control of
matters OF policy of the postmaster general
as a cabinet officer; that assistant direc-
tors be appointed to take charge of the
main operating divisions of the service
(postoffices, transportation, appointments
finance. comptroller, inspection, purchas-
ing agent and supplies); that the comp
troller should be in charge of the whole
accounting and service department; that
the duties Of the auditor be limited to the
auditing OF all the accounts I'm the proper
sense OF the word; that all postoffces not
doing money order business be treated
as nonaccounting offices, and that fixed
supply OF stamps, etc be supplied to them
TO be replenlshed from neghboring ac-
counting offices In exchange for cash or
It's equivalent
District Omces.
That district offices be created at con
organized in miniature, on The same lines
organized in miniature, on the same lines
as the department In Washington, which
would supervise the whole OF the work
In their districts, under the direction OF
responsible officials; that the director of
posts and the assistant directors form an
advisory board to meet several times
week and discuss important questions as
hey may arise, and that similar ad-
gisory board be created at each district
office; that the postmasters accounts for
postal and money order transactions, shall
be kept separately and be merged and
that promotions be based on merit and
that scheme be made for retiring many
OF the older employees; that the liability
for exceeding appropriations be strictly
counting system be Installed; that the
cost OF the several services rendered by
the Postoffice department and posta. SER
vice should be asoertained in accordance
with methods herein suggested, either by
periodical tests or continuouslyi that the
use OF labor saving machines and devices
be largely extended, particularly the adop-
tion OF more practical systems OF audit
the postal notes not to exceed $40 and
elimination OF all money order offices
not issuing 500 money orders per annum.
This report classes the cost, accounting
and auditing system OF the Postoffice d.
partment and service as extremely crude
and absolutely lacking in uniformity.
THE appointments of postmasters,
clerks in postoffices and many other
grades OF the service" says the report
"are still largely affected by political in
fluence."