Evening star., 1909-08-27
MAY MEET EACH DAY
Suggested to Commissioners
by Special Committee.
WEST HEARTILY APPROVES
'Tis Time District Business Was
Businesslike.
RED TAPE Is THE TROUBLE
Says Letters Can Just as Well Be
Answered by Subordinate
Officials.
WEST HEARTILY APPROVES
LED TAPE IS THE TROUBLE

w Illi d NfSN " 6ltdttl oiio
efficiency. radical changes in the methods
OF handling the correspondence and rec
ords of the District government have bt en-
recommended to The Commissioners by
special committee. which has been con
sidering the matter for several months.
The definite recommendation for daily
board session of .he Commissioners, AT
which not only the correspondence will.
be talked over. but also other business
requiring board action transacted. is the
big feature Of the report which has been
made by the committee.
1T is believed that I'm this one matter
the results which will be obtained says
the report, considering the daily board
session, "wcuid be such an Improvement
In the administration of District affairs
that nSt only will the correspondence OF
the Commissioners be orom-tly attended
70 daily. but also there would be the pos
sibility Of joint action of the Commission
erS In board session on .he execution of
contracts, and the direction and dispatch
OF public business, which requires their
united presence"
This feature of the general plan for
handling correspondence was urged upon
the committee by District Auditor Twee-
dale. He is closely connected with the
business affairs OF the District govern
ment, and he believes this clan will mean
much In the way Of Improvement in the
business administration.
The committee in it's report says:
Recommends New York Method.
Inquiries were made regarding the
methods in use in the governmental de-
partnents in Washington; also the method
In New York city. 1t is found that prac-
tically all of the departments, as well as
the city of New York show a tendency to
decentralize as much as possible in the
handling of correspondence. Thus In the
city OF New York, communication re-
ceived by the mayor. relating TO some SUBJ
3ect connected with the health depart
ment. for example, would simply be ac-
knowledged by the mayor, with the state
ment that the inquiry had been forwarded
to the health department., which would re-
ply direct. 1t Is the opinion of your COM
mittee that the business Of the District of
Columbia has. reached such point that
the method In use in New York should
now be adopted here. and that it will be
more necessary to adopt some such method
as the business of the District increases
THE committee. therefore. recommends
that In general the following procedure
be adopted hereafter for the handling Of
District correspondence.
communications on Official business re-
ceived by the Commissioners or the Sec
retary. to be forwarded to the secretary
and acknowledged by him. with a state
ment that they have been referred to the
head of a department or office. and will be
replied to direct by such head. This
would apply to all official communications
except such as. under the law or reguia-
tions OF the Commissioners. require action
by the board of Commissioners, and TO
such communications as are by custom
now signed by the president Of the beard
of Commissioners and also, to appeals
from the action of the head of some de-
partment or Office. all of which should be
handled as at present The department or
office receiving the communication from
the secretary of the board as wei as
communications received by him direct
would brief and record same, write and
send a reply thereto and keep record
Of his action. Only papers which require
the action Of the board of Commissioners
would be recorded and replied to in the
office of the secretary of the board.
No Special Law Is Needed.
Such an arrangement would require
no special legislation nor additional
office force: it would relieve the Com
n1issioners of a great mass of routine
communications which at present pass
through their hands, and would get rid
of much of the delay caused by the
present system. This method will place
little more authority upon the heads
Vi dUu OFFICES. DUl tTclT
action will still be controlled by the
Commissioners through regulation and
established precedent. and through the
appeals taken to the Commissioners
against their decisions.
1t is recognized by the committee
that the method outlined above may pc
open to objection from the fact that
matters contained In correspondence
addressed to the Commissioners would
pass through the office without their
personal knowledge. At the risk of go-
ing beyond the scope of the duties i'm
posed upon this committee, it desires
to suggest that the only remedy for
the above defect in the system recon-
mended that will accomplish the ex-
peditious handling of correspondence is
for the Commissioners to appoint an
hour each morning to sit in board ses-
sion and receive and authorize the
disposition Of the mail. as we'll as to
authorize such other business as may
come before the board.
1T is believed that in this one matter the
results which will be obtained would be
such an Improvement in the administra-
ton OF District affairs that not only will
the correspondence of the Commissioners
be promptly attended to daily. but. also.
there would be the possibility of joint ac-
ton of the Commissioners In board session
in the execution of contracts, and the
direction and dispatch of public business
which requires their united presence.
For Keeping Old Records.
For the records of the District. which
are no longer current, the committee rec
ommends that Congress be asked to ap-
propriate for one clerk at salary of
81. 400, who shall have charge of all these
ancient records, and whose duty shall be
to keep proper file of these records and
produce them for the use of any party
VINO is entitled to access 10 them. He
shall take over from the heads of the
various departments, at stated times dur
ing each year. the records OF those depart
ments, which are to be kept permanently.
and add them TO his files. There appears
TO be no room available for these records
other than the room at present used in
the sub-basenlent.
The committee has not gone into the
question of what records should be re-
tanned and what should be destroyed,
but il believes that there are now many
| records being retained which are of no
practical value and that If all such
were destroyed the room in the SUBJ
| basement would probably meet the
present needs.
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