The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-04-04
REFORM WITHOUT COST.

In these days of hornblowing, when
nothing is done without extravagant
cost, and when the exaltation of some
" reformer' seems essential to the cam
paign of publication, it is refreshing
to see an instance Of oldfasbioned,
sturdy work done without noise and
without frenzied call for more lcgis-
lation and more money to carry on
the campaign.
Such case of quiet, effective reform
was brought TO public attention recent
ly by Wesley o. Howard, Justice of the
Supreme Court of New York State for
the Third (the Albany District. He
dwelt upon the panicky call in Wash
ington for moro legislation to enable
reforms to be Instituted, and the in
sistert cry for more money TO pay the
cost of the reformatory process, and
then spoke these words of admiration
for the tootless reforms being quietly
wrought by Judge Gaynor as Mayor
of Greater New York:
The way to clean house IS the way
Gaynor is doing IL. His way doesn't cost
a cent He is cleaning house with the
laws which he has; they do not assist
him much nor hinder him any-he would
do it If he had no laws at all. He saws
wood. He will clean UP New York be-
fore he gets through with 1t, and clean
IL up well, at saving Of hundreds of
thousands OF dollars 10 the taxpayers.
Without any $4,000 commissions TO
smIrch some other PERSONS reputation
and embellish his own, this strong. silent.
modest man goes about his work. with
out ostentation or parade. not proclaim
irEp n self a IN not
compishinS more reform than all the
self confessed reformers put together
The beauty of the Gaynor method is
that it actually reforms; useless en-
ployees, boards, and sinecures are done
away with as soon as reached, and
neither present nor expected law is IN
voked. 1t is straight business; the
services are not required, the useless
official is dismissed, and that is all
there is about it; money is saved at
once; less and not more, money is
wanted.
But not so III Washington, and not
so generally. The rule is that money
must be spent lavishly, and there must
be a sensational uprcar where some
one is enabled to pose as the hero of
the affair. or there is nothing doing.
Senator Aldrich openly stated not long
ago that three hundred million dollars
Of the public money could be saved
every year by business.like, up-to.date
methods. But nobody goes to work to
do it. The statement stands unchal-
lenged; indeed. there is general ac-
quiescence in its correctness and prac-
teal force. Yet not move is made
to stop the enormous waste, There is
cradle cost, TO supervise the , ex-
penditures in the various departments
Of the Government. 1t has been In
existence for quite number of years;
but it supervises nothing, recommends
no plan for shutting off the tremendous
waste of public money On the con
trarY, it does its share to add to
that waste. The great trouble is that
Congressman stand at the back of ap.
polntees in useless swarms, and refuse
to allow these to be ousted the dupli-
cation and triplication of bureaus di-
visions, and classes of clerks, all to do
the same work, passing it from ono
lot of manipulators to another and
needlessly duplicating and duplicating
entries, serve to give nominal employ.
ment TO these needless employees. And
no matter what spasms of reform come
and go. "the SYSTEM remains intact,
the useless swarms remain, the cost of
government is added to fifty per cent,
and when all is done, the most ordinary
inquiry, as the cost of Carrying second
class mail matter, cannot be officially
answered. This system is antiquated,
cumbersome, Inefficient, and wasteful;
1t needs to be supplanted by expert
modern methods. But Congress re-
fuses to consent. and through this re.