The Washington herald., 1910-01-24

Union Building in his discretion for the
accommodation of any other Treasury
bureau or Office in lieu of the Office of the
Auditor for the Interior Department and
with that end in view requested that
Senate amendment No. 1O2 TO H, r. 1884
granting such authority, be agreed to in
conference. But this request also was
denied.
THE exigencies OF the situation made
IL compulsory TO obtain relief from con-
gested conditions in the Treasury Build
ing, and accordingly the pension divi-
sion of this office, comprising about
fifty employees, with it's great volume of
files, was removed in February. 1909.
Subsequently, IN compliance with your
directions. dated May r. 1909, the entire
Office of the Auditor for the Interior De-
partment. with all of its files stored in
the Treasury Building. was removed to
the Union Building.
Should BE In Close Proximity.
In his report for the fiscal year 1908,
the Secretary OF the Treasury (Cortelyoul
recommended the erection OF a separate
building for the accounting officers of the
Treasury. so that they all might be
housed together. While nothing was said
about the location Of such a building, II
is presumed that the Secretary had in
mind a location in close proximity to
the Treasury Building Otherwise Il is
incOnceivahle that he would have recon-
mended a separate building for auditors,
especially to make room within the
!
public service so artihcially connected
with the department as the Life saving
Service. the Public Health and Marine
Hospital Service, and the Office cf the
Supervising Architect
The accounting offices are inherently
a part Of the Treasury system. Their
elation 10 the division Of bookkeeping
and warrants is close and continuous
Their relations with the division OF pub
lie moneys and the Treasurer Of the
United States are scarcely less so. and
a separation OF the auditors from the
| Comptroller OF the Treasury by ineon-
venient distances impedes progress to-
ward and is destructive of that uniform
| ity Of accounting which II has been
! assiduously attempted to promote during
| the past few years
Awkward and Clumsy.
That it is not in the interest OF good
! or economic administration TO separate
| the accounting offices of the Treasury
/ from these various branches of the
Treasury Department by any distance
| which makes free intercourse between
| them inconvenient is not a debatable
/ subject. Indeed. it IS indispensable to
/ the public interest that all Of the integral
/ parts Of the fiscal system of the Treasury
| Department shall be located with view
! to maintaining their normal relations
with each other without serious Interrupt
| tons or inconvenience. No other branch
! OF the public service is so closely re-
| lated to and of necessity so continu-
ously in communication with so many
/ branches OF the Treasury Department as
| the accounting Offices. There probably
/ Is not an hour IN the day when # IS not
either convenient or necessary for an
auditor. a chief of division, or an &C
lcountant to visit either the division OF
/ bookkeeping and warrants the division
/ of public moneys. the Office of the Treas
urer OF the United States, OF the Comp
/ troller Of the Treasury, and vice versa
All these comments, however, we're
stricken out Of the report together with
| detailed illustrations showing how awk-
ward and clumsy il was for the Audi
tors Office 10 transact its business in its
new location, more than half mile from
the Treasury. He said:
Unsuited 20 the Work,
/ The purely administrative relations between the
bureau and the department suffer an interrlptioD
/ Incompatible with good administration.
/ Ia addition 70 these more serious objections Of
general nature that inseparable from the hoIs-
ing q any one Of the auditors in building far
removed from the Treasury Building-with the ex-
eti0u Of the Auditor for the Post-Once DEPARTMENT
whose relation TO the Treasury differs materially
fr0m that o. all Of the other auditors-there are
specific objections peculiar both 10 the building In
which this Office Is located and 20 It's immediate en-
/ Yirolmert-
/ Il Is not q freTToof building and. therefore is
not suitable for the storage Of files Of valuable "a.
/ pers and documents
! The building is not in other respects a s,IitabIe
/ Office building Two livery stables ara adjacent 10
X and make an offensive approach 10 the building
Offensive smells from these stables and ether en-
vironments equally obnoxious psrmeate the rooms
where clerks are employed, especially during the
} 2
short time the office has been in its present location
I have produced sickness among the employees. The
building is not suitable for the accommodation Of A
I high class clerical force Of gentee men and women
and the environment is depressing upon the ESPRIT
de corps Of the otoe and seriously affects the eff
| cheney Of many Of the employees.
All Stricken from Report.
! But none Of these statements was per
United to see the light
/ In the Auditors report as printed he
/ calls attention TO the effective Work
/ done by the Keep commission and the
/ Increased efficiency resulting therefrom:
shows that retrenchments in the office
/ have been effected amounting TO 100000.
compared with 1897; urges a further re-
/ adjustment by increasing the number of
clerks at $3.50 and $500, but not increas-
/ ing the gross appropriation. and strongly
emphasizes the need of better pay for &C
countants. The work of the Office is set
out in detail
Mt. Person retired on December. I last.
after a service Of several years which
won the hearty communication Of his SUI
Iperiors. Following his retirement. the en-
tire office force united in a testimonial 10
| him.
HUNGER TAMES WILD BIRDS