Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-06-21
EXPERTS SHOWING
Why's 10 REDUCE
Mileage Books Would Save
Part of SI2,O00,0 900 An.
nual Outlay
%OR nearly year a commission
headed by Frederick A. Cleve-

U8V neduGu ny IeutElCh a. SlSNc-
III land. an economy expert. has
been at work. under the direc-
ton of President Taft aud his secre.
tary, investigating the system under
which the United States government
spends $1.O00.OOO.O0O a year.
The experts have reached their first
conclusions-so can be saved
If it is only l per cent of the whole 1t
means $10OOO.0O0 a year-a tidy sum,
even in the present day of big figures.
If 10 per cent can be saved it means
an annual return to the pockets of the
American people of 81 for every man,
woman and child in the United States.
The experts now finishing their fiscal
year and entering upon the most i'm
portant stage Of their work have gone
at the problem with the idea of inter
fering with no phase Of the govern
ment's work. but of seeing that that
work is performed with the greatest
economy of men and money and that
the government gets 100 cents worth
of work for every dollar spent.
AS pleasant little curtain raiser for
the big show that is to come later they
have pOked their finger into Uncle
Sans travelling expense account and
have declared that it is too big. Chair
man Cleveland of the economy COM
mission pointed it out to Mr.. Norton,
tary Norton explained it to President
Taft, and President Taft took the
country into his confidence.
Think of spending $12OOO.0O0 a year
simply for travelling expenses-enough
to give every one Of Uncle Sans 5OO.-
900 employees first class trip from
New York to Chicago, with Pullman
fare thrown in and something left to
tip the porter; enough to give the pop
ulation Of a good sized city a trip
around the worlds
1t was as much surprise to the
president and his advisers to see this
bill for travel as 1T may have been to
the public. Appropriations have grown
SO rapidly in the government depart
ments and they are distributed among
such variety Of subjects that no def
mite idea OF the amount spent in any
one class of service has been possible
until Mr.. Cleveland and his experts
had reduced the whole fabric OF ex-
penditures to a scientific basis.
Travel Never Summarized.
Never before was it known how
much the government expended or ex-
pected to spend in travel expenses in
any one year." said Mr.. Norton recent
fy. Travel expenses are buried away
In miscellaneous and contingent ex-
pense accounts. where they cannot be
reached and cannot be analysed. The
very fact that so much as So, 900. 900
goes into travelling expenses arouses
curiosity, and. although the inquiry
has hardly begun, it has already been
discovered that in many well run bu-
reaus the government gets the benefits
Of the lowest mileage rate. while I'm
one Of the greatest departments a sys-
tenn Of transportation orders results in
that department paying 10 per cent
more for a trip from Washington to
New York and return than an individ-
ual would have to pay"
Here is the key to the whole situa-
ton The waste Of money, IL there
has been any in the matter of travel
ing expenses to carry on the govern
ment business. has been a waste due
to the completely of systems followed
In the different departments rather
than to the padding of expense &C.
counts by government employees
Did Yeu ever Try to pad an expense