The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-01-09
WAVE Of ECONOMY
HITS UNCLE SAM
Departmental Heads Have
Trimmed Expenses with
Pleasing Results.
USE MODERN METHODS
OF Business in Conducting
Affairs of Government
for First Time.
USE MODERN METHODS
~ JONATHAN WINFIELD

Washington. Jan. 9.-The wave of
economy which spread over the fed.
eral administration shortly after the
announcement by Senator Nelson A.
Aldrich, of Rhode Island. that the
Government could be maintained for
some $780, 900 less than 1t now
costs. has 1t seems. been productive
of good results. The departmental
heads have one and all turned In and
thoroughly prunod their departments.
They have for the first time In the
history OF departmental shake-ups In
Washington, made a determined effort
10 apply modern. business rules TO the
conduction of their affairs. The re
suit has been the saving OF millions
OF dollars annually.
Secretary MacVeagh Of the treasury
department, has perhaps made the
most startling changes, not alone in
the machinery Of his department but
In the treasury building itself. The
effort To emulate the present day bus
mess man has been carried SO far that
even the outside Of the old building
through its alterations, takes on the
tone of "a modern office building.
improvements Made
Four new elevators have been in
stalled for the accommodation OF the
hundreds OF clerks employed in the
department and the entrance is affect
ed through doors. built where the his
toric old stone steps led up to the
east portal of the treasury. Cloak
rooms have been erected, a freight en-
trance has been made and a private
elevator and entranc for the use OF
the secretary installed, so that the old
building has gradually assumed tho
appearance Of real office building.
Economies that the secretary has
made during the past few months
have aggregated about, $52S. 900. or
this amount $4,000 was saved in in.
stalling automatic scales. in place OF
the old hand weighing devices. BY
doing away with the issue division
$16S, 900 a year will be saved In the
payment OF salaries, and the general
combination and reduction Of the
work.
The express companies. which for
mcrly carried nil monies from various
points In the United States to Wash
ington for redemption. have been esp
arated from job which has saved
$4,000 yearly to Uncle Sam. BY Is
reduction OF the size of internal reve'
nue. stamps. the Treasury department
has affected savings of approXima.
tely $4,000. and II Congress during
hn wi n
n plan suggested by Mr. Mac Vcagh,
over million dollars will be saved an.
nually by reducing the size of paper
currency.
An idea OF the methods In vogue be-
fore the Mac Veagh regime is given
by the recent adjustment of depart
mental finances by expert account.
ants. Several months ago. four eD
pert accountants were employed by
the treasury for the purpose of YER
flying the special funds of the depart.
ment. going over the books and thor
oughly investigating the accounts of
the department. After weeks of in.
yestigation their labors were about
complete and they submitted their re.
port. only To find that the keen eye of
the secretary had discovered that the
redemption fund was strangely miss.
ing. Nowhere could the experts find
the missing fund. They searched ev-
cry nook and Granny of the big mon
cy repository and spent days in por-
ing over the books. Ii was finally
found by n 500 a month bookkeeper
tucked correctly away on the proper
page Of the redemption bookkeeping
set of books. For this expert work
the government paid $50 per day to
each of the four accountants.
10 An Exaggeration.
While Mr.. Mac Veagh is one Of the
most prominent economists of the
Taft administration he Is making II
plain to his friends that he views
Senator Aldirchs assertion that $780,.
100000 yearly can be saved in the
running expenses OF the government.
as an exaggeration. According to him
the installation of modern methods,
machine labor instead of hand labor