The commonwealth. (Greenwood, Miss.) 1896-1923, 1912-01-19

ernment trading, but also In i~nsuring "a
the service materials, supplies and eg,,n-
ment which are better adapted 10 h.
purposes. One of the results Of fndean-
iteness OF specifications Is to impose cor.
tract conditions which make II extra Ia
zardous for persons to enter into con-
tractual relations. This not only depriye.
the government Of the advantage az
broad competition, but causes It 70 nav
an added margin in price to vendors who
must carry the risk.
Excessive Cost Of Travel.
One of the first steps taken toward
constructive work was the reclassiaca-
ton OF the expenditures for the year ig10
by objects. The foundation wa thus
made for the investigation Of government
trading practices. While 1t was recog-
nized that this large field could not be
covered within a year except at enormous
cost, the subjects Of Transportation OF
persons" and Subsistence while IN travel
status" were taken as concrete examples,
The annual cost of travel to the govern
ment was found to be about s12,O OO, 900. III
was also found that the government en-
ployees were travelling in practically sy-
cry way that was open 10 the public; III
was further found that although the gov
eminent was the largest user OF trans
portation, II was buying railroad tickets
on a less favorable basis than would bs
possible II the subject of travelling ex-
penditures were systematically handled!
from the point of view OF the government
as a whole. Til form Of ticket most Oft
en- used between such points az New
York, Philadelphia and Washington was
the single-trip. first-ciass ticket. In two
departments definite tests have been
made in the use OF mileage books and In
each practically the same result has been
reported, viz. an average saving Of a
little over one-half Of one cent per mile.
Better Methods for Purchasing.
Through a long period Of years and By
numerous laws and orders there has
grown up q procedure governing public
advertising and contracting that Ia more
burdensome and expensive in some cases
than is necessary. TIN procedure is not
uniform in the various departments; II Is
not uniform in many cases for the DIFF
ferent services In the same department.
To make uniform the requirements 80 far
as practicable will be in tho interest Of
economy n efficiency and bring about
that simplicity that will secure the larg-
est opportunity for contractors to bid for
government work, and will secure for the
government the most favorable prices OBJ
tained by any purchaser.
The Budget.
The United States Is the only great ma
ton whose government Is operated with
a budget. This fact seems to be more
striking when 1t Is considered that bud
gets and budget procedures are the out
growth Of democratic doctrines and have
had an important part in the development
of modern constitutional rights. The
American commonwealth has suffered
much from responsibility on the part of
its governing agencies. The constitution
al purpose Of a budget is to mak gov
eminent responsive to public opinion and
responsible for its acts.
The Budget as an Annual Program.
A budget should be the means for get
ting before the legislative branch, before
the press, and before the people a definite
annual program of business to be finan-.
ced; 1t should be In the nature of a pros
pectus both of revenues and expendi-
lures; 1t should comprehend every rela-
ton of the government to the people,
with reference to the raising Of
or the rendering of service.
In many foreign countries the annuai
budget program Is discussed with special
to the revenue to be raised, tho
thought being hat the raising Of revenue
bears more direct relation to welfare than
does government expenditure. Around
questions of source Of revenue political
parties have been organized, and on such
questions voters in the United States
taken sides since the first revenue
law was proposed.
Public-W elfare Questions.
The principal government objects in
which the people of the United Stater
are interested include:
The national defense; the protection Of
persons n property; the promotion Of
friendly relations and the protection OF
American interests abroad: the regulation
OF commerce and industry; the promotion
of agriculture, fisheries, forestry and min
ing; the promotion of manufacturing,
commerce, and banking; the promotion Of
transportation and communication; the
postal service. including postal savings
and parcels post; the care for and utili-
cation OF the public domain: the promo
ton of education, art, science and Tecre-
alton; the promotion Of the public health;
the care and education Of the Indians
and other wards Of the nation.
These are public-welfare questions In
which I assume every citizen has a vital
interest. / believe that every member Of
as an official representative of
the people, each editor, as a non-official
representative OF public opinion, each
citizen, as q beneficiary OF the trust i'm
posed on officers of the government.
should be able readily to ascertain how
much has been spent for each Of these
purposes; how much has been approrri-
ated for the current year; how much tho
administration Ia asking for ZACH of these
for the next fiscal year.
Furthermore, each person interested
should have laid before him q clear, we'll
digested statement showing In detail
whether moneys appropriated have been
economically spent and whether each d.
vision or office has been efficiently run
This is the information which should be
available each year in the form of q
budget and in detail account and reports
supporting the budget.
Continuance Of the Commission,
1 ask the continuance of this commits
sion on economy and efficiency because
OF the excellent beginning which has been
made toward the reorganization Of the
machinery of this government on bust
ness principles. l ask it because Its work
Is entirely non-partisan In character and
ought to apply to every citizen who
wishes to give effectiveness to popular
government, in which we feel a Just pride,
The work further commends itself for
the reason that the cost of organization
and work has been carefully considered
at every point. Three months we're taken
in consideration of plans before the IN
quiry was begun; six months were then
spent in preliminary Investigations before
the commission was organized: before
Nc ts4h o TNTt -yln- Z aslrnI to- - .Ap-
tinuation Of the original appropriation
for the current year. only $4,000 had been
spent.
The expenditure for the inquiry during
the present fiscal year Is at the rate Of
$500 0.' The mass Of information which
must be collected, dlgested and surnnar-
lied pertaining to each subject of inquiry
is enormous. From the results OBJ
tanned 1t Is evident that every dollar
which Is spent in the prosecution of the
inquiry In the future will result in mani
falA to1yIp-u G1pnr,T nnnVnua ruhinh haq