The Glenwood post., 1912-01-20

Au0 u0H100tU u 0Qux8VD0 00vOGD . 11MSe
ters Of patronage dns which thsy sAouiA
devote to Qusstioas Of psuoy aAA aAnen-l
istfat3on-
Business Methods.
In every case whsrs tschnical pre-
csases have bssn studied It has bssn ASn-
oastratsd beyond question that large soo-
nonaies may b. snsetsd The sub3s:ts
close to sash administrator, WIS.,. 0fose
pr9cticss. An illustration Of the Dossi-
bilides within this field may Be found I'M
the results Of the inquiry into the moth
ods of handing and ding correspondence.
Every office IN the government has re-
These reports brought to light the fAsS
that present methods wsrs quite tn de
rsvsrss Of uniform. Some offices follow
the practice Of brisdns all oosrsspon-
dencs; some do net Some have nat
flles; othass fold All papers bsfors nlinS.
Some use press copies: othsFs rstain only
carbon copies.
Need for Cavor-Savlnu once Devices.
The uss ef labor-saving office devices in
the service has bssn made the subject Of
special inquiry. An impression prevails
that the government u not making use
labor to the same extent ~ are efficiently
managed private sntsrprises. A study
has been made Of the extent to which
devices Of this character are now being
employed in the several branches Of the
government and the opportunities that
exist for their moro general use.
The efforts of the commission resulted
also in the adoption by several bureaus or
departments Of improved methods Of do
ing copying. The amount Of copy work
heretofore done by hand each year in the
many offices 10 estimated to aggregate
several hundred thousand dollars. The
commission exhibited, at its offices, ap-
pliances that were thought to be especial
ly adapted to this kind of government
work. Following these demonstrations
methods of copying were introduced
which have brought about a saving Of
over 7b per cent. in offices where used
for six months. This change in one small
cross-section of office practice will more
than offset the whole cost of by inquiry.
Waste In the Distribution Of Public
Documents.
Going outside the office, ono of the
business processes which have been in
vestigated IL the distribution of depart
ment documents. This is a subject with
which both the congress and admins
tration heads are familiar. The prevail
ing practice in handling departmental
publications is to have them manufao-
tured at the government printing office:
each job when completed.is delivered to
the department: here the books or PAM
phlets are wrapped and addressed; then
are then sent to the postofflce; there they
are assorted and prepared for shipment
through the mails; from the postofice
they are sent to the railroad station,
which is only a few steps from the gov
ernment printing office. when they
started. The results of this laborious and
circuitous method is to make the use of
the best mechanical equipment impractic-
able and to waste each year not less than
quarter of million dollars of govern
ment funds in useless handling, to say
n n Ind tnrs d,,A fN 1on ~
of proper coordination.
The use of equipment is a matter which
also has been Investigated. Up to the
present time this investigation has been
in the main confined to the subject Of
electric lighting.
Lack Of Specifications.
The Importance of establishing and
maintaining standard specifications 10
found not only in the possibility of very
materially reducing the direct cost of gov
ernment trading. but also in insurtng to
the service materials, supplies and equip
ment which are better adapted to its
purposes. One of the results of indefin-
iteness of specifications iE to impose con-
tract conditions which make It extra ha-
zardous for persons to enter into con-
tractual relations. This not only deprives
the government of the advantage of
broad competition. but causes 1t to pay
an added margin in price to vendors who
must carry the risk.
The Budget.
The United States ia the only great ma
ton whose government is operated with
out 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 10 to make gov
ernment responsive to public opinion and
responsible for its acts.
The Budget as an Annual Program.
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 fnan-
ced; 1t should be in the nature Of q pros
pectus both of revenues and expendi-
lures; it should comprehend every rela-
ton OF the government to the people,
whether with reference to tho raising of
revenues or the rendering Of service.
The principal government objects in
which the people of tho United States
are interested include:
The national defense; the protection Of
persons and 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
tion of education. art, science and recre-
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 1 assume every citizen has vital
interest. I believe that every member of
congress. as an official representative of
the people. each editor. as non-official
representative of public opinion, each
citizen. as 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
purpo ses: how much has been appropri-
ated for the current year: how much the
administration Is asking for each of these
purposes for the next fiscal year