The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-17

Besun-Waste In Single Item of Dis trihutins Public Documents Amounts
 4o $25o.ooo Annually - Saving Tn
 Order to Spend More Wisely.
 Following are the recommendations of the president in relation to the re- port made to him by the commission on economy and efficiency:
 TO the Senate and House of Repre-
 scntatives:
 congress this report of progress made in the inquiry into the efficiency and economy of the methods of transact ing public business.
 Efficiency and economy in the gov ernmcDt serEiee have been demanded with increasing insistence for a gen erution. Real economy is the result of efficient organization. By perfecting the organization the same benefits may be obtained at less expense. A reduc- don in the total of the annual appro- priations is not in itself a proof of economy. since it is often accompanied by decrease in emciency. The needs of the nation may demand a large in crease of expenditure. yet to keep the
  pected FeTentle is necessary to the niaintenance of public credit
 Upon the president must rest large share of the responsibility for the de ma nds made upon the treasury for the current administration of the execu- i've branch of the government Upon the congress must rest responsibility for these grants of public funds which j7<, @,.,. ,xstx.,,-
 se Rsason Fer the Inquiry.
 Recognizing my share of responsibil- Sty for efficient and economical admin astrat5on. have endeavored during the past two years. with the assistance of heads of. departments to secure the best results. As one of the means to this end requested grant from con KresS to make my efforts more efrec- &ive.s #
 An appropriation of $1Oooo0 was made June g. 1910. ito enable the president to inquire into the methods of transacting the public business of the executive departments and other government establish tments and to rec ommend to congress such legislation as may be necessary to carry into ef- feet changes found to be desirable that cannot be accomplished by executive action alone" I have been given this 4undsto enable me to take action and to make specifc recommendation with respect to the details of transacting the business of an organization whose activities are almost as varied as those of the entire business world. The op- eratiGns of the government affect the interest of every person living within Inc, Sarr4 ~R he Its organization embraces stations and centers of work located in every city and in many local subdivisions of the country. It's gross expenditures amount 10 nearly $1.OO0.OO0 900 annually. In cluding the ..ersonnel of the military and naval establishments. more than 100000 persons are required to do the work impoAed by jaw upon the execu- five branch of the government
 ts.4 Maanitudec of the Task.
 This vast organization has never been studied in detail as one piece of administrative mechanism. Never have the foundations been laid for a thorough consideration of the relations of all of its parts. No comprehensive affort has been made to list it's multi 1arious activities or to group them in suclisz way as to present clear pie turee of what the government Is doing. Never has a complete description been given of the agencies through which these. activities are performed At no efnae has the attempt been made to study all of these activities and agen- cIes with a view to the assignment of ench activity to the agency best fitted for It's performance. to the avoidance --n Fsr.... <he .integratton Of all administrative agencies of the government so far as may be practicable, into a unified or ganizafi0n for the most effective and economical dispatch of public busi- ness.
 First Complete Investigation.
 Notwithstanding that voIuminous re ports are compiled, annually and pre- sented5 to the congress. no satisfactory Btatsment has ever been published of the financial transactions of the gov ernment as a whole. Provision is made for due accounta bility for all moneys coming into the hands of of Beers of the government. whether as collectors of revenue or disbursing agents. and for insuring that authori- gations for expenditures as made by < ld W Sualt uOI De GACGeQeQ. put no general system has ever been devised tor reporting and presenting informa- don regarding the character of the expenditures made in such way as ko reveal the actual costs entailed in the operation of individual services and n the performance of particular un- Aertakings ner in such a way as to uI4ke pvsislDIe the e--~-cAse gent judgment recardinE the discretit displayed in making expenditure aL concerning the value of the results tained when contrasted with the sacI aces required.
 am convinced that results whit are really worth while cannot be 5. cured. or at least can be secured onI ln small part. through the prosecutio at irregular intervals of special in quiries bearing on particular service: or features of administration. The