Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-01-18

terror. postoffice and commerce and Ia
Dor.
AS yet little II any attempt has been
made by law to secure. either for the
higher administrative positions in the
service ut Washington or for local Of
hces, the qualifications which the in
cumbents Of these positions must have
II the business Of the government IL
to De conducted IN the most efficient
ana economical manner Furthermore,
IN the case Of many Of the local of.
ficers the law positively provides that
the term Of Office shall be Of four
years duration
Extension Of Merit System.
The next step which must be taken
Is to require Of heads of bureaus in
the departments at Washington and
OF most Of the local officers under the
departments qualifications Of capacity
similar to those now required Of Ger.
tain heads of bureaus and Of local of.
ficers. The extension of the merit sys-
| tenn to these officers and a needed re-
adjustment of salaries will have i'm
portant effects in securing greater
economy and efficiency.
In the first place, the possession by
! the incumbents Of these positions Of
the requisite qualifications must In it
self promote efficiency.
In the second place. the removal Of
local officers from the realm OF po-
litical patronage in many cases would
reduce the payroll of the field serv-
ices. At the present time the incum-
bents of many OF these positions leave
the actual performance of many Of
their duties TO deputies and assistant
The government often pays two per
sons for doing work that could easily
he done by one. What Is the loss to
the government cannot be stated. hut
that II is very large cannot be denied
when 1t IL remembered how numerous
are the local officers in the postal. Gus
toms, internal revenue, public lands
aud other field services Of the govern.
ment.
In the third place. so long as local
officers are within the sphere Of po-
liticRl patronage it IL diff1cult to con-
slider the question Of the establish
ment or discontInuance Of local Offices
apart from the effect upon local DO
litical situations.
Finally the view that these various
Offices are to be filled a. a result of
political considerations has for it's CON
sequence thc necessity that the presi-
dent and members Of congress devote
to matters OF patronage time which
they should devote to questions Of pol
Icy and administration.
Dangers Of Fixed Term System.
! The greatest economy and efficiency
and the benefits which may accrue
from the presidents devoting his time
to the work which IL most worth while
may be assured only by treating all
the distinctly administrative officers in
the departments at Washington and in
the field in the same way rs inferior
officers have been treated The time
mas come when all these officers should
be placed in the classified service. The
time has also come when those pro
visions of law which give to these Off
GERS a fixed term Of years should be re-
pealed. SO long az Il fixed term Is pro
vided by law the question Of reappoint-
ment of an officer. no matter how etll-
GENTLY lie may have performed his du-
ties. will inevitably be raised period.
ically. So long as appointments to
these offices must be confirmed by the
senate and so long as appointments to
them must be made every four years
Just SO long will it be impossible to
provide a force Of employees with a
reasonably permanent tenure who are
qualified by reason of education and
training to do the best work.
Superannuation.
l shall submit in the near future for
the consideration of the congress a
plan for the retirement Of aged EN-
ployees in the civil service which will
safeguard the interests OF the govern
ment and at the same time make rea =
sonable provision for the needs OF
those who have given the best part Of
their lives to the service Of the state.
In every case where technical proc
esses have been studied 1t has been
demonstrated beyond question that
large economies may be effected The
subjects first approached were those
which lie close to each administrator
viz office practices An illustration Of
the possibilities within this field may
be found In the results OF the inquiry
into the methods of handling and filing
correspondence. Every office IN the
government has reported its methods
to the commission. These reports
brought to light the fact that present
methods were quite the reverse Of uni
form. Some offices follow the practice
of briehng all correspondence: some do
not. Some have fat files; others fold
oil papers before 1lling. Some use press
copies; others retain only carbon cop.
les.
Cost Of Handling and Filing Core.
spondenes.
The reports also show not only a
very wide range in the methods of
doing this comparatively simple part
Of the government business, but an ex.
traordinary range In cost. For the
handling Of incoming mail the aver
ages of cost by departments vary from
1854 to $S4.40 per 1000. For the han
ding of outgoing mail the averages by
departments vary from $5,94 TO SEQ. 50
per 1000 This does not include the
cost Of preparation. but Is confined
: merely to the physical side of the