Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1912-01-25


tractuaI relations. This not only deprives
the government Of the advantage OF
| broad competition, but causes It 10 pay
/ 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 recIassifca-
ton Of the expenditures for the year 1910
/ by objects. The foundation was thus
made for the investigation Of government
/ trading practices. While il was recog-
[ nized that this large field could not be
/ covered within a year except at enormous
/ cost, the subjects Of ''Transportatio Of
/ persons and Subsistence while in traver
/ status were taken as concrete examples.
! The annual cost Of travel 10 the govern
| ment was found to be about 81, 000, coo Il
1 was also found that the government en-
/ plOyees were travelling in practically ev-
| cry way that was open to the public: II
/ was further found that although the gov
| eminent was the largest user of trans
/ portatiOn, il was buying railroad tickets
! on a less favorable basis than would be
/ possible If the subject of travelling ex-
/ penditures were systematically handled
/ from the point of view Of the government
! as a whole. The form of ticket most Oft
] en- used between such points as New
/ York, Philadelphia and Washington was
/ the singIe-trip, drst-cIass ticket. In two
/ made in the use of mileage boks and in
! each practically the same result has been
/ reported, viz, an average saving of a
little over One-half of one cent per mite.
Better Methods for Purchasing.
Through long period Of years and by
| numerous laws and orders there has
! grown up a procedure governing public
| advertising and contracting that is more
/ burdensome and expensive in some cases
| than is necessary The procedure is not
! uniform in the various departments; it Is
! not uniform in many cases for the diff
| ferent services in the same department
/ To make uniform the requirements so far
! as practicable viii be in the interest Of
/ economy and 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 Oh.
/ tanned by any purchaser.
The Budget.
| The United States is the only great na-
! 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 is to make 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; it Should be in the nature of pros
/ Of
lures; it should comprehend every reIa.
ton of the government to the people,
whether with reference to the raising of
| revenues or the sendering of service.
In many foreign countries the annual
budget program is discussed with special
reference to the revenue to be raised, the
thought being that 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
have taken sides since the first revenue
law was proposed.
PubIic-WeIfare Questions.
The principal government objects In
| which the people of the 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
| ton 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 a 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 q beneficiary of fthe 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 appropri-
ated for the current year; how much the
administration is asking for each Of these
| purposes for the next fiscal year.
Furthermore, each person interested
should have laid before him clear we'll
digested statement showing in detail
whether moneys appropriated have been
economically spent and whether each di-
vision or office has been efficiently run.
This is the information which should be
available each year in the form of a
budget
supporting the budget.
Continuance of the Commission.
I 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. I 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 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 were 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
March $. 1911, when 1 asked for con-
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
! $4,000. The mass of information which
! must be collected digested and summar-
! lied pertaining to each subject of inquiry
| is enormous. From the results OBJ
| tanned it is evident that every dollar
| which is spent in the prosecution of the
! inquiry in the future will result in mani
/ fold savings. Every economy which has
| been or viii be effected through changes
! in organization or method will inure to
| the benefit of the government and of the
! people in increasing measure through the
/ years which follows It is clearly the
/ part of wisdom to provide for the COM
1 ing years means at least equal to those
/ available during the current year. and
/ in my opinion the appropriation should be
/ increased to 100000, and an additional
! amount Of $4,000 should be provided for
! the publication of those results. which
/ will be of continuing value to officers Of
/ the government ar% to the people.
WI. H TAFT,
| TIE White HousA