The Washington times., 1912-01-17

pairing efficiency. It cannot Ne said
what the saving ultimately will be
when the attention of officers in all of
the departments has been focused on
present methods with View to chang
Ing them in such manner as to reduce
efficient service. IT, however, must be
a considerable percentage of nearly
$4,000 900, the total estimated cost of
handling this part Of the Government
Results have already been obtained
which are noteworthy. Mention has
been made Of the orders issued bv two
or these the order OF one
Is most revolutionary In character.
since i requires fat filing. where be-
fore all correspondence was folded; tho
doing away with letter press copies;
and the discontinuAnce OF Endorsements
esses ana one which in the other de-
partnent has been carried to very
great length.
Unnecessary Cost.
The efforts of the commission resulted
also In the adoption by several bureaus
or departments Of improved methods Of
doing copying. The amount Of copy
work heretofore done by hand each year
in the many offices is estimated to ag-
gregate several hundred thousand dol
lars. Tho commission ashibited. at its
offices. appliances that were thought to
be especially adapted to this kind Of
Government work. Following these
demonstrations methods Of copying were
introduced which have brought about a
where used for six months. This change
In one small cross section Of Office prac-
tice will more than Offset the whole cost
OF my inquiry.
business processes which have been IN
vestigated Is the distribution Of depart
mental documents. This is n subject
With which both the Congress and Ad-
ministration heads are familiar. The
prevailing practice in handling depart
mental publications is to have them
manufactured at the Government Print
ing Office: each job when completed is
delivered to the department; here the
books or pamphlets are wrapped and ad-
dressed. they are then sent to the post
office; there they are assorted and pre-
pared FOR shipment through the mails;
from the postoffice they are sent to the
railroad station, which Is only few
fee. whence they started. The results
OF this laborious and circuitous method
Is to make the use of the best mechan-
ical equipment fmpracticable and to
waste each year not less than a quarter
OF a million dollars Of Government funds
the indirect loss due to lack Of proper
coordination.
Wasteful Use.
The use of equipment Is 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. The Gov
crnment pays over $4,000 per year for
electric current: It has made large
capital outlays for wiring and fixtures
With the increasing demands in many
buildings the present equipment is taxed
to it's limit. and II the present methods
are continued much Of this wiring must
be dcne over; In many places employees
are working at great physical dis.
advantage. due to Inadequate and i'm.
duced efficiency. In every place where
the inquiry has been conducted II ap.
pears that there is large waste; that
without the cost of rowiring. simply by
giving proper attention to location OF
lights and the use Of proper lamps and
reflectors, the light efficiency at points
where needed may be much increased
and the cost OF current reduced from
30 TO 90 per cent. Other inquiries into
the use which is being made of prop.
which promise even large results.
Unnecessary Cost of Insurance.
1t Is the policy of the Government not
to insure public property against fire
and other losses. Question has been
raised whether the Government might
not apply the same principle to other
forms OF risk. including insurance OF
the fidelity of officials and employees
report Is now In preparation on the
subject which will show opportunities
q
present expense for insuring the faith.
ful execution of contracts, which,
though paid by the contractor is more
than covered in the added price to the
government, can be largely reduced
without taking away any element Il
security.
Excessive Cost of Travel.
One Of the first steps taken toward
constructive work was the reclassifi
cation Of the expenditures for the yea,
1910 by objects. Tho foundation wa,
thus made for the investigation of Gov
ernment trading practices. While 1
was recognized that this large fiel,
could not be covered within a year ex
,cept at enormous cost, the subjects O
t,r,ansportatiiSn .,s,anspe SiSa Of persons. and Sub
taken as concrete examples. The annua
cost of tavel to the Government wa
found to be about 81, 2,00O, ,00o. It wa
also found that the Government em
ployes were travelling In practicall
every way that was open to the public
it was further found that although tn
Government was the largest user ! o
| transportation. 1t was buying railroa
tickets on a less favorable basis thal
would be possible II the subject OF trav
cling expenditures were systematicall
handled from the point of view OF tn
Government as a whole. The form O
ticket most often used between sucl
points as New York, Philadelphia, an
Washington, was the single-trip, frs
class ticket. In two department definft
tests have been made In the use Of tn
mileage books and In each PRACTICAL
the same result has been. reported, viz
an average saving Of a little over one
half on cent per mile. What the pos
sible saving to the Government by
more systematic handling Of transpor
[ tation may be, can not be estimated a
| this time. Upon inquiry It was foun
| that an analysis of travel vouchers 70
| the year would cost not less tina
$4,000. The Investigation, therefore
| was confined to the analysis OF trave
vouchers which came to department
during the month of April A report o
NOW IS THE TIME
| To purchase your supply OF Poultr!
Feed.