Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1912-01-24
Classification Of Local officers.

as may be found useless and can be a0ol-
ished VIII be 50 treated BY executive or
der.
Classification Of Local Officers.
In ny recent n ssage TO the congress
I urged consideration Of the necessity o.
placing In the classified service all Of the
local officers under the departments Of
the treasury. the interior. postoffice and
| commerce and labor
The next step which must be takep Is
I - require OF heads OF bureaus In the de-
partmeuts al Washington. and Of most Of
the local officers under the departments.
| qualifications Of capacity similar % those
I now CURED Of certain heads Of bureaus
| and Of local officers. The extension Of
1 the merit system 70 these officers and
1 needed readjustment Of salaries will have
/ important effects in securing greater
| economy and efficiency
! u the first place. the possession by the
incumbeuts Of these positions Of requisite
/ qualifications must in itself prInote eff
| cheney.
In the second place. the removal Of 10
cal officers from the realm of political
! patronage IN many cases would reduce
/ the pay roll OF the field services. At the
present time the incumbents Of many OF
these positl 3ns leave the actual perform
ance Of many OF their duties 70 deputies
| and assistants The government often
4
/ could easily be done by one. What is the
/ loss 10 tho government cannot be stated,
/ but that II Is very large cannot be denied,
wien Il Is remembered now numerous
/ are the local officers IN the postal. cus-
| toms. Internal revenue, public lands, and
! other field services OF the government.
In the third place. so long as local OF
| ficers are within the sphere OF political
| patronage II Is difficult to consider the
| question OF the establishment or dlacon-
| tinuance OF local offices apart from tho
effect upon local political situations
Finally. the view that these various
offices are TO be filled as a result CT
political considerations has for It's con.
sequence the necessity that the president
and members Of congress devote 10 re L
tcrs OF patronage time which they SHOULD
devote 10 questions OF policy and admin
istTation.
SuperannuatIon.
Attention he's been directed in recent
years 10 tho need OF a suitable plan Of
retiring the superannuated employees in
the executive civil service. In the be-
lief that Il Is desirable that any steps to-
ward the establishment OF such a plan
shall he taken with caution. instructed
the commission TO make an inquiry hrst
into the conditions at Washington. This
inquiry has been directed to the ascer-
tainment OF the extent 10 which super
snnuation now exists and 20 the con-
sideration Of the availability Of the vari-
Gus plans which either have been pro-
posed for adoption I'm this country or have
actually been adopted IN other countries.
l shall submit ia the near future. for
the consideration Of the congress plan
fer the retirement Of aged employees in
the civil service which viii safeguard the
interests OF the government and at the
same time make reasonable provision for
the needs OF those who have given the
best part OF their lives to the service OF
the state.
Business Methods.
In every case where technical pro-
cesses have been studied II has been dem
onstrated beyond question that large eco
Monies may be effected The subjects
FIRST approached were those which lie
close 10 each administrator, viz. office
practices. An illustration OF the possi-
biiities within this field may be found in
the results OF the inquiry into the meth
DDS Of handling and filing correspondence.
Every office IN the government has re-
ported It's methods TO the commission.
These reports brought 70 light the fact
that present methods were quite In he
reverse OF uniform. Some offices follow
Tho practice OF briefing all correspon-
dence. some do not, Some have fiat
files; others fold all papers before fling.
Some use press copies: others retain only
carbon copies
Need for Labor-saving Office Devices
The use OF labor saving office devices in
tho service has been made the subject of
special inquiry. An impression prevails
that the government n not making use
Of mechanical devices for economizng
labor to the same extent as are efficiently
managed private enterprises study
~ IA m ufbt oh
devices OF this character are now being
employed In tho several branches OF the
government and the opportunities that
exist for their more general use.
Tho efforts Of the commission resulted
also in the adoption by several bureaus or
departments OF improved methods OF dc
ing copying, The amount of copy work
heretofore done BY hand each year In the
many offices is estimated 20 aggregate
several hundred thousand dollars. The
commission exhibited at its Offices APP
pllanceV that were thought 20 be especial
~ adapted TO this kind OF government
work Following these demonstrations
methods of copying were introduced
which have brought about a saving OF
over 70 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 my inquiry.
Waste In the Distribution Of Public
Documents.
Going outside the office. one OF the
business processes which have been In
vestigated IS The distribution OF depart
ment documents This Is a subject with
which both the congress and adminis-
tratlon heads are familiar The prevail
ing practice In handling departmental
publications is TO have them manufac-
tured az the government printing office.
each lob when completed Is delivered "a
the department. here the books or pam
phIets are wrapped and addressed; then
are then sent TO the pOstofficeI there they
are assorted and prepared for shipment
through the mails: from the postofdce
they are sent to the railroad station,
which Is only few steps from the gov
eminent printing office. when they
started The results OF this laborious and
ciTcuitous method Is 20 make the use OF
the best mechanical equipment impractic-
able and 10 waste each year not less than
a quarter OF a million dollars OF govern
ment funds in useless banding. to say
nothing Of the indirect loss due TO lack
OF proper coordination.
Wasteful Use Of Properties and Equip
ment.
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 The government pays
| over s60e.oo0 per year for electric current.
| Il has made large capital OUTLAWS for wiz
| ing and iiNtures With the increasing de-
| mands in many buildings the present
| equipment Is taxed 10 its limit ana II
| tho present methods are continued much
| OF this wiring must be done over: in
many places employees are working at a
| great physical disadvantage. due TO In