The Van Buren press., 1912-01-20
Classification OF Local ofroers.


In my recent message to the congress
l urged consideration OF the necessity OF
placing in the classified service all OF the
local officers under the departments Of
the treasury, the interior, postofioe and
| commerce and labor.
The next step which must be taken is
TO require OF heads OF bureaus in the de-
partments at Washington. and OF most OF
the local officers under the departments
, qualifications OF capacity similar TO those
now required Of certain heads OF bureaus
and OF local officers The extension OF
the merit system to these officers and
needed readtustment Of salaries will have
| important effects in securing greater
| economy and efficiency.
In the first place. the possession BY the
incumbents Of these positions OF requisite
! qualifications must in Itself prmote efA'
| cheney
In the second place the removal OF To-
| 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 positions leave the actual perform
| ance OF many OF their duties to deputies
and assistants. The government often
| pays two persons for doing work that
| could easily be done by one What is the
| loss to the government cannot be stated,
| but that IT is very large cannot be denied.
| when It is remembered how numerous
are the local officers In the postal, Gus
| 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 1t is difficult to consider the
| question Of the establishment or discon-
| tnusnce Of local offices apart from the
effect upon local political situations,
Finally, the view that these various
| Offices are TO be filled as a result OF
political considerations has for Its con
sequence the necessity that the president
and members Of congress devote to mat
ters OF patronage time which they should
devote to questions OF policy and admin
istration.
Superannuatlon.
Attention has been directed in recent
years to the need OF suitable plan OF
retiring the superannuated employees In
the executive civil service. In the be-
lief that II Is desirable that any steps to-
ward the establishment OF such q plan
shall be taken with caution. | instructed
the commission TO make an Inquiry first
into the conditions at Washington. This
inquiry has been directed to tho ascer-
tainmeut OF the extent to which super
annuation now exists and to the con-
siderauon OF the availability OF the vari-
Gus plans which either have been pro-
posed for adoption in this country or have
actually been adopted in other countries.
| shall submit, in the near future, for
the consideration OF the congress a plan
for the retirement OF aged employees In
the civil service which will 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 It has been dem
onstrated beyond question that large eco
Monies may be effected The subjects
first approached were those which lie
close to each administrator viz office
practices. An Illustration OF the poss-
blites within this field may be found in
the results Of the inquiry into the meth
DDS Of handling and filing correspondence,
Every office I'm the government has re-
ported It's methods to the commission.
These reports brought to light the fact
that present methods were quite In he
reverse OF uniform, Some offices follow
the practice OF brie1ng all correspon-
dence some do not Some have fiat
files; others fold all papers before filing.
Some use press copies; others retain only
carbon copies.
Need for Labor Saving Office Devices.
The use OF labor-saving office devices In
the service has been made the subject OF
special inquiry An impression prevails
that the goyernmen, Is not making use
OF mechanical devices for economzing
labor to the same extent as are efficiently
managed private enterprises study
has been made OF the extent to which
devices Of this character are now being
employed In the several branches Of the
government and the opportunities that
exist for their more general use.
The efforts OF the commission resulted
also In the adoption by several bureaus or
departments Of improved methods OF do
ing copying The amount OF copy work
heretofore done by hand each year In the
many Offices IL estimated to aggregate
several hundred thousand dollars. The
commission exhibited at its offices ap-
pllanccs that were thought TO be especial.
y adapted 10 this kind OF government
work Following these demonstrations
methods Of copying were introduced
which have brought about saving ot
over 70 per cent In offices whore used
for six months. This change In one small
cross.sccton Of office practice Will more
than offset the whole cost Of my inquiry
Waste In the Distribution Of Public
Documents.
Going outside the ofh'e. one OF the
busIncss processes which have been In
ycsilgated IL the distribution Of depart
mont documents This In a subject with
which both the congress and admins.
tratlon heads are familiar, The prevail
ing practice In handling departmental
publications ls 20 have them manutac-
tured at the government printing office;
each fob when completed is delivered TO
the department, here the books or pam
phleis are wrapped and addressed, then
are then sent 20 the postofncei there they
are assorted and prepared Tor shipment
through the mails, from the postotncc
thcy are sent to the railroad station,
which IL only few steps from the gov
| ernmpnt printing office, when they
| started. The results Of this leborious and
| circuitous method liz TO make the use ot
| the best mechanical equipment impractic'
| able and TO waste each year not less than
n quarter Of n million dollars of govern.
ment funds In useless handling TO say
| nothing Of tho indirect loss due to lack
| Of proper coordination
Wasteful Use Of Properties and Equip
rnent
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 $500 900 per year Tor electric current,
II has made large capital outlays for wiz
lng and nxtures with the increasing de.
mands IN many buildings the present
equipment Ia taxed to lu limit and II
tho present methods are continued much
of this wiring must he done over In
many places employees are working at "A
great physical disadvantage duo to In.