Gilpin observer., 1912-01-18

ters Of patronage time which they should
devote to questions Of policy and admin
istyation.
Business Msthods.
In every case where technical pro-
cesses have been studied It has been dem
onstratsd beyond question that large 600
Monies may bs effected. The subjects
nrst approached were those which he
close to each administrator. vis.. ofnss
pgS2ticss. An illustration Of the posa-
etlites vthi4 this field may Be found I'M
the results OF the inquiry into the meth
DDS Of handling and nlins correspondence.
Every Office in the government has re-
ported its methods TO the commission.
These reports brought to hight the fsot
that present methods were quite In the
the practice Of brisnns ali corrsspon-
dencs; some do not Some have nat
files; others fold all papers before nlinS
Some use press copies; othsrs retain only
carbon oopiss.
Need for Lavor-savIng offIee Devioss.
The use Of labor-saving office devices in
the service has been made the subject Of
special inquiry An impression prevails
that the government 10 not making use
OF mechanical devices for economiEinG
labor to the Same extent az 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
hsretofore done by hand each year In the
many offices IL estimated to aggregate
several hundred thousand dollars The
commission exhibited. at Its offices. ap-
pliances that were thought to be especial
ly adapted to this kind of government
work. Following these demonstrations
methods OF copying were introduced
which have brought about a saving OF
over 75 per cent. in offices where used
cross-section of office practice will more
than offset the whole cost of by 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-
tration heads are familiar. The prevail
ing practice in handling departmental
publications Is to have them manufao-
tured at the government printing office;
each job when completed is delivered to
the department; here the books PAM
phlets are wrapped and addressed; then
are then sent to the postoffice: there they
are assorted and prepared for shipment
through the mails: from the postofice
they are sent to the railroad station,
which Is only few steps from the gov
ernment printing office, when they
started. The results of this laborious and
circuitous method is to make the use Of
the best mechanical equipment impractic-
able and to waste each year not less than
quarter of a million dollars of govern
ment funds in useless handling. to say
nothing Of the Indirect loss due to lack
OF proper coordination.
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
Lack Of Specifications.
The Importance OF establishing and
maintaining standard specifications IL
found not only in the possibility of very
materially reducing the direct cost of gov
ernment trading, but also in insuring to
the service materials, supplies and equip
ment which are better adapted to its
purposes One OF the results of indefin-
iteness of specifications is to impose con-
tract conditions which make IT extra ha-
zardous for persons to enter into con-
tractual relations. This not only deprives
the government of the advantage of
broad competition. but causes 1t to pay
an added margin in price to vendors who
must carry the risk.
The Budget.
The United States is the only great ma
tion whose government is operated with
out a budget. This fact seems to be more
striking when II 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 k,,l l.
ernment responsive to public opinion and
responsible for its acts
The Budget az 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 fnan-
ced; II should be in the nature of q pros
pectus both of revenues and expendi-
tures It should comprehend every rela-
tion Of the government to the people,
whether with reference to tho raising OF
revenues or the rendering of service.
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-
zation 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 tho nation.
These are public-welfare questions IN
which / assume every citizen has vital
interest. I believe that every member OF
congress- an official representative OF
the people. each editor as a non-official
representative of public opinion. each
citizen. as beneficiary of the trust i'm
posed 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