The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-13

u ERLIN, July 12.-(speciaD- Hapless
Europe is plagued with bureau
~ Gratis. The people of France, Ger
many Austria, Italy and Russia all
groan that officials are so multiplying
that threre will soon be no civilians left;
and they recall the joke about Austria
in Matternich's time; that there are so
many men in gail that no jailers are left;
so the prisoners must watch them
selves" A plague of officials has always
existed. but of late it has got incom-
parably worse owing to many causes.
The chief causes are the craze for un-
wanted legislation. and the new social
provision schemes. Whatever be thought
of these causes the excessive officialdom
which they condition is admittedly
plague. Among the evil results are ever
burdening OF state finances: withdrawal
of productive energy from civil life; waste
in state undertakings resulting from the
undue proportion of clerks, bool<lleepers,
and overseers to working ranks; weaken
ing of civic initiative and encouragement
OF feelings whose ideals of life are Sc
cure jobs and early pensions; finally an
undesirable increase of state influence in
politics, and the corruption of the prin-
ciple of representative government.
Germany, which claims to lead Europe
in lawmaking, leads also in the bureau
crat plague. Former Reichstag Mem
ber Friedrich Naumann calculates that
one German out of fifteen is in public
employment; and Herr Kurt Ascher ar
rives at a similar result.
Precise figures of the plague are not
known. Government statistics ignore
hundreds of thousands of state employ
ees who do not rank as "Beamte," or full
officials; and the number of men and
women employed by local selfgovern-
ing bodies and municipalities can only
be guessed. Some persons say that near
ly three millions of Germans depend
upon public employment, and a moderate
computation based half upon official, half
on unofficial data, gives two millions and
a quarter The state employed in 1912.
B05. 900 post and telegraph and telephone
officials, $4,000 railroad employees, 20O-
600 school teachers; an estimated $4,000
persons under the various ministries;
and probably 100000 regular. and tempo
rary employees of municipalities. That
makes 1000 figure which beats any
other European state. except Russia $.
But as Russia has 170,O000OO citizens
against Germany's 650O0,000 Germany is
in proportion to population the most
characterization country on earth.
Some causes of this plague of off
cials are to be found in national history,
and some in mere custom. To custom
may be traced one factor: the enormous
number of clerks. bookkeepers, writer's
and other non-workers in the state pro-
ducing departments. German navy yards
TEEN with CLERKS" According to state
ment made in the Rechstag in 1906. the
proportion of officials to workmen in
German navy yard is three times the
proportion In an American yard. That
refers to state yards. Conditions are
the same in private yards. 1t was stated
that the Cramp yard has only, in pro-
portion to total men employed, 80 per
cent Of the number of non-manual work.
ers in the Stettin-Vulcan yard, and only
80 per cent of the number at the Ger
mania Yard Rupert, the Austrian au-
thority, says that at the Trieste Stabili-
mento Technico, where Austria is turning
out four Dreadnaughts, 1.-THE proportion of
officials is below that of German pri-
vate yards, but about 10 per cent above
the American figure" He shows how
money goes ON officaldom. In order to
correct a system of waste and petty dis
honesty which cost the yard an average
of $700 year. reformed" system of Of
fcialdom was established, the extra coci
Of which is $4,000 year.
In Germany all public offices are over
mAnReo Tha overnanning Is account