The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1915-11-12

method of securing and charting this information
become that it requires little labor and its cost,
by comparison with the results achieved In as
sisting in intelligent buying, is remarkably low
Other charts, corrected daily keep the bureau
informed as to the amount of stocks on hand
In every detail not only at the storehouses but
the ships well. Since the navy through its
extensive wireless system is in constant COM
munication with every ship afoat, the task OF
keeping up these charts is not so difhcult as II
seems.
Or the bunch of cards making up a ships COM
peny also is producble the instant
Machines have reduced the amount OF work In
the accounting section more than 5O per cent.
There are refinements of cost keeping in mill
tary establishment that are not known In
private establishment for all expenditures must
conform to some specific item OF an approprla-
tion bill and appropriations for the naval estab-
lishment are found in three different appropria-
tion acts.
Roughly speaking 100000 separate accounts
must be kept properly to meet the requirements
of the law and to furnish the information as to
costs, gross and detailed, needed. Imagine
ledger with 100000 accounts
Here the cards and mechanism have come in to
the extent that half the number of men needed
Is months ago now required TO do the work.
In addition a great deal of new work has been
taken
The use of new card punching machines Is re-
sponsible for the larger economies.
The machine is so arranged that il sorts the
punched cards, arranges them in proper groups,
ascertains the totals of the figures indicated by
the punched holes and prints on sheet the
results. 1t Is accounting reduced to mechanism
OF course the usual machines. such as adding
machines and the like, part Of the equipment
In fact the whole trend of the reforms In this
section has been to reduce everything to a
mechanical basis.
The result is great economics In operation. In
creased efficiency. increased accuracy and In
creased speed To the casual observer the strfk
ing thing is the disappearance Of books. Few
indeed are the books In sight, remarkably slim
the files In other words the accountancy sys
tenn has been reduced TO the simplest dimensions
Ask any man, officer or civilian. in the estab
lshment how the whole organization has been
made over in such time, and he instantly viii
tell you that Sammy MCGOWAN did it. And then
he will grow confidential and tell you what ne
esteems is the secret of the whole accomplish
ment the spirit that McGowan has put into his
entire force. 1--WE don't tolerate grouches your
informant will say. I'VE all belong to the Don'
Worry club and MCGOWAN is its president"
Another thing this paymaster general has done
is TO establish in Washington with the approva
of the secretary of the navy. school for nav!
pay officers. These officers are appointed from
civil life on a competitive examination. They g
into the service equipped with good academic
education. but with no knowledge of the nav!
and its needs. Hence the new service school
which has in this years class 10 young ofhcer
who are being trained in their profession.
Admiral MCGOWAN himself is a product o
civilian training When he secured his appoint
ment in the pay corps in 1894 he was Sout
Carolina newspaper man who had worked hi
way through college and law school by rnnnin
brick yard and serving as ticket agent at
railway station Maybe there he got the trainin
which has made him a great business executive
The fact that he has spent most OF his navs
career at sea accounts for his insistence that tn
fleet and not the bureau Is the thing ever to b
kept in mind.
When he left the Atlantic feet to go ashore
paymaster general his commanding officer. AZ
miral Badger, said of him. "He has made the pa
department Of the feet a smoothly working mi
itary machine"
That is the ideal he holds up to his burea
and corps: Make Il a smooth running militar
machine"