The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-10-03
Success of Rear Admiral MCGOWAN in S~ystematizing
Business Office of the Fleet Attracts Nationwide
Attention From Corporations and Municipalities

nation pertains to the present duty
and availability for sea or shore duty,
as the cast may be, Of all Of the 230
officers making up the pay corps.
The pages Of the book are faced with
transparent celluloid. When a pay
officer Is sent on "a cruise his name and
the essential date are inscribed on
a typewriter slip and inserted at the
bottom OF the section devoted L pa
officers on sea duty. Place by place
the slip moves W automatically. and
In this way one may observe at a
glance who Is due for shore duty and
who for sea duty. for under the Law
for every two years Of shore duty q
pay officer must take three years OF
sea duty.
And thus with all records. No effort
has been spared to reduce them all
to the simplest and most graphic form
The messenger force was reorganized
and a squad told of to act as ex-
press messengers. This insures speed
In the movement Of papers from desk
to desk and to the ~secretary's office
No paper remains more than fifteen
minutes awaiting transmission.
A flying squadron OF cleaners was
installed. Let an officer or employee
leave his desk for five minutes and his
waste basket is cleaned out, his desL
top polished. the oiled floor brushed
Dust and waste have no abiding place
here.
Wide authority was given 10 all in.
dividuals to act in case OF emergency
Wif bnuf rafarrinp tho pNnttap IN ~.
Paymaster-General. But. and this is
big but, instant written record mus
be made of the action and full repor
made as soon as possible to the thief
Thus "a long distance call comes
from the navy store keeper-a pa,
oricer-at the Norfolk Navy Yard ask
ing authority To take some immediat,
emergency action. Suppose. for eX
ample. that the Paymaster-General il
in conference with the Secretary q
the Navy upstairs. Instead of delay
ing, action is taken. authority granite,
by telephone. a letter written confirm
ing 1t n a written record made o
the telephone conversation, whicl
written record is put before h Pay
, master-General on his return.
Here Is a sample record. made b,
a civilian employee:
Memorandum for Paymaster-General
At $40 r. VI. to-day I received a tele
phone call from general storakeepei
nav yard. New York. Paymaster lobe
talking. He requested authority to plac
! on board the Culgoa 2.0St gallons Nep
tune marine engine oil. now in store "A
New York and previously received from
4 the Culgoa.
1 Authority was granted.
The following urgent request for pur
chase and shipment was transmitted I
the general ~storekeeper at the reques
Of Bureau OF Steam Engineering
Purchase and ship to Mare Island 70
the n class submarines two t2) piece
! each of Nos. Drawing 32-0305-G2. II.
J2. K2. and b., Bureau y. $. A. REQ
|. uisition No. 81 Will be forwarded
, cover. shipment 10 be made by express
Under the old system il would hav
required at least twenty-four hours t
. get action. OF course there is oppor
tunity for human error in giving al
thority to subordinates. but with hi
e plan OF immediate reporting in vogu
= there is always a chance to catch III