Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1915-12-03

method of securing and charting this information
become that 1t requires little labor and its cost'
by comparison with the results achieved IN a.
sisting in intelligent buying. ts remarkably iow
Other charts. corrected daily. keep the bureau
informed to the amount Of stocks on mana
in every detail. not only at the storehouses out
ON the ships we'll Since the navy through ts
extensive wireless system Ii In constant COM
munication with every ship ahoat. the task OF
keeping up these charts is not so dimcut as II
seems
Or the bunch Of cards making up q ships COM
peny also Is producible on the instant.
Machines have reduced the amount OF work In
the accounting section more than so per cent.
There are refnements of cost keeping In mill
tary establishment that are not known IN Q
private establishment. for all expenditures must
conform to some specific item Of an appropria-
tion bill. and appropriations for the naval estao
lishment are found in three different approprta-
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 Q
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 are now required to do the work.
In addition q great deal of new work has been
taken on.
The use of new card punching machines is re-
sponsible for the larger economies.
The machine is so arranged that 1t sorts the
punched cards. arranges them in proper groups.
ascertains the totals of the figures indicated BY
the punched holes and prints on Q sheet the
results It is accounting reduced to mechanism
OF course the usual machines such as adding
machines and the like. are part OF the equipment
In fact the whole trend of the reforms In this
section has been to reduce everything to .
mechanical basis.
The result is great economics in operation. In
creased efficiency increased accuracy and in
creased speed. To the casual observer the strik
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. ofncer or civilian. in the estab
lishment how the whole organization has been
made over in such a time and he instantly VIII
tell you that Sammy MCGOWAN did 1t. And then
he will grow confidential and tell you what he
esteems is the secret of the whole accomplish
ment the spirit that MCGOWAN has put into his
entire force. I'VE don't tolerate grouches." your
informant will say. I'VE all belong to the Don't
Worry club and MCGOWAN is it's president"
Another thing this paymaster general has done
is to establish in Washington, with the approva
of the secretary of the navy Q school for navy
nav officers. These officers are appointed from
civil life on a competitive examination. They g(
into the service equipped with a good academic
education. but with no knowledge Of the nav,
and it's needs Hence the new service school
which has in this years class Is young omceri
who are being trained in their new profession.
Admiral McGowan himself Is a. product o
civilian training When he secured his appoint
ment in the pay corps in 1894 he was a Soutl
Carolina newspaper man who had worked hi
way through college and Law school by ranninl
q brick yard and serving as q ticket agent at
railway station Maybe there he got the traininl
which has made him a great business executive
The fact that he has spent most Of his nava
career at sea accounts for his insstence that th'
feet and not the bureau 10 the thing ever to b.
kept in mind
When he left the Atlantic feet to 90 ashore q
paymaster general his commanding onicer. Ad
miral Badger. said of him, He has made the pa
department Of the feet . smoothly working mi
itary machine"
That 10 the ideal he holds up to his burea
and corps: Make It Q smooth running militar
machine"