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

telICf ana tne grocer OF tne navy IL
N pays out some $l45.000.000 q year. 1t
I@6 saves Jacks money for him and the
lJ savings bank 1t operates has deposits
aggregating $253000. II operates great clothing
tactories one at Brooklyn and the other at Charles
ton 9. c. In another aspect It is Of the biggest
purchasing agencies in the country.
SO remarkable have been its achievements in the
twelvemonth that many requests have come to II
recently from business establishments. public and
private for Information to its new methods
The spirit behind the change is that Of q boyish
looking. wide-eyed. ever-smiling onicer who. Just
forty-nve years old-and he does not look it-holds
the rank and draws the pay Of q rear admiral he
being paymaster general of the navy and chief Of
the bursau. Rear Admiral Samuel MCGOWAN he is
10 outsiders. Mr.. MCGOWAN is the form of address
be insists upon within the bureau. But in the navy
generally. BY all ranks and all grades he is dubbed
behind his back of course. Sammy MCGOWAN.
In the II months he has been paymaster general
be has made over his bureau. What IL more. he has
secured the hearty and enthusiastic support of the
snttre force. That, to anyone who knows how any
government organization is welded to precedent is
amazing
Somewhat given to the making of epigrams in his
Instructions. oral and written. Admiral MCGOWAN
has uttered two that give Q hint of the predominant
Ing ideas behind his reforms. Make 1t bureau with
. small and navy with . big NJ" 10 one and
-Remenber that the stores exist for the neet not
the feet for the stores"
and accounts have their onhces in the great pile
Known - the state. war and navy building. on
Pennsyivania avenue. Ranking the White House on
the west. When the building was erected some
forty years ago It was the largest ONCE building
IN the world. Each corridor in II has the appear
ance of battalion Of barrooms for each of the
many corridor doors has its middle twothrds
masked by shutter door. The rooms are ali inter
communicating.
The paymaster generals ONCE is the end one in
. suisa Of five rooms. Across the hall seven
more ssoms In the navy annex building. in a street
near BY. Are some more ofnces of the bureau.
When Paymaster General MCGOWAN took the
Job he inaugurated at once q cleanup campaign.
Down from the walls came the dusty old pictures.
Bookcases and nle cases went out. Current and
absolutely necessary bureau files went into one
room In . set OF steel vertical containers, for
general purposes. and In the purchasing end,
across the hall. they likewise were reduced.
Private Libraries also went out. Upstairs the
navy department maintains a splendid naval IL
brary. AL this Is available for all purposes.
Abolish rolltop desks" was the word Where
nattop desks were not available the department
carpenters took OF the roll tops. Since then
standard ONCE furniture has been adopted for
the entire bureau.
All intercommunicating doors in the suites
we're taken OF the hinges Walls were painted
In light colors. Then the chief Of each room or
division chief required to put his desk in
the middle of the room with his force grouped
about him. Now the paymaster general can
stand In his room and look down the line and
see exactly what is going on.
But that isn't exactly the point The object
ID not to keep an eye the people SO much
Il 10 to convey the idea of unity. The division
chief who. sequestered in his own little nest.
might be tempted to write letter to the chief
next door doesn't do 1t under these conditions.
He says Say, Bill. how about and so?" or
goes over and discusses it at close range.
Stationery in reduced to the fewest
possible simple kinds.
On q shelf handy to the paymaster generals
hands IL q book some IL inches long by Is inches
wide. In IL is all the information that once oc-
cupied q big nleroom. This information pertains
TO the present duty and availability for sea
shore duty, the case may be. Of all OF the 230
o0hcers making up the pay corps.
The pages Of the book are faced with trans
parent celluloid. When pay officer is sent on a
cruise his name and the essential date are in
scribed on q typewriter slip and inserted at the
bottom Of the section devoted to pay officers on
sea duty. Place by place the slip moves up au-
tomatically. and in this way may observe
1t glance who Is due for shore duty and who
for sea duty as. under he law for every two
years Of shore duty paw ofhcer must take three
3aars OF sea duty
Ind thus with all records. No effort has been
spaf6 to reduce them all to the simplest and
most Hraphic form. The messenger force was
reorxanized and squad told OF to act express
Z messengers This insures speed in the move
ment Of papers from desk to desk and to the
secretary's once No paper remains more than
lS minutes awaiting transmission.
One q the very nrst things Paymaster General