The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-12-11
BASIS
FOR ADVANCEMENT
IN SERVICE OF U. S.
Uncle Sam Now Rates Clerks
and Aims to Pay What
They're Worth.

Tucked away on the third floor
back of a rented building in Wash
ington is Uncle Sans bureau of eff
cheney. An inconspicuous. sign on the
ground floor proclaims it's occupancy
of space in the building. Not many
outside the government have heard
of 1t, for it is q, young bureau, a lit
tie over three years old. Another
reason for it's inconspicuousness in
the public eye is the way it adver-
tises.s Since it's organization it has
spent about $40, all told, for print
ing reports. To help put the United
States government on a business
basis is its purpose, an 'eminently
practical one, which it goes at in an
eminently practical way.
One of the rst things the bureau
had to- do was to help work reason
out of chaos in the Office of the treas
urer of the United States. Just be-
fore the present administration came
in, a punch CARD system of total
ing checks and balances was intro
duced in this Office. It was a very
pretty thing to look at, but was not
practicable. The bookkeeper, who
had been accustomed to posting an
item from a check direct, where it
was marked in ink, had to puzzle
his brain over a lot of holes in a card,
each hole meaning a different num-
Der. This plan took SO much longer
time that the treasurer's Office was
showed under. Men had to be call
ed from all Of the subtreasurfes to
help keep up to date, and even then
$50,000,0O0 in checks piled up un-
entered on the desks.
Effect 100000 Saving.
This was the situation that met
John Burke, the new treasurer, COM
ing from far-off North Dakota, in
April, 1915. He and Deputy Assist
ant Treasurer Thiel put their wits to
work to find a way out. Thiel sug
gested that they call in Herbert D.
Brown, who was chied of the new
bureau of efficiency. Brown needed
their Macedonian cry and went to
work. After a few weeks investiga<
ton, planning and conferences the
efficiency men and the treasurer's
men were able to work out a plan.
AS a result of this the back accounts
were cleaned up, the punch card"
thrown into the discard and in a few
weeks the substreasury men went
back to their posts. The system is
now worked so that the treasurer's
office can do it's work with about 80
less clerks, and an annual saving Of
about 100000 in this one place alone
has been effected.
This is an example Of the sway the
new bureau does it's business. So far
it has had control over the treasury
and post office departments more
than the others. A large part of it's
work has been putting the clerks in
these departments on an efficiency
basis. Each clerk in these two de-
partments has an efficiency rating"
BY this he is promoted or denoted.
If he is a shirker and does not do
a fair quantity and quality of work
his rating is likely to be cut. There
is no gueSSwork about the rating,
which is worked out by a new kind
of efficiency algebra" devised by the
bureau. Investigators in the two de-
partments go over the work of each
man thoroughly to- revaluate it, and
report to their chiefs.
Old System Unfair to Clerks.
The bureau has prepared some in
teresting charts, derived from data
on government clerks ages, wages
and work, before the Introduction of
this system and after. The graph
line of raising wages for the clerks
under the old system shows that it,
was a tedious process them although
the quality and amount Of work rose
rapidly in the early years Of their
connection with the government.
When they had been connected with
a department for many years and
their work was beginning to de-
teriorate, their wages began to RISE
AS it Is now, however, a compare
tive chart shows their salaries are
raised much more rapidly at first
and are more in accord with their
worth to the government. 1--WE are
making ability and not length Of ten
ure the test of salary" Chief Brown
declared. "This is work which is
much needed. The young man should
have a chance to advance in govern
ment work as in every other" 4
Congress evidently has been pleas
ed with the results obtained by the
bureau, for last session it ordered all
clerks in all executive departments
in the District of Columbus be put
under the efficiency rating plan.
This means that some $4,000 govern
ment clerks will be put on a, merit
basis Of pay and promotion.
ADMIRAL BEATTY