New-York tribune., 1918-09-24
Fight on Shipyard Slackers
Symptom Of Gathering Storm
Indignation Growing Throughout Country Against
ohirkers in Government Jobs Causes Effort in
Congress to Expose Ev-Departments Filled
With Able Bodied Men Who Could Fight

gress ;hat the civil departments OF the
government and the Offices of the War
Department nre full Of slackcrs. The
halls of most of the departments and
administrations, it is asserted, are
crowded with able bodied messengers.
many of them in uniform. Many OF
noes are reported to have multitude
of clerks who do little but watch the
clocks. Some of these clerical en-
ported that the waste Of time s scan
dnlous. The incfIiciency Of thousands
OF the new employees is notorious. but
TINS is a detect hard TO avoid in these
times. The War Risk Bureau is a par
tlcular sufferer from them
Madden After the Slackers
Representative Madden, OF Illinois.
mas been making a study OF the slack
erlsm, waste and inefficicncy in the
government. In speech in the House
Today ne even went so far as to say
that if the government employees in
washington were earning their pay
,hefc would not be enough of them left
70 justify the SG,00O,000 housing enter
PRISE the government has undertaken
here
In this connection he read telegram
sent out by Food Administrator Hoover
giving instructions concerning the OBJ
la'nihg or exemption for all men i'm the
food administration throughout the
country. Mr.. Madden said that such n
wholesale bid for exemption might be
enough to cause chaos in the attempt to
lalse an army. He wanted to know
"hcther Mr. Hoover had authority 70
lnterpret the law or whether that was
the business of the provost marshal
general or the Judge advocate general.
proceeding with his arraignment of
slackers, Nh. Madden said that there
were more people sitting around the
'ood admnlstration Offices, on the pay
ron OF the government and giving no
NaIuc Tor the money, than any other
pace IN tne government service
Saw 1000 Iding Employees
MI. Madden said that in the course
vi al hour and half spent in the
army army engineers offices he saw at leas.
Nv t,ooo 'ul'ng employees. He had visited
me army Quartermastcr's Offices in
New York and learned that 21O com
lmIss1oned m, officers took turns at desks.
. ih helr work could have been handled bv
.%ehty divisional directors. while the
'iaces OF the other 100 officers could
nave oeen filted by girls or men be-
Sohd the draft age Mr. Madden was
CONVINCED that the 800 cmDlovcs Of
'he fuel administration in Washinpton
were TAR too numerous
AS examples Of efficiency Mr.. Mad
oeh clfed the judge advocate peneraI's
department OF tho army and the Bu-
~ o"u OF ouppnes and Accounts Of thc
aaNs' "nich latter requires only | 500
i Lie': ana women to attend to ell thc
.ls '.'ess OF outhttlng all the ships of
l., navy ana providing for 81 900 mon.
III a speech in the House tho otho,
oay representative Green a., .Iow..
sho"ed how there is actually p com,
peIillon In waste and lnetficiencv hn-
eNeeh the different departments. One
ioNetnMent agency gets AN addition 70
10 iotce' and the next one thinks il.
Tr,ghlty requires an equal addition
mere IS no independent outside agency
20 40 chccK this sort Of thing. and hencc
W. Hreenc argued, a Congressional oy
Fenollufcs committee was very deeir-
able. "esif-
discipline Used as Cloak
y, ;,,.a ~ mas also been pointed out that
imllitary secrecy and military dNcjnl;ne
nave oeen used to cloak multitrdo Of
s;ls ana a mass Of mistakes. The bar
ilers against publicity have kent the
newspapers from playing the heipful]v
@ ,ii'cal part they play in time of peace.
S.," 10 government agency has been
tl,a,a 'N'' W 'ahc thelr place. Instead
h,,Iie. Ink mas Deen established the official
pulletln and the Creel propaganda. hoth
of which daily sing the praise Of 'o'II ali
things governmental. VI ''i
while there is no chance tba, any
,hlng the President has opposed as he
mas opposed joint Congressional co',
'Inlttee VIII ever issue from the nresent
lrerment, it is considered likely that ha'
iore great while there will be- somo
IofS ho OF review Of the services that lr( are
permg forms performed, or, rather, not per-
moma, oants"' IN return for the rivers Of
of the war. 'c prosecution