Evening star., 1918-05-18
TRAINING SCHOOL TURNS OUT
FINISHED WAR. RISK WORKERS
Bureau Has Many New Civil Employees
Every Two Weeks-Insurance Activ-
tiles Now Highly Systematized.

Uncle Sam has started a training
school for new civilian employees In
Washington in one of the largest Of
the recently created bureaus. that Of
war risk insurance.
Between thirty and forty new employees
now are taking this course Of two weeks.
and as each class graduates on Sat
urday night a new class will be mus
tered in or Monday morning.
Thus the bureau of war risk insur-
ance will find itself weekly with about
two score new employees who have been
thoroughly trained in the highly tech
nical work they have to handle.
The course was arranged by Charles
F. Nesbit. commissioner Of military and
naval insurance. and Herbert D. Brown.
head Of the United States bureau Of
efficiency.
Work of the Bureau.
The expansion Of the bureau of war
risk insurance from nothing at all. upon
the passage of the creating act Oc-
tober s. 1917. to one which now has
about $500 employees. handles mail daily
running from 5000 to $4,000 letters. all
requiring answers of a technical char
acter, and issuing insurance which
already exceeds fifteen billions brought
an acute problem in training employees.
The old method of turning a new
conner over to some one to get hap
hazard instructions was found wholly
inadequate. For one thing it resulted
in slow and incomplete training. ana 1t
consumed the time Of the old employees.
So 1t was decided that one teacher could
be made to do the work Of forty, and
tho classes were formed.
E. C. Brown. superintendent Of the
allotment and allowance division. is the
teacher. and he Is assisted by L. R..
Grace. v. L. Tickner and George Appich.
Learn Essentials Of Law.
During the first week the pupils learn
the essentials of the law under which
dependents of men in the military
service; and they are taught the
technique OF the awards made. During
the second week they are trained thor
oughly and intensively in letter writing.
30 that they may give concise. accurate
tions involved in the tremendous daily
correspondence Of this bureau.
There are lectures. Quizzes and writ
ten examinations daily, and one result
Of this course besides training those
who take 1t. Is the data 1t gives by
are best qualified may be determined.
This training course Is only one
means this bureau has taken to apply
principles in vogue in modern business
concerns to governmental transactions.
Letters that come to the bureau must
be answered promptly; The first ar
system by which distributors opened
letters. glanced at them to see the sub
jects and then shot them along to the
person they supposed should answer
them- Now 1t is a very natural human
letters would be sent along to other men.
passed around. and circulate over from
two to twenty desks before any one
would get down to answering them.
Use Of Routing Slip"
Therefore a new arrangement. Of
which device known as a routing
Slip is the basis. This slip is. In effect.
a way bill. which goes with the letter.
1t contains columns Of subjects about
which inquiries are made. The letters
are opened by trained employees. they
check of on these columns the inforrna-
tion desired, and then route" them to
avoid their travelling by too circuitous
q route around the eight buildings now
utlllZeQ 0y tne bureau. Ab eaCn person
gets this letter he does not need to read
It, but glances at the name and number
of the case referred to. writes on the
slip the information desired. sends it
| along, and the last man who gets the
letter answers II.
A third device solved the problem of
having hundreds Of clerks scramblins
through filed hundreds Of feet long to
get at one Of the 1.s00. 900 index cards
which represent applications.
These nlss wsre divided into blocks.
| In each block or unit there are appli-
| cations running between certain liked
numbers. Each has about twenty per.
sons, including not only the clerks who
look up the Information. but those who
answer the letters concerning these ap-
plications Tho routing clerk attends
to getting the letter to the section which
Ehas access to the particular number ir
the file to which the letter relates.
Each Unit Has Supervisor.
Each unit has . supervisor. and thu
whole file has three supervisors, whs
shift clerks. when necessary. to the uni
WHARF there 81 Q hoavy man from thos<
which are current with their work
j An ideA OF the tremendous bushes,
tWnich compelled .thase measures oe a.