The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1920-03-01
LANE GIVES VIEWS
ON OFFICIAL LIFE
Reports to President What AilS
National Capital,
SUSPICION IS GENERAL
Nobody Trusts Anybody Else in Wash.
innton, Which Retiring Secretary of
Interior Finds Poorly Organized

Washington. March l. Official
| Washington, "a combination of polti-
cal caucus, drawing room and civil
service bureaus" containing states
men who are politicians and poIitici-
ans who are not statesmen is poorly
| organized for its task, which fewer
men of larger capacity would do be--
| ter"
Such is an epitome of the views of
Franklsa e. Lane, retiring secretary
Of the Interior. expressed in a charac-
istic. I,ssslgg report to the president
on Te:sszssg pubic fffe, aftef r4afe tlassfi
| twenty years seryice-the last seven
| in the cabinet.
washington" says the retiring sec
retary,, sis rich in brains and cfarac-
ter. 1t is honest beyond any CONNER
cial standard. 1t wishes TO do every
thing that will promote the public
good; but it is poorly organized for
the task that belongs to it. Fewer men
of larger capacity would do the task
better.
ed to the point of paralysis because
of an infnitude of details and an un-
| willingness on the part of the great
body of public servants to take re-
sponsbility. Everyone seems to be
afraid of everyone. The Self-protec-
| tive sense is developed abnOrmally;
the creative sense atrOphieS. Trust,
confidence, enthusiasm-theSe simple
virtues of all great business are the
| ones most lacking in government or
ganiZatiOn. We have so many checks
and brakes upon our work that our
progress does not keep pace with the
| nations requirements.
1--WE could save money for the gov
| ernment if we had more discretion as
| to how we should use that given US.
| For the body of the civil servants,
there should be quicker promotion or
| discharge, and a sure insurance when
| disability comes. For the higher ad-
ministrative officers, there should be
salaries twice as high as those now
| given and they should be made TO
| feel that they are the ones responsible
for the work of the department, the
head being merely an adviser and
| constructor of policies.
"As matters are now devised, there
are 200 few in the government whose
| business it is to plan. EveAy man is
| held to details, to the narrower view,
which comes too often to be the de-
| partment view or some sort of paro-
| chial view. We need, for the day that
is here and upon US, men who have
| little to do but study the problems of
| the time, and test their capacity at
| meeting them.
| ''In word, we need more Opportun-
| ity for planning, engineering, states
manShip above, and more fixed au-
fhority and responsibility below"
Describing the interior department
as IAN abiding place for a group of
| unrelated governmental agencies" the
retiring secretary characteriZes it one
| the less as 1.-The most diStinctiyely
American of all the departments" and
reviews briefly the aims and accom-
| 3lishments of his admin iStration, some
/
- the Alaskan railway, opening of
Alaskan coal lands by leasing sys-
:em, water-power development legisla-
ion, and leasing system of oil and
mineral lands of the public domain are
enumerated among the latter.
Alaska, the secretary thinks, is ham,
)ered by too much 'red tape" in
Washington, which is ''static policy"
n many of the government bureaus.
Alaska, Lane says, should be admin
stored by a federal board in the ter
:itory, be policed by "a constabulary as
vas northwestern Canada, should have
Ter coasts made safe for navigation
md have Canadian musk-ox crossed
With native reindeer, 20 furnish a new
naat supply to the Pacific coast.
AmericanizatiOn, development of the
capital as an educational center for
,he country, farms for soldiers, and
development of natural resources, are
among the projects Lane leaves behind
him, and his report argues for the
Eisdom of their prosecution.