The Washington herald., 1920-11-23
REAVIS TOPUSH
BILL TO ALTER
BUREAU WORK
Nebraska Member Takes
Issue With Good on
Reorganization.
DEGREES OVERLAPPING
Creation Of Public Works
And Education Depart
ments Imperative.

Declaring that new legislation
was essential. Representative c.
Frank Reavis of Nebraska took ex-
ception yesterday to the statement
of Chairman James w. Good. of the
House Appropriations Committee. to
the effect that reorganization of
government departments could be
effected without specific Legislation,
through the operation of the budget
bill.
The budget bill. said Rsavis,
would leave the duty of eliminating
duplicating and overlapping OF gov
ernmentai activities entirely to the
discretion. of departmental heads.
This matter Is of too great impor-
tance to relegate to the Cabinet Of
ficers. each of whom is anxious to
preserve or increase the powers Of
his own department. said Reavis.
He added that it should be done by
law.
The first step in the work of reor-
ganizing governmental activities,
said Reavis. should be the appoint
ment OF a special committee to
" which all legislation looking to a
reorganization of departments
would be submitted.
Many Resolutions Pending.
A number of resolutions, one in
troduced by Representative r. Wal
ten Moore, of Virginia, another by
Reavis and third by Senator Smoot,
of Utah. providing for the appoint
ment of such a committee are now
pending in Congress. ~
Reorganization should come by
departments rather than by a COM
plete reorganization of all depart
ments at once" said Reayis yes
terday. ''and i intend to press my
resolution the minute Congress con-
venes." !
One OF the first measures to be
considered by the proposed special
committee should be the bill intro
duced by himself providing for the
creation of department of public
works In plaeespf the Interior De-
partmsnt, he said.
aaeSs"Te ~
This bill has received the unani-
nous endorsement of leading engi-
neers and technical magazines in
the country. and has been advo-
Gated by many men prominent both
in and out of Congress.
The proposed Department of Pub
lie Works would coordinate every
governmental activity pertaining to
public works including engineers,
road building river and harbor i'm
provement, mapping and surveys.
chemical engineering and research.
Every activity now in the In
terror Department not in harmony
with the functions of public works
would be shifted to other depart
ments more closely related to their
activities. The Pension Office would
be transferred to the Treasury De-
partment to be governed along with
the War Risk Bureau; the Patent
ONCE to the Department of Com
merce and st. Elizabeth's Hospital
would be placed under the jurisdic-
tion of the Public Health Service.
Favor Education Department.
The Howard University and Co.
lumbia School for the Deaf would
be placed under the Jurisdiction of
the Bureau of Education, which now
is functioning under the Interior
Department, but which, it is
planned. to create eventually into a
separate government department
There has been no thorough re-
organization of government depart
ments since the days of Alexander
Hamilton said Reavis. THE evolu-
ton of government has produced
many new activities that have been
attached from time to time to diff
ferent departments even when to-
tally unrelated to the natural func-
tions of the particular department,
so that the government service to-
day is top-heavy as a result of this
piece-meal process, and dozens of
bureaus and commissions are doing
exactly the same work.
Public Work Dispersed.
Eighteen bureaus and commits
sions are building public roads; 90
are engaged in engineering work;
IL in mapping; IL in surveying. and
a great number in health work.
Every time one of the depart
ments has need for certain service
of a particular character, it or
RanlZcS d ne" OF COfnm1S-
sion without regard to the fact that
other bureaus in other departments
are doing the same work.
The controlling factor of the
situation Is that these bureaus or
commissions are working for a
particular department and cannot be
assigned work in other depart
ments. This condition requires other
departments to organize bureaus of
their own to do that work.
My bill provides that the Depart
ment of Public Works would work
for the government and not for a
department and when any depart
ment has need for expert service
along the line of public works IL
would not organize a separate COM
mission but would apply to the
Board of Public Works.
TN this way hundreds of cases
of overlapping and duplication
would be done away with"