Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-04-27
Congress 10 Try to Put
GOUernm emf Business
On ECOn0miCQL Basis

|
Mr.. Browns letter apparently
indicates a typical governmental per-
| Torrance. The bureau of efficiency
| is presumed to study the methods OF
the government and bring about adj
ministrative reforms and increased
| efficiency. Yet Mr.. Brown says II
/ has not sufficient investigators to
do the work. There may be 10000 or
| 10000 surplus clerks here, Mr..
Brown indicates, but he doesn't ap-
! pear to have any of them and the
| efficiency board of the government
| department hasn't Isufficient force to
ascertain what is going on.
If there are 10000 surplus en-
| ployeS here, it may occur to the aV-
erage business man that it would be
| a good plan to transfer at least a
! dozen or so to the efficiency bureau
I so it may proceed with its Weedlng
| out of obsolete administrative meth
DDS and some thousands of clerks.
But, apparently, this hasn't occurred
| to congress or anybody else.
oratory and Reality
Albeit, the average bureau chief
will inform you there are two sides
| to economy schemes in so far as they
+ effect the firing" of government
| clerks The member of congress
who inveighs against extravaganza
while making a ome-consumption
speech on the floor is different indi-
| yidual when he appears next morning
| at a government departmet hunting
| a job for a constituent.
| Fire out these needless, idle
| clerks; lift some of the burden from
the bowed shoulders of the taxpayers
of this country" shouts the con
| gresham, amid the plaudits of his
| The Sn6Gph duly
| franked out and thrills the folks
| back home who are proud to nave
! at the national capital such watch
dog of the treasury.
But the next day the orator hears
| that a heartless chief clerk has dis
worker" from the little town OF
Hickory Knoll. Miss Smith thinks
| it's an outrage and goes forthwith
| to her congressman.
The congressman agrees it is an
outrage and says he is going to take
| it up right away. And ne does. M9 why
didn't the chief clerk fire somebody
| else; why pick on my constituent
| why not get rid of some of these
! trifling janitors and doorkeepers tnat
l see in the halls; why wasn't MISS
Smith transferred to another depart
ment? Are some OF the -, 1ndlgnaSnI
| questions the economical member
of congress is likely to fire at the
hapless chief clerk. And in many any
| cases the upshot is that MISS Smlth
| goes back on the rolls, or is trans
| ferred to some other overcroWded ou-
Two Ways to Cut Down
| There are two ways in which con-
gress may go about affecting. econ
omies in the government depart.
ments. Everybody comedies tha'
economy is most desirable, In tact
|
which might just as well have CONS
| ten years ago, is largely attributable
| to high taxes, which for once nave
arrested the attention of the tax
| payer and caused him to ask where
the money is going.
The more Spectacular, but less sci
entific way, the congress may pro
coed contemplates the slashlng OF es-
Inmates and the pairing to the bone
! of the many requests OF the eXecu-
! tive departments. Such metnSus
might bring temporary results, nul
| there is no assurance the reforms
would be Of permanent character ano
| gradually extraVagances would pe
| likely to creep back into. the supply
bills. This method likewise presents
| the danger that the cuts, may De
made in the wrong direction; that
| meritorius service may be crippled
while a service of doubtful value
slips by because of politics or rtaVor'
| itism. ,,oe.e
| believe that the better plan woulo
he working from the ground up
| the establishment of a budget sys-
tenn, a reorganization OF the eAecu.,
| tive departments, Weedlng out VI
superfluous and overlapping purea ~ u
> and the systematic Weedlng out Vi
every useless employe.
+ Some 1ncongruities.
fun
the various executive department;
and agencies are readily discovered
, one cannot help stumbling over them
/ There is little coordination OF WorF
among the departments. Here are
fel illustrations of how dltferenl
ambling along over the same grouno
with loss of motion and efficiency
The state department and the de'
partment of commerce both are Try
| ing to promote foreign trade. Inc
! Interviewing of diplomacy and com
merce by the state department never
| appealed to former Secretary Red
| field, of the department of commerce
and now Secretary Alexander has
come to the same conclusion.
The treasury department houses
| the office of the supervising archl,
tect, yet most of the government
| buildings constructed are for the use
of the postoffice department.
Likewise, the treasury department
| has jurisdiction over the coast guaro
| and it's uniformed officers, including
| officers of aviation, engineering ano
construction and repair.
Again, the treasury department has
| the bureau of war risk insurance
| handling allotments and allowances
for soldiers of the great war, while
the interior department dispenses
| pensions resulting from the Civil
| and Spanish-American wars.
In addition to collecting billions ir
| taxes, the bureau of internal revenue
| enforces the national prohibition law
but the department of justice anc
! it's district attorneys must obtain the
| convictions.
Bureaus of engineering, whose
work is not directly related to the
functions of the several departments
the treasury department, the interior
department and the department OF
| agriculture.
During the war the war depart
ment had both a. construction d1Vl
sion mad an engineer corps, and now
congress is talking about making
the construction division permanent
There are medical branches in botf
| the war and navy departments, bu'
| the public health service, with Its
captains, majors. colonies and gen
erals, is under the treasury depart
| ment.
The territory of the interior depart
ment covers everything from the
government hospital for the insane
and the Howard university, in Wash
ington, to the bureau of education OF
| the care of elk herds in Wyoming
| Three distinct government bureau:
are said to include among their du
ties preservation of species of Pc
lar bears in Alaska.
REIMBURSEMENT Proposed.
| Representative r. Walton Moore
of Virginia, has pending resolution
for appointment of a congressional
committee to recommend readjust
ment of the government service 81
that each department would handle
only the questions naturally associat
ed with that department.
The plan would take from the
treasury everything not related to the
finances of the nation; from the wal
| and NAVY denartment activities no