Evening star., 1921-03-13
BY WILL p. KENNEDY.


ference with Senate and House leaders,
is earnestly working on three big in
Il terlocking reforms to put the United
States government on sound, efhc,ent'
economic basis:
CD An efficient financial system. to be Sc
cured by adoption of the national budget.
(2) An efficient organization. to be secured
BY the proposed reorganization of the depart
ments according to some systematic and logical
plan.
along the lines recommended by the joint con-
gressional commission recassifcation
These all bear an intimate relationship. each
to the other. Reorganization is essential for
the best working of the proposed budget sys-
tenn and reorganization will help reclassifica-
tion by bringing into working relations under
. a distinct head groups engaged on related work
which are now scattered helter-skelter through
out myriad services.
Considerable headway has been made on
each of these three big tasks. and it is the
hope of the Harding administration to put
through the budget system at the coming
extra session and to have reorganization and
Redistribution systems pretty we'll worked out
during the Sixty-seventh Congress.
The determination of the administration to
lose no time this business program was
shown when it the chief topic of discus
sion at the first cabinet meeting on Tuesday,
following dinner conference with legislative
leaders Monday night at the White House. On
Wednesday the first executive meeting of the
Joint congressional committee on reorganization
was held. simultaneously. Secretary Hoover.
who had discussed with Mr.. Harding plans for
Reorganization of the Department of Commerce
before he accepted the post. allowed 1T to be
known in general way something of his pro-
posed scheme of reorganization.
With the adoption of the federal budget
system assured, present interest of the admin
istraton centers in the reorganization program
President Harding and his advisers have stated
that II Is very desirous for reorganization to be
effected from the standpoint of simplifying the
government The situation now is that there
tare hundreds of services engaged in many
activities that 1t is practically impossible for
the government itself. Congress- to know
what is being done. 1t is Of the greatest adj
vantage to bring order out of chaos. to get
Legislative and administrative efficiency.
The administrative branch of the national
government, with It's hundred more distinct
services. has grown up like a rambling set of
buildings estate; additions and sheds and
outiying structures have been added from time
to time. each in response to some particular
demand but without reference to any carefully
thousht-out plan. The resd1t fs that we have
At the present time several scores Of services
that IN very rough way are classified de-
partments. but to very great extent are not
properly classified, with result that services {.
are not located whore they should be. There
Is overlapping. duplication of organization. plant
and activities . wide scale
Reorganization would simplify the work Of
Congress enormously, because now Congress it.
self has extreme difHculty in securing informa-
tion necessary to properly perform it's function
Of legislating and appropriatng for the efficient
working of these too-many services.
+ \ 4 X
Secondly-Reorga ga nzation is an essential fea.
ture of the efficient working of the proposed
budget system. the cabinet conference decided.
1t was emphasized that the theory of the bud
set system is that the President shall come be-