Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1921-06-03
NEW PLANS FOR
STATE GOVERNMENT
Survey Report Calls for Eleven
Major Departments
AUDIT INDEPENDENT
Eleven Departments Proposed--offiee
OF Motor Vehicle Commissioner
Would Come Under commerce
Department.


Annapolis
Regrouping Of the s5 State boards,
commissions and departments into II
major departments, with an independ-
ent office Of audit and control. is rec.
commended in the report submitted by
the Chicago firm which Governor
Richie retained to make a survey of
the States governmental organization.
This is the report which will come
in for analysis and criticism by the
committee of II Democrats which the
Governor has Just appointed
The administrative structure recon-
mended by the report provides for the
following major divisions:
l. Executive Department
2. Department Of Finance.
3. Department of Law
4. Department OF Militia.
5. Department Of Welfare.
8. Department of Health.
7. Department Of Education,
8. Department Of Public Works.
Q. Department Of Commerce.
10. Department Of Labor.
IL Department Of Employment and
Registration.
In addition, the scheme includes the
establishment of the independent ''of-
t1ce Of audit and CONTROL to be known
as office of the State Comptroller
AT the head Of each department
would be a director" appointed by
the Governor and Te1li0 s5io a. pleas
ure. The IL directors" would COM
prise the Governors cabinet.
They would be fully responsible to
him." says the report. "and he, in turn,
because of their close supervision thus
made possible, would become chief ex-
ecutive in the full sense of the term. -
The general policy of the report is to
recommend that administrative com
missions be superseded by individuals
who should rank as chiefs of bureaus
in the departments to which the work
Of such commissions has been as
signed. Thus, for example, the Roads
Commission would be abolished, and
in lieu thereof a Road Commissioner
would be created, he to head the Blu,
reau of Roads in the Department Of
Public Works The report suggests
however, that for the present that the
Director of Public Works might also
head the Bureau OF Roads.
Similarly. the office of the Commits
sioner of Motor Vehicles. one Of the
largest OF the State Departments un
der the present dispensation would
lose its independent identity and
would become the Bureau Of Motor
Vehicles Of the Department Of Com
merce. The head Of this Bureau woul(
be the Commissioner of Motor We
hicles.
Two commissions-the Public serv
ice Commission and the State Boart
of Motion Picture Censors-it is pro
posed to retain because of the quasi
judicial functions exercised by thes,
agencies. The chairmen of these tw,
commissions, however, shall be desig
mated as the chiefs Of their respective
bureaus and shall be made responsible
to the director of the department fol
the effective operation of the admin
istrative and office details of their re
spective bureaus
If, however, the proposed reorgani
zation would seem to impair the au
tonomy-to say nothing of the dignity
of certain important State officials By
making them bureau chiefs, subordi
nate to department heads, the plar
would afford them the compensatinl
benefit of security In office forte
quote the report-'4Fhe positions o.
the heads of the various bureau.
should be placed In the classified serv
ice of the State. and they should bt
removed only for cause as provided il
the Merit System Law. They woult
be the permanent expert executive
heads as distinguished from the ordi
narily transient policy-making ap
pointees OF the chief executive of the
State"
1 Further, any possible loss of prestige
due to the transition from chairman
Of commission to a commissioner
who is merely chief of a subordinate
bureau, would be Offset by prospect
i've increase in salary, The report rec
1 ognizes that trained and competent ex
ecutive (such as the bureau chief:
would bel must be well paid. On this
{ head the dictum of the report is a.
follows:
Commissioners at the head of the
various bureaus should be full-tim'
officials ard adequately paid Th'
State must compete to some exten
with private business by paying ade
quate salaries If It is to interest com
petent and experienced business
executives in the public service Thei
+ appointment must naturally be safe
guarded by qualification requirements
Of high order"
/ The primary purpose Of the admin
/ istrative machinery recommended BY
the report seems the coordination o
( effort and the Capitalization of au
thority and responsibility. The greateI
coordination is to be attained by set
ting up the major departments with