Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1921-12-06

Of the subordinates more directly
concerned in it.. This system of pre-
pairing the budget will confine the
attention of the Executive. of Con-
sress, and of the public to the one
great important question. to wit, the
relation Of the money actually to be
spent by the Government to the
money actually to be received by the
Government in any given year. all
its outstanding obligations and in
definite commitments, projects. and
enterprises considered. This will
enable Congress, with more intelli-
gence, to determine at any time both
the necessity for retrenchment and
the ability of the Government to en-
gage in additional projects to be in
itiated by Congress outside of the
budgetary provisions"
Likening the federal government
to a business corporation. General
Dawes points to these faults" which
he says existed:
The President of the corporation
(the President Of the United States)
gave practically no attention to its
ordinary routine business.
The administrative vice presidents
(members Of the cabinet) were al
lowed to run their several depart
ments as If each separate department
was an independent authority in all
matters of routine business.
Because of a lack of any outlined
business plan, no system existed for
making purchases or in selling ma
terial along business lines under a
unified policy.
No balance sheet Of the corpora
ton as a whole was ever prepared.
The treasurer kept no accurate &C
count of the contingent obligations of
the various federal departments, thus
him continuously in excess of the es-
timated annual running expenses.
The corporation. in effect, seldom
reconsidered an unwise project en-
tered into by any department.
The administrative heads of the
departments were selected as rlile
with little reference to their business
qualifications and were compelled to
rely largely upon the advice of sub
ordinates welded to the theory of
the right of Independent operation
OF the department"
Outlining the work of the various
coordinating agencies established by
Presidential order "to rectify faults
in the routine business of the gov
ernment," General Dawes says:
"They involve no transfer of au-
thority the location of which has
been fixed otherwise by statute.
"They involve the delegation of NJ
questions of policy save that of econ
omy and efficiency.
"They are simply agents by which
unified methods of ordinary business
can be imposed by the Chief Execu
tive.
'They are created simply to Civ
the President of the United States
the same agencies of contact ant
transmission of authority as Obtain
in any private organization.
"They involve no material addition
to the expense of governmental ad
ministration.
"They are nonpartisan, being com
posed of men already in the Govern
ment service.
"Thcy ere in effect simply re-
grouping under an executive leader
ship of certain of the present en-
ployees of Government of such ex
perience. contact, and relation in it
routine business as enables them tt
! make possible the application of com
nonsense business methods.
1T cannot be too often reiterated
that this most important reformat ior
| in the governmental business system
is dependent upon the President of tn,
United States himself, and upon hi:
continued assumption Of his RESPONSE
'blity as it's business head. The min.
ute he relaXes his attitude of atten.
ton to his duty there will be felt thu
natural pull of the departments an(
establishments toward the old system
of complete independence and decen.
tralization."
General Dawes concludes his re.
port with this statement:
I'm making this report the Director
of the Budget will state that his con.
iiSNtich With tiiC Jul 10 llHiilCo as
to time, in accordance with an under.
standing which he had with The
President at the time of his appoint
ment. His purpose in making this
announcement at this time is to en-
phasize the fact that his recommend
atoms are made in an impersona
way, with fundamental business prin-
ciples and their proper preservation ir
their application to governmental
business administration alone in
mind"
While the railroad administration
and the transportation act are ex-
pected to cost the government 1887,
679,2 in 1922, no estimate of ex-
penditures for these purposes for
1923 was included in the budget
Experts explained that it was not
possible to make an accurate esti-
mate of what would be needed for
the carriers until after the results OF
the 1922 railroad financing are
known.