Evening star., 1921-05-15
Cabinet Jobs May Be Cut to Eight.
In Reorganization of Departments

ployed in times of peace. The Army and Navy
would have their normal quota OF engineer
(troop) units to which the undersecretary Oh
engineering would assign commissioned person.
mel for short tours of service. say two years
out of every eight. Is now done by the ch'el
of engineers of the Army to the various en-
eineer regiments
Only by this consolidation of land. water
and air forces can a logical and economic con-
centratien of the various engineering activities
be effected It is claimed. This Is not scheme
to militarize the government by exalting the
national defense department. because all the
undersecretaries can be civilians 1t Is unim-
portant whether these various engineering
agencies composed of civilian rather, than
military naval personnel. On account OF the
general opposition to the extension of commits
stoned military personnel into these engineer
ing activities. 1T would be quite feasible to pro-
vide personnel for the various engineering corps
along the same line, as Is now done for the
United States coast and geodetic survey, which
has permanently commissioned force of
civilian employees having the pay and emoiu-
ments and relative grades Of naval officers, on
the outbreak of passing at under the
control of the Secretary of the Navy naval
officers.
If nucleus of personnel for the different
engineering corps were commissioned as en-
gineers of the national defense department,
is the In the present Corps of Engineers
there would be many advantages to the service
in the matter of tenure of Office and the readily
applied rules by which inefficient men now
be eliminated from the service in the Corps of
Engineers of the Army.
1t is generally recognized that any govern
mental organization for engineering work must
have some kind of a permanent status for a
nucleus of its personnel, and whether this per-
sonnel is given commissioned status similar
to that of the present officers of the corps or
one similar to that of the present coast and
geodetic survey is of no Importance whatever.
The essential consideration Is that this person.
mel shall be in times of peace engaged
full constructive work, with organization
which on the outbreak of at once be-
come available to the secretary of national de-
fense for any engineering and construction
work required in the prosecution of the
AS to the Departments of Agriculture and
Labor. these are declared to be clearly illogical
and designed for particular classes of citizens
rather than for particular functions of govern
ment executed for all classes of citizens. These
departments are indicated for incorporation in
the Interior Department and the public welfare
department, respectively. The Interior Depart
ment under the proposed plan would have the
great function Of administering and developing
the national resources. of which by far the
greatest, is the produce from the earth's soil
(agricuture) also mineral resources (coal iron
tional parks and Indian reservations and their
resources).
The department of public welfare would take
over all questions of industrial relations of
which the greatest is the relation between labor,
capital and management; health, Insurance. per-
sonnel (civil service), education Vocational
general. motherhood). In other words, this de-
partment of public welfare would be respon-
sible for mans individual personal welfare from
his birth to his death.
X X X
The Department of Commerce would handle
all matters relating directly to commerce. ex-
cept that investiga tions of commercial oues-
tions in foreign countries. as well as of other
Investigations in foreign countries should be
handled by the State Department as the agent
of the other interested departments. The State
Department would in this way, handle all oues-
tions of agricultural investigation in foreign
countries, well be charged with the pro-
curement of all classes of intelligence on for
eign action affecting the Army, Navy or other
interested departments.
1t is believed that the reorganization above
described in general terms, and shown in exact
detail in charts prepared for the joint commit
tee on reorganization, be effected with a
minimum interference with the bureaus and de-
partments by Incorporating the various activi-
ties into their new departmental pos tons with
out change of personnel organize ton until
after the complete reorganization shall have
been made and the directing heads have
had an opportunity to observe the functions un-
der their control and suggest notifications in
organization or personnel as the necessity de-
velops through practical experience.
The whole idea is consonant with President
Harding's oft-repeated slogan. More business
In government and less government in busi-
ness