The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-12-05

northern Florida the last twenty-four
hours were reported today to the
weather bureau. Frosts as far south
IS central Florida is the FORECAST for
tonight.
suited in a condition of things under
which it is almost impossible for either
the executive. Congress or the secre-
arX Of the treasury to have before
mem true picture of the fiscal con-
aition of the government at any Par-
ticular time"
The whole habit of making con-
tLnuous appropriations to which the
government has been committed in
the past" he adds, ''is only an en-
enlargement to a lack of scrutiny of
pu bic work by the head of the de-
partment under which it is carried on,
and an encouragement to shiftlessness
and carelessness on the part of the
subordinates more directly concerned
in it. This system of preparing the
budget will confine the attention of
tEe executive of Congress, 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 obli-
cations and indefinite commitments,
projects and enterprises considered.
This will enable Congress, with more
intelligence, to determine at any time
both the necessity for retrenchment
and the ability of the government to
| engage in additional projects to be
Initiated 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
r binary routine business.
The administrative vice presidents
| (members of the cabinet) were allow
ed to run their several departments
as if each separate department was
an independent authority in all mat
ters of routine busAess.
Because of'a lack of any outlined
/ business plan. no system existed for
making purchases or in selling mate
al along business lines under a uni
fed policy.
No balance sheet of the corporation
as whole was ever prepared.
The treasurer kept no accurate ac-
count of the contingent obligations of
the various federal departments, thus
resulting in money being drawn from
him continuously IN excess of the
estimated annual running expenses.
The corporation, in effect, seldom
reconsidered, an unwise project enter
led into by any department.
The administrative heads of the
departments were selected as a rule
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"
Il Outlining the work of the various
co-ordinating agencies established by
presidential order "to rectify faults
IN the routine business of the govern
naent," 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 no
questions Of policy save that of econ
+ cny and efficiency.
"They are simply agents by which
unified methods of ordinary business
can be imposed oy the chief execu-
tive.
"They are created simply to give
the president of the United States, the
same agencies of contact and trans
) mission of authority as obtain in any
private organization.
; .''They involve no material addition
: to the expense of the governmental
administration.
'eThey are nonpartisan, being com
! posed Of men already in the govern
5 ment service.
5 "They are in effect simply re-
; grouping under an executive leader.
: ship of certain of the present EN-.