The daily times., 1921-12-06

couragement to a lack Of scrutiny of
partment under which it is carried
on, and an encouragement to shift
leSSneSs and careleSSnesS on the part
of the subordinates more directly
pairing the budget will confine the
attention of the Execu "e of Con-
gress. 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 indie
finite commitments. projects. and en-
terprises considered. This will en-
able 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
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 rOufipa huSipaSS
The administrative vice-presidents
(members of the cabineD were allow
ed to run their several departments
as if each separate department was
an Independent authority in all mat
ters of routine business
Because of a lack of any outlined
business plan, no system existed for
making purchases or in selling mater
ial along business lines under uni
fed policy.
No balance sheet of the corporation
as a 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 ex-
penses
The corporation, in effect, seldom
reconsidered an unwise project enters
ed into by any department.
The administrative heads of the
n nY orfr1 te
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 department.
Outlining the work of the various
coordinating agencies established by
Presidential order Ito rectify faults
in the routine business of the govern
ment. General Dawes says:
They involve no transfer of auth
ority the location of which has been
fixed otherwise by statute
'They involve the delegation of no !
questions of policy save that of eco
nomy and efficiency.
They are simply agents by which |
unified methods of ordinary business !
can be imposed by the Chief Execu-
tive.
They are simply agents by which |
unified methods of ordinary business
can be imposed by the Chief Execu- |
tive
They are created simply to give [
the President of the United States, |
the same agencies of contact and !
transmission of authority as obtain |
in any private organization They in |
volve no material addition to the ,
expense as govern mental admins |
tratiOn.
They are nonpartisan, being COM
posed of men already in the Govern
ment service.
They are in effect simply a 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's |
routine business as enables them to |
make possible the application of COM !
mon sense business methods.
1T can not be often reiterated |
that this most important reformation !
in the governmental business system |!
is dependent upon the President of
the United States himself, and upon
his continued assumption of his re-
sponsibility as it's business head. The
minute he realizes his attitude of
attention to this duty, there will be
felt the natural pull of the depart
ments and establishments toward the
old system of complete independence |