The New York herald., 1921-08-16
TUESDAY, AUGUST 10. 1921.
The Job of Government Reform.


The Job of Government Reform.
The movement for the remaking Of
the executive departments and the re-
distribution and simplification Of the
crazy tangle Of bureaus and commits
sions and so forth now in function at
Washington seems to be in hopeful
progress under President HARpING's
energetic impulse. His personal rep
resentative, Mr.. WALTER F. Brown,
the chairman Of the Joint Committee
on Government Reorganization, is re-
ported as expressing the confident
belief that saving Of half billion
dollars in Government expenditure
can thus be effected.
The test of thoroughness will come,
Of course, after the rearrangement Of
the bureaus and commissions In new
groups has been completed and the
work of cancelling begins. Classifl-
cation and the getting together in the
same bunch Of governmental units
previously widely separated. duplicat-
ing activities or conflicting in juris-
diction and enormously increasing
administrative expense, Is task SIM
pie In comparison with that which
will follow. AS soon as the commit
tee gets to work at the eliminations
and suppressions there Is bound to
ensue q mighty struggle for the sur
vival of unfitness.
We are confident that the Joint com
mittee, with President HARDIvG's Wig
orous cooperation and the competent
advice Of General DAWES, Director OF
the Budget, can put this thing
through to the great relief Of the
taxpayer; and 1t ought to be put
through at the present session.
When THE NEW YORK HERALD called
attention, soon after the Presidential
election Of last November, to the
urgent need of some such reform az
has now been set a-going, another as
pect OF the matter was discussed; that
is, the efficiency OF the Cabinet as an
advisory board. Its usefulness to the
President or its unwieldiness and
practical uselessness in this capacity
depends entirely upon its numerical
status.
The Cabinet officer is not only by
constitutional appointment and con
iirmation the administrative head of
one OF the executive departments
established by law. He is also by
custom and by manifest necessity a
counsellor on general policy, mem
ber of a small official family holding
intimate official and personal rela
tions with the President, and meet
ing him at regular intervals for dis
cussion and exchange OF views, not
only with regard to matters in his owr
special field but with regard to mat
ters in the special fields of his as
sociates. The Cabinet officers help the
Chief Magistrate sustain the tremen
dous burden of care and responsible
ity that rests upon an American
President. They are chosen by him
mainly with this purpose In view
their assignment to this or that de
partment being often a secondary
consideration.
Now the progress Of the movement
for Cabinet reform and departmental
reorganization, valuable and encour
aging as 1t is and promising great
pecuniary benefits to the overburdenet
taxpayer, does not seem yet to have
grasped this other side OF the ques
tion Of Cabinet reform.
AS an advisory board, sitting a
the White House table, Cabinet o
ten is rather too large for the Creates
possible usefulness. With the Vice
! President now included in the regi
lar conference, the Cabinet is at pres
ent practically a council OF eleven
For hundred years the maximum
membership of the Presidents Cabi
net was seven; and the number is not
too small for the purposes of such q
council. Perhaps five or six would
work better. as was the case In oul
Cabinets for more than fifty years be
tween 1898 and 1S49.
What can be done in the way of re
duction in the number of Cabine,
members without detriment to ad
ministrative efficiency remains to be
seen. We are not In accord with the
present proposal to combine the War
Department and the Navy Depart
ment In a single Department OF Ma.
tional Defence. with representation
by one Secretary sitting in the Cabi.
net. The War and Navy Departments,
in THE NEw YORK HERNLp's opinion,
should be kept separate. That slight
gain in compactness would be neutral.
lied by the proposal to erect two more
departments. with Secretaries. ono to