Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1921-05-27
HARDING SCORES CONFUSION
AND RED TAPE At WASHINGTON
Delivers Speech Before Academy Of Political Science in
New York City Declaring Government Must Be
Conducted Under Strictly Business Methods

sons difficult to do this because gov
eminent is not under the necessity
to earn profits, nor to obey the laws
which regulate competition. These
are the prime guarantees of efficiency
and fair dealings in private business.
They do not apply to government;
and therefore government should be
placed, SO far as possible, under a
strict sway of the methods which are
applied in private business to secure
those ends.
Government Should Be Broad.
1.-The government should be broad,
conscientious and intelligent to SUBJ
ject itself to these rules, despite that
it's quality Of sovereignty would place
it beyond them If it chose to assume
that position. Every principle and
device which promotes efficiency in
private business should be adapted
and applied in government affairs. !
will trust the public official who de-
cides his public problem as though
it were his very own.
ITO bring economy and efficiency
10 government is task second to
none in difficulty. Few people, III or
out of the government have any
conception of the growth Of govern
ment business in the last decades be-
fore the world war; still fewer at all
realize the pace to which that growth
has been speeded up since the war
started. The multiplication Of de-
partments, bureaus, divisions, func-
tions, has resulted in sort of geo.
metrical increase In the tasks which
confront the heads Of legislative de-
partments when they face recon-
struction problems.
Prospect Not Hopeless
Fortunately the prospect is not
so hopeless as might appear because
the present organization is not SO
bad that the insistent application of
few established principles OF sound
business organization In immediate
economies will provide margin Of
valuable means to meet the new de-
mands. The party in power is
pledged to economy and efficiency
and you may be assured that every
energy is being directed to redeem
that pledge to the last degree and
with all promptness.
1.-THE task will require some time
and ultimate results must await It.
More, 1t will demand a resolute cour-
age to effect the abolition OF the USE
less and the coordination OF the
useful.
II need not emphasize to you gem
tlemen the anomalous situation OF
the government heretofore in hav-
ing great number of spending COM
mittees, apportiOning moneys to vari-
our purposes without any study Of
the relationship of these aggregated
spendings to the revenue in sight.
Establishment Of the budget sys-
tenn is the foundation on which the
reorganization must be based. It is
hardly conceivable, indeed, that q
proper budget system could be es-
and carried on for any con-
siderable time without forcing atten-
tion to the evils and effecting the re-
form OF many deficiencies In the
present system. But the budget
program will not do everything. It
must not be accounted q fiscal and
efficiency panacea, for it will not be.
There must still be much and con-
tinuing effort to keep expenses down,
to insure full value for every dollar
of the taxpayers money the govern
ment spends"