The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1922-03-04
By EDWARD G.LOWRY
Copyright, Western Newspaper Union


NNI.
OUR COSTLY NEGLIGENCE
REORGANIZATION" is ID tired, haggard,
nervous wreck Of q word that was
nearly worked to ucI;;h nj Washington
during the early days of the war. 1t
was the first OF the du}lar-a-year words
10 come forward - tic war work, and
it was worn to Il fru%;.'r. | hate to
drag the poor wan lhiu1 CT from the
quiet retreat in NY dictionary where
it has been resting and rccuperatinS.
but l must say that this lack of co
ordination, lack of organization, du-
plication, inetticiency, waste, and hap
hazard hOdge-pOdge structure of the
national governmental machine is no
secret to those ut Washington. who
run and manage it for u%, and who are
even more directly responsible than
we are for the condition into Whirh
it has fallen.
l submit pleas of avoidance and
confession from both Democrats ard
Republicans 1t is not matter OF
poI4llNSs IL - Il lll''ttNA Va II " $500
confessed negligence on the part Of
the men we have hired to run the ma
chine, and have kept year after year
in places Of trust and power and re-
sponSibility. They haven't kept up
the plant The form of organization
is grotesqueIy inadequate. The NOR
ale of the working force is badly i'm
paired. as l have set forth at length
in previous articles. We have paid
Tie price for this grossly and hugely.
in money and in poor service. This
has been costly negligence on our part.
l said l had confessions. Here they
are, Reed Smoot. Republican and
senator from Utah. speaking:
The administrative branches of the
government have undergone no tunda-
mental change since the organization was
devised by Alexander Hamilton.
No other government in the world
could have gone on "a ours has done, and
paid the bills involved in our wastefu
methods of administration. We have been
able to do it because this country has
had resources and wealth unparalleled
But the war has brought us at last to
realize that these will not last always.
W nSet a tOIlplttt SUI \ SN VI liS " Ii'iS
situation de novo by a committee of men
willing to recognize that it is a task Of
day and night for a year and very likely,
two years.
There is endless duplication of work
among different departments, and even
in the same department. 1t Is
the same through all the government
functions, and now, when the burden OF
carrying our enormous debt is weighing
on the people, We can no longer neglect
| to give ii consideration.
When he said these things, Mr..
| Smoot was urging a concrete proposal
| to bring about the reformation so bad
! ly needed.
And now Franklin D. Roosevelt, for
seven years assistant secretary of the
| navy and recently the Democratic can
didate for vice president:
The entire system of relationship which
| exists between congress and the execu-
| tive departments is fundamentally wrong.
J Let me illustrate: / made an offer one
I spring to the appropriations committees
| of both house and senate, telling them
| that | would tomorrow discharge 10 per
cent of the employees Of the Navy de-
| partment if they, the committees, would
give me complete authority to take one
| half of the salaries of the employees so
! discharged and add it to the salaries OF
| the other So per cent of the employees
! still left in the department. OF
course, however, under the present sys-
| tenn congress would not think of giving
executive discretion of this kind.
! Congress. for various reasons, has so
tied the hands of the executive officers
| of the government that they have no dis
| erection in the fundamental questions OF
| employment My own wonder is
| that. considering the existing circum-
| stances, the employees of the govern
| ment are as efficient as they actually are.
| Congress legislates for every minute Item
of employment. mere Is q lot
| of work being done in other departments
| which ought properly to be under the
Navy department, and in the same way
| there is a lot of work done by the Navy
| departnent which could perfectly prop
| erly be transferred to other departments
! After seven years down here in an eX-
| ecutive position l cannot help the
| conclusion that our governmental meth
| DDS are cumbersome and Wasteful. The
| first Improvement must come in what is
| after all, the source of governmental &C
| tivities-that is, the legislative branch.
| This must come from congress We need
| also a Redistribution and redistribution
! of the work of the executive depart
L
| working in accord with itself and with
| the executives, will discuss the wko!e
| question simultaneously and not mercy
| piecemeal.
Well, there you are! \ Republican
| who has been in the legislative branch
| of the government for seventeen years
| and a Democrat who has been in the
| executive branch for seven years, both
| telling the same story of how badly
| the national business is managed.
The odd thing about it is that Oul
| agents and representatives at Wash.
| ington who let this waste and inef-
| ficiency run on, year after year, pas
| no penalty. We pay the piper to the
| tune Of millions and Enthusiastically
| that much. And the condition will en-.
| dure until we make a real roar abO'j
t. Congress increasingly shakes it,
| head over the situation and brings in
| various proposals of reform, and says
| how wrong it all is; but lacking 3
lively infamed public pressure. moth
| ing gets done.
The lives Of several kinds Of plants
have been doubled by Vienna bota"