Perth Amboy evening news., 1922-07-20

" USELESS
kittee on Departmental
organization Has Done
yothing, it is Claimed
Y GEORGE II. MANNING

tl4JtNNuE h. MAN Mn"
IlshinGton Correspondent of the
Perth Amboy Evening Ncws.)
WASHINGTON. July 20. - Gre
I'd fifteen months ago. with Re-
sbhcan promises that it would eff
|ct a complete reorganization of
he government departments and
ave about $500, 000, 600 annually, the
oint committee on departmental re-
Organization has done nothing.
In all that time it has held but
4 three short meetings and has moth
ing to, show for the expense it has
incurred nor to fulfill the claims
made for it by President Harding,
and the Republican leaders.
About the only purpose it has
served has been to furnish a $500
a year job for Walter l.. Brown,
/. of Ohio, personal friend of the Pres
ldent's and prominent in Ohio poll
tics. Brown served as floor man
ager for Senator Harding at the Chi
. eago convention.
Whatever plan the committee had
for reorganizations of the depart
ments has been stalled by the de-
~claration of Secretary of Agricul-
ture Wallace that he will resign if
the committees proposal for trans
ferring the forestry bureau from his
department to the interior depart
ment is carried out.
"a The Joint committee on depart
mental reorganization is product of
the Harding administration. Its Gre
alton was provided for by congress
in the spring of 1927 at the be-
hest of President Harding and his
associates who claimed that if the
,-ar ronpUa njZnH So DC
to eliminate duplication of work by
different bureaus in the various de-
partments it would bring about in
creased efficiency, materially reduce
the number of federal employees and
save between 500, 600, 900 and $780,
900 900 annually.
The Republican congress had just
come in, was anxious to follow
President Harding's every wish and
willing to do anything that sounded
like reform and betterment, especial
ly in the way of reduced govern
ment expenses.
Congress passed the resolution
creating the committee and provided,
at the special request of the Presi-
dent, $500 a year salary for a men,
Der of the committee who should be
appointed by the President to rep
resent him. At it's first meeting, held
in MAY, 1921, il the cabinet room
at the White House following a con-
terence with the President, the Rer
publican members of the committee
elected Walter l.. Brown as chair
mar over the opposition of the Dem
ocratic members. Senator Harrison
of Mississippi, and Representative X.
Walton Moore of Virginia.
In June, 1921, the committee met
again and received a letter fr1~n the
President saying he would be glad to
submit suggestions of a plan of re-
organization. A reply was sent t
ting that the committee would be
glad to consider any suggestion he
might offer. Since then there was
no meeting until about the first OF
May, 1922, when the committee con-
ferred with the President at the
White House for about three hours.
I 1t was said then that the executive
( Recommendations would be submit
! ted some time in May but up to this
! time no word has come from the
President.
The committee has not known
Brown in its work and whatever
plan he formulated has been on his
own initiative. The committee mem
bers did not see Brown for a yeal
after the organization of the com
mittee in May, 1921, until they were
invited to the White House by the
President in May, 1922,