The Glenwood post., 1922-06-08
WHY GOOD MEN QUIT

any other establishment of the govern
ment doing important technical work.
and they will tell you that their chief
dliilculty is to retain competent en-
ployees in the supervisory and tech
nical positions. Their turnover is alb
normally high in these positions.
| Every day men leave the service
to accept private employment at ma
terially increased salaries, so that the
departments are continuously going
through process of selecting and
training executives and technical en-
ployees, only to lose them, as they be-
come really valuable, on account of
the inadequacy of their compensation.
The second factor which contrib
utes to the present ineffectiveness of
| the government as a business estab-
| lishment is found in the improper or
ganization of the executive branch of
the government for effective service.
You are familiar. at least in a general
way, with the defects of the present
administrative machinery.
You know for example, that the In
| terror department now has jurisdiction
over a great number of bureaus of a
miscellaneous character that have
nothing to do with each other or with
the functions which the Interior de
partment was originally established to
| perform.
| You know that many agencies have
| been located in the Treasury depart
| ment, the great fiscal department of
| the government which are purely non
| fiscal in character, such us the coast
guard, the public health service, the
supervising architects Office and the
bureau of war risk insurance.
You know that the great bulk of
the civil public works of the govern
ment are executed under the super
vision of the War department, although
the bureau of public roads is located
in the Department of Agriculture and
the reclamation service in the Depart
ment of the Interior.
You know, furthermore, of the in
dependent existence outside the juris-
diction of any of the great executive
departments of some 4O-odd boards.
commissions, offices and bureaus.
These are merely examples of a con-
dition that would require volumes to
describe fully, but it is generally
known that the executive branch of the
government is at the present time IL
logically and uneconomically organ
ized in many important particulars.
1t should be remembered, however,
that even with an ideal personnel and
perfect organization it is doubtful
IL the high degree of economy and
efficiency that characterizes private
business can ever be attained in the
government offices. This is SO because
economies made by government Off
cials are not transformed into divi-
lends for themselves as they are In
private business.
There is AN impression in congress
and throughout the country that men
of great ability are not found in gov
ernment oivice; that the salaries are
not sufficient to attract and hold them.
ON the contrary, there are great
many people of distinguished ability
in the government service. one is
more and more impressed by that fact,
ington SO many men of large means
and famous names with whom the
government employees could be COM
pared. The comparison was time and
again TO the advantage of the govern
ment employee. But the salaries are
not the attraction it is the work il
self This is well understood by some
eminent observers Of public life. Sec
refary of State Hughes declared him
self as follows before the advisory
committees of the war risk insurance
bureau:
Ii has been my experience that with
the higher ofilcers. thc Uiacers of greater
institutions, where efficiency is rewarded
by public representa- lon-while the field
is limited one because of the great OPP
portunIty 10 men OF dblll.y-tt is sun en-
tireiy possible TO draw to the public seev-
ice men OF great ability and distinction,
because OF the ueslre to render publIe
serNt e, and the uoHber ot men VINO ara
available for that purpose, while rela-
lively small is sun sufficient u uie ap-
pointing officer wants men of that class.
lm order to obtain them, however, he
mus, give free field. He mu.I not III
terferc as TO political action 10 cuntfol
administration tendencies and must p1r-
mt Ahfih 10 NC NlN tH llit lFNAIN WHICH
well-conductcd Office Of Importance will
give to It's incumbent IN the public esd
nation.
Now the difficulty increases hen you
pass those hsdds thai get tie credit and
come 20 the technical expert Who has
got to do the regular wor, and upon
whose efficiency the operation OF the de-
partmeni finally depends These men are
little known. The public hasn't time even
to learn their names They are Interested
In work TO a degree of being willing to
make sacrifices.
There Is active competition for men of
brains and great ability of that sort, and
the government will never be served un-
less IL pays the price for those men Now
l think that is a plain situation. You
may be able to get director In the btu
ceau of war risk insurance for s5ooO n |
year. or for nothing at all, but you can.
not get an actuary. You cannot let in
surance men. You cannot get supern-