The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-05-10
Where Your
Taxes Go
How Uncle Sam Spends
Your Money in Conduct
ing Your Business
By EDWARD G.. LOWRY
Author Washington Close-Ups.'' Banks and
Financial Systems" etc. Contributor Political
and Economic Articles to Leading Periodicals
and q Writer Of Recognized Authority on the
National Governments Business Methods
Copyright. Western Newspaper Union
XIII.
WE'RE COLD TO o
By EDWARD G. LOWRY

WE'RE COLD TO REFORMS
We have not had in our time u Presi-
dent who was a business nan or who
had close acquaintance with business
methods. The Chief Executives have,
for the most part, not been executives
as that term is now understood. Any
thing but. They regarded the govern
mental machine as one regards a hired
motor cara piece of mechanism in
which to get somewhere, and with no
thought of its power-transmission
system or economy of operation.
Mr.. Taft did sense the fact that he
was at the head of an organization
whose activities are almost as varied
as those of the entire business world.
Mr.. Harding, l believe, shares this
feeling.
AS Mr.. Taft pointed out, this great
In detail as one piece Of administra-
tive mechanism. No comprehensive
effort has been made, until very re-
Gently, to list its many activities or to
group them in such a way as to pre-
sent a clear picture Of what the gov
eminent Is doing. No satisfactory
statement has ever been published of
the financial transactions of the gov
eminent as a whole. With large In
terests at stake congress and the ex-
ecutiye have never had all the infor-
nation which should be currently
,,yay1aI1a TO tho mast infallinnnt liran.
ton is to be given to the daily national
business.
Congress, the President and the ad-
ministrative officers have been at
tempting to discharge their duties
without full information as to the
agencies through which the work Of
the government Is being performed.
In the past, services, agencies, bureaus,
what not, have been created one by
one as ~exigencies have seemed to de-
mand, with little or no reference to
any scheme of organization of the gov
eminent as a whole.
Mr.. Taft pointed out all this and
made an earnest effort to change it.
With what result? Why, just exactly
none Congress was cold. The pub
lic-meaniag you and me-was colder.
We didn't take any interest in the
project, and therefore congress po-
litely yawned 1t away into the tall
grass and out of sight. Mr.. Taft was
given enough money to employ an efi-
cheney and economy commission and
to make inquiry into the methods of
t%ransacting the public business of the
executive departments and other gov
eminent establishments"
The inquiry was made and the
changes recommended, but nothing
has ever been done about it. This
economy and efficiency commission was
very conservative and cautious. 1t
took Mr.. Taft's view that the prob
lem of good administration Is not one
that can be solved at one time. 1t Is
a continuously present one. This
commission, made up of excellent men,
suggested that the revenue-cutter serv-
Ice be abolished and Its activities be
taken over by other services. 1t was
estimated that by so doing a saving
Of not less than $1,000,O00 could be
made.
Another report recommended that
the lighthouse and life-sav wing services
be administered by a single bureau in
stead OF as at that time, by two bu-
reaus located in different departments.
1t vas estimated that this %consolida-
A., --n.,1l ,Aa,,1f II ~ -a-tn 90 ,>%
less than 100000 yearly.
The abolition of the returns office of
the Interior department was recon-
mended, at an estimated direct saving
of about $4,000 a year., in addition
to a large indirect economy In the
reduction of work to be performed In
the several offices.
The consolidation Of the six auditing
offices of the treasury and the inclu-
sion In the auditing system of the
toms accounts at the principal ports
was urged. The change was expected
to produce an immediate saving Of at
least $135,OO0 yearly.
From this modest start other changes
and reforms and savings were to be
made.
But we weren't interested In the
high cost of government or the high
cost of living eleven years ago.. Mr..
Taft didn't get a rise out of us. He
didn't have much of Il pull with con
gress, either, poor man, and all his in
Quiry vent for nothing as far as any
action was concerned.
He and his commission did bring out
and establish, however, certain facts
and conditions. 1t was a trustworthy
and competent investigation as far as
it went. That is something to the
good.
There is a patent disposition In con
gress now to take the whole problem
of the routine administrative processes
of the government under consideration
and see how best to improve them.
Whether anything really worth while
will come out of it will depend en-
tirely on the degree of interest you
display. If you will take the trouble
to show that you know that the n a