The Pleasantville press. (Pleasantville, N.J.) 1912-1929, 1922-09-06
SECOND BUDGET IS
BEING PREPARED
DIRECTOR LORD READY TO USE
THE PRUNING KNIFE FREELY
IF 1T Is NECESSARY.
ESTIMATES NOT so LIBERAL
Seven Agencies, Established by Gen.
eral Dawes, Arc Co-ordlnatino the
Routine Activities of the Federal
Departments and establishments.
BY JAMEs p. HoRNApAY

htVh.- SCtolu ACdCAa
budget Is now in the course of prep
aration. Gen. Herbert IL. Lord, the
e director of the bureau of the bud
get, Is already getting out his pruning
knife. The estimates from the various
branches of the government which
must be ready for the inspection of the
President of the United States by Sep
TENDER 10 are coming in. While they
show much improvement over the esti-
mates of former years. they reveal a
lingering disposition on the parts of
the chiefs of bureaus to ask for ex-
ceedingly liberal appropriations. The
estimates are not yet In such shape as
would warrant the bureau of the bud
get In saying whether or not the bud
get for the next fiscal year will call
for more money than was set aside
for the operation of the government
during the present fiscal year. II the
total of the estimates should exceed
the amount authorized for the present
year, 1t will certainly be reduced.
The outstanding fact about the prep
arati0n of the second budget Is that
the federal government for the first
line In its history Is now transactlng
Its routine business according to mod
dern methods. Never before did 1t
have a complete balance sheet, and 1t
now has complete inventories Of Its
properties, something which 1t never
had before. But most important of
all, there are now In existence and in
working order agencies which are en-
gagged in co-ordinatlng In all matters
of routine business the activities Of
the separate departments and estab-
lishments. Charles G. Dawes, the first
director of the budget, was obliged to
prepare the first budget without the
assistance of these agencies, which he
established during his term of office.
Federal Purchasing Board.
At the head of the list Of these new
agencies Is the federal purchasing
board. This board Is made up Of the
chief purchasing officer Of each de-
partment or establishment, with a
chief cO-OrdinatOr as chairman. The
chief co-ordinator has the authority,
limited by a right of appeal In case
of any difference of opinion, to impose
co-Ordinating orders. He can prevent
and Is preventing competition between
the different departments In outside
purchases, not only by preventing
them from raising the prices on each
nthnr hIIt nhnra 1arnn ntrunfffinC ~
standard commodities are purchased,
by ordering one department to execute
the purchase for itself and as agent
for the others.
The federal liquidation board co-or-
dinates sales, under a unified plan, of
the surplus stocks of the various de
partments Of the government. 1t Is
composed Of one representative from
each department, or establishment,
having sales activity and Is presided
over by a chief co-ordinator.
The third agency In the new organ
ization Is what is known as the corps
Of area co-ordinators. This agency
expands the principles involved in the
federal purchasing board and federal
liquidation board over the entire coun.
try. The country as a whole Is di
vided into nine areas corresponding
to the nine army corps areas and In
each area an official has been select
ed by the President, by detail from
the department, who Is known as the
cO-ordinator for general supplies for
the several executive departments In
that area.
Surveyor General Of Real Estate.
Then there Is the surveyor general
of real estate who determines, sub.
ject to the approval of the secretary
of the treasury, in what manner and
to what extent real estate owned by
the United States outside of the Dis
riot of Columbia shall be occupied
and used, etc. He has the power tc
assign and reasslgn rooms to all fed.
eral officials, clerks and employees
throughout the country as his judg
ment and discretion may direct. Since
this agency was established large
| sums of money have been saved by
| occupying space in government build
ings that was going to waste instead
of renting from private owners
The fifth agency in the new scheme
Is the federal motor transport agent
The director of the budget found tina
civilian trucks were being employed
to a large extent by some department,
while other departments had motor
| trucks standing idle. The bushes!
Of the federal motor transport agen
Is to see that motortrucks owned b,
the government are properly dis
tributed.
The next agency Is the federal tra1
fc board which Is designed to proven
overlapping of service and the dupli
cation of effort in the traffic bushes
of the government.
The seventh new agency Is the fed
eral board of disqualification. TIL,
duty Of this board Is to consider al
questions relative to the coordination
of federal disqualification.
Government statistics show tina
one section of the United State
is about as healthful as another
The statistics are those dealing witt