Milford chronicle., 1922-11-10
Bv EDWARD G.LOWRY
Copyright. Western Newspaper Union
XXI.
OUR COSTLY NEGLIGENCE
XXI.

| JUN OOO Il NEAGLA AIEslN NE-
COORDINATION" is a tired haggard
nervous wreck Of a word that was
nearly worked to death at Washington
during the early days of the war. II
was the first of the dOllar-a-year words
to come forward to do war work, and
it was worn to a fragile. 1 hate to
drag the poor wan thing out from the
quiet retreat in my dictionary where
it has been resting and recuperating,
but 1 must say that this lack Of CO
ordination, lack Of organization, du-
plicatiOn, inefficiency, waste, and hap
hazard hOdge-pOdge structure Of the
national governmental machine is no
secret to those at Washington, who
run and manage it for us, and who are
even more directly responsible than
we are for the condition into which
it has fallen.
I submit pleas Of avoidance and
confession from both Democrats and
Republicans. 1t is not a matter Of
politics. It is matter Of proved and
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 grOtesquely inadequate. The NOR
ale Of the working force is badly i'm
paired, as I have set forth at length
in previous articles. We have paid
the price for this, grossly and hugely,
in money and in poor service. This
has been costly negligence on our part
said had confessions. Here they
are, Reed SmOOt, Republican and a
senator from Utah, speaking:
The administrative branches of the
government have undergone no funda-
mental change since the organization was
devised by Alexander Hamilton.
No other government in the world
could have gone on as ours has done, and
paid the bills involved in our wasteful
methods Of administration. We have been
able to do 1t 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.
We need a complete survey Of the whole
situation de novo by a committee of men
day and night for year, and very likely,
two years.
There is endless duplication of work
among different departments, and even
in the same department a. It 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 it consideration.
When he said these things, Mr..
SmOOt was urging a concrete proposal
to bring about the reformation so bad
Iy 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 |
Let me illustrate: I made an offer one
spring to the appropriations committees
Of both house and senate, telling them
that 1 would tomorrow discharge Is 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
and add it to the salaries Of
the other IS per cent Of the employees
still left in the department. 49,. 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
,retion in the fundamental questions Of
employment. My own wonder is
hat considering the existing circum-
stances, the employees of the govern
nent are as efficient as they actually are
Congress legislates for every minute item
If employment. There is a lot
If work being done in other departments
which ought properly to be under the
Navy department, and in the same way
here is a lot of work done by the Navy
department. which could perfectly prop
rly be transferred to other departments.
After seven years down here in an ex-
cutive position I cannot help the
conclusion that our governmental meth
IDS are cumbersome and wasteful. The
rst improvement must come in what is,
fter all, the source of governmental ac-
is, the legislative branch.
his must come from congress. We need
Iso a reclassification and redistribution
Z the work of the executive depart
nents. This can only come If congress-,
yorking in accord with itself and with
/
uestion simultaneously and not merely
iecemeal.
Well, there you arel A Republican
Tho has been in the legislative branch
{ the government for seventeen years,
nd a Democrat who has been in the
xecutive branch for seven years, both
cling the same story Of how badly
le national business is managed.
The odd thing about it is that our
gents and representatives at Wash
lgtOn who let this waste and inef-
cheney run on, year after year, pay
o penalty. We pay the piper to the
me Of millions and Enthusiastically
lat much. And the condition will en-
1re until we make a real roar about
Congress increasingly shakes its
cad over the situation and brings in
lrious proposals of reform, and says
1w wrong it all is; but lacking a
Vely, inflamed public pressure, moth
g gets done.