The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1922-06-01
By EDWARD G.LoWRY
XVIII.
READ LANES GHOSTS


| In his final report t6etheNPresident,
tRSs of the interior, Franklin X. Lane
sEetched with a sure hand out of the
abundance of his experience the pres
ent Washington condition:
The call is for thinking, planning, engi-
neering. craftsmanship. For We are quick
ly passing out of the rough-and-ready
period of our national life, in which we
have dealt wholesale with men and
things. into a period of more intensive
development, In which we must seek to
find the special qualities of the individual
unit, whether that unit be an acre of
desert, barrel of oil, a mountain
canyon, the flow of a river or the capac-
ity of the humblest of men.
ITO conquer and to master-the same
old task is ours; but not in the same old
way. We have discovered this land and
made It ours, but this is not the end
of our journey, for now we are to give
thought, the deepest thought, to the ways
in which 1t may be made TO yield most
abundantly In the things which COM
pick society with a most imperious Curl
osity demands.
Washington is a combination of politi-
cal caucus. drawing and civil serv-
ice bureaus. 1t contains statesmen who
are politicians and politicians who are
not statesmen. 1t is rich In brains and
in character 1t is honest beyond any
commercial standard. 1t wishes to do
everything that will promote the public
good. But 1t is poorly organized for the
task that belongs to it. Fewer men of
larger capacity would do the task better.
Ability is not lacking, but 1t Is pressed
to the point of paralysis because of an !
infinitude of details and an unwillingness
on the part of the great body of public
servants to take responsibility Every
one seems to be afraid of everyone, The |
self-protective sense is developed abnor- |
mally. the creative sense atrophies Trust, |
confidence. enthusiasm-these simple vir- |
tues of all great business are the ones |
most lacking in government organization. |
We have so many checks and brakes |
upon our work that our progress does
not keep pace with the nations require
ments. We could save money for the
government If we had more discretion as
to how we should use that given us.
For the body of the civil servants there
should be quicker promotion or discharge
and a sure insurance when disability
comes. For the higher administrative
officers there should be salaries twice as
high as those now giveneand they should
be made to feel that tiny are the ones
responsible for the work of the depart
ment, the head being merely an adviser
and constructor OF policies.
AS matters are now devised there are
too few in the government whose BUSH
ness 1t is to plan. Every man is held to
detail. to the narrower view, which comes
too often TO be the department view or
some sort of parochial view. We need
for the day that is here and upon us
men who have little to do but study the
problems of the time and test their ca
pacity at meeting them In word, we
need more opportunity for planning, en-
cheering, craftsmanship above, and more
fixed authority and responsibility below.
The employment methods of the gov
eminent could be improved Under
the civil service law of 1888 a good
system of competitive examinations
and appointments on merit han been
built up for the classes of positions
covered by the law. But beyond GER
litigation by the civil service commits
sion for appointment of those appli-
cants who are proved by examination
to be eligible, the merit system is not
fully operative even in connection with
the positions to witch 1t applies. Hap
hazard practices in assignments of
work and In promotions, over which
no central authority has jurisdiction,
have brought about inequalities which
are discouraging to the workers. This
condition and the relatively low sal
aries paid by the government cause
a turnover" in government forces
that could not long be withstood by
private business
The REIMBURSEMENT of government
salaries in the District of Columbia