The Elk Mountain pilot., 1922-02-02
OUT-OF-DATE MACHINE

A committee made up of three MEM
bers Of the senate and three members
of the house is now considering the
whole problem Of the organization Of
the executive departments Of the gov
ernment with a view to finding out
how to reorganize them SO as to in
crease their efficiency and decrease
their cost Of operation. It is about
time. The great executive depart
ments Of the government have not
been reorganizsd or greatly modern
lied since Alexander Hamilton's day.
Representative Reavis of Nebraska
Is one Of the members Of this joint
congressional committee that is max
ing the present investigation He put
the resolution through the house that
brought about the appointment Of the
committee. He Is a part Of the ma
tional government machine and he
ought toknow what he is talking about
when he says that "while the gov
ernment Of the United States is the
worlds biggest business, 1t is likewise
the worlds worst managed business"
That is an indictment and state
ment of fact that will stand the closest
scrutiny and the most unsparing
analysis. But listen to Mr.. Reavis:
"Why should the Interior department
run an insane asylum and college for
negroes and school for the deaf?
How did it get that way Why should
one personnel in the pension bureau
in the Interior department be caring
for the disabled soldiers of the Civil
war and the Spanish American war,
while another personnel in the bureau
of war risk insurance of the treas
ury is caring for the veterans Of the
World war? Why this hodgepodge Of
totally unrelated purposes which is re-
sulting in endless duplication and ap-
palling expense?"
i will let Mr.. Reavis go on without
further interruption. As member
of the house he has his share of the
responsibility for the conditions he de-
scribes:
There are 80 separate governmental
agencies handling engineering. architec-
tural and public works functions, all of a
related kind. There is no good reason why
all these agencies should not be co-ordi-
| mated in one department and about 3S OF
| the useless organizations done away with.
| There are 26 government agencies engaged
separate and distinct agencies engaged in
public building operations: there are 16
agencies authorized to build roads; there
are 10 engaged in hydraulic construction;
there are 16 doing work rivers: there
are 10 engaged in public land functions:
there are 15 doing chemical investigation
connected with public work operations:
there are % doing engineering and
search
Many of these agencies have been in
active for number of years. but they
are keeping up their personnel in antici-
patton of work in the future. We could
save 90o.0oo.00o year, in my judgment.
by doing away with useless bureaus and
duplication OF activities.
Some of the Implications are ridicu-
lous and absurd. For instance, the gov
ernment seeks to protect the wild animals
In the national parks. If a brown kadiak
bear has twin cubs. one brown and one
black. as often happens. and one should
shoot the brown cub he must make his
settlement with one department but II
he shoots its full brother the black cub,
he must settle with another department.
II you were to shoot fox in Alaska your
settlement would be with the Department
of Agriculture. while If you trapped the
same fox you must make your settlement
with the Department of Commerce.
The government issued last year
through its several bureaus and depart
ments 16 cookbooks. The last one that
was issued was published by the board
of vocational education This is board
organized by the congress for the purpose
of rehabiltating crippled soldiers of the
World war. to prevent. as far as possible,
their becoming derelicts in life 1t
may be of interest to state that while the
government has been issuing l6 cookbooks
and consuming vast quantities OF print
paper in these and similar useless publi-
cations. 1900 country town newspapers
have suspended in the last three months
because they could not secure print paper.
tIt ox-f-
have sensed the feeling in the coun-
try and in congress that the time has
come TO put an end to all this sort
of thing. He gives reasons for his
belief:
One of the reasons is that the people
demand that their taxation be reduced
For many years have been collecting
the revenues of this government through
systems of indirect taxation. The reve-
nues have been collected through a pro-
tective tariff and by excise taxation on
intoxicating liquors. Indirect taxation of
this kind prevents the people from realiz-
ing fully just who is paying the expenses
of the government. There was a time
when the expenses of the government
amounted to only u cents per capita per
year. Today the annual per capita ex-
pense exceeds $40. This tremendous ex-
pense has made 1t necessary to resort TO
direct taxation. and the people have sud
denly become painfully aware of who
pays the expenses of the government
am very certain that the elimination
of Implications and overlapping in the de-
partments will result in the saving OF
millions of dollars. There is no reason
why 1t should not be done.
There Is every reason, in the presence
of the strife and turmoil that prevail in
this country and of the unrest occasioned
by the high cost of the necessaries OF life,
that the government should be put upon
a sane, efficient and economical basis.
Whoever by public clamor or other
means can induce congress and the
executive departments to organize the
routine business of the national gov
ernment will have performed a great
nubIic service Note that l saw Tor