Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-31
The HQskin Letter By r
BUSINESS METHODS LIN GOVERNMENT.

Washington, d. c.. July 2S.-The
United States government is the big
gest business institution in the world.
1t was big in the days when Uncle Joe
Cannon replied to criticism OF a "Dll-
lion dollar congress- by stating that
this is a billion dollar country and
then adding that this country is a nell
of a success" 1t is much larger now.
1t has not grown as ordinary busi-
ness establishments grow, by the ap-
plication of strictly business methods
and principles. however. 1t is not a
monument to efficiency rules and prac-
tees. A commercial, industrial or H.
nancial institution that had attained
such proportions would owe its sue
cess to astute and careful management
and would be so organized that it would
function like a Swiss watch. No so
with the United States government. lt
has grown to its present size simply
because nothing could stop or retard
its growth and in spite of unbusiness-
Ike methods that would have wrecked
a private enterprise before it got fairly
started.
But now all this is being changed.
At last government has come to be re-
garded as a business and an earnest
effort is being made to put the con-
duct of public affairs on a basis com
parable to that which earns dividends
IN the every day commercial world.
Moreover, the effort is getting results
that al be measured in dollars and
cents.
Reorganization of the administrative
branch of the government was promised
and undertaken months ago, but 1t has
been delayed by controversies betwee
department and bureau heads. This
would not seem TO augur well for the
neworder of things and has discouraged
some of the ardent advocates of up
tO-date business methods in govern
ment. However, real progress has been
made in the desired direction through
a series of executive orders requiring
coordination and cooperation among
officials and between agencies that
heretofore have acted independently.
just as previous to the installation
OF the budget system there was no CO.
ordination in estimating and very little
IN appropriating. there was little or no
coordination in expending public funds.
As an illustration the disposition made
OF surplus property may be cited. Each
bureau or holding agency was carrying
on this work in its own way and amaz-
Us a. II ma ~ = tibdl u
that at one place the government was
selling at a sacrifice supplies that it
was buying at current market prices
at another.
Chance for Sharp Practices
Thus it was possible for those who
engage in sharp practices to buy some
thing from one governmental agency at
a price below production cost and turn
n ,n1n aud coll - 70 nrathnp nnynrn-
mental agency at a substantial profit.
Again. instances have been known in
which one department would purchase
desks and other office furniture while
another department had a surplus sup
ply of the identical equipment that
was going to wreck and ruin IN storage.
This sort of thing was stopped by
the creation of a liquidation board to
coordinate the sale of all surplus prop
erty, TO provide for transfers between
various governmental agencies. to weld
the sales activities of the several de-
partm ents into a federal business as
ISOLATION and to install practical bust
ness methods. A total of S90.O00,0O0
was turned into the treasury during the
fiscal year just closed from the sale
of supplies and it is estimated that a
sum almost as large will be realized
during the current year.
But this is only part Of the story.
The lighthouse service of the depart
ment of commerce was about to spend
$780, 900 for lighthouse tenders. Mine
planters purchased during the war
which were IDLE and practically value
less were made over into tenders and
the million and a half was saved.
Dredges that would have cost $40. 500
were required by the engineer branch
of the army. Surplus vessel were
transferred from the quartermaster
corps. There are numerous other ex-
amples of similar economies that come
under the head of common sense bust
ness and the aggregate saving TO Uncle
Sam run into large figures. Even
more important. perhaps. is the moral
effect on officials and employees who
are seeing that siipshod hit or miss
methods are no longer in vogue in the
federal service.
In the matter of government pur-
chasing the work of coordination has
been likewise effective. Twenty-six
separate and distinct purchasing
agencies in the treasury department
are being consolidated and organized
on an efficiency basis and the same
thing has already been done with IS
such agencies in the department Of
agriculture. In fact, there was need
for reform in this line in all the de
%partments except the navy where the
buying has been done in a Thoroughly