The Topeka state journal., 1922-12-20
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC ,. HAsKIN. DirecOcr.
Washington. ID. O.
MORE BUSINESS METHODS L
GOVERNMENT.

/ Washington, D. c., Dec. lit has
often been said that the United States
government is the biggest institution
/ in the world. 1t has also been said
| that it is the worst The first asser-
/ ton tends to make us swell with ma
tional pride. The second reduces the
Both assertions are substantially
1 true There can be no doubt about
| the size OF the business establishment
conducted by Uncle Sam, and there
1 have been so many revelations as TO
| the wasteful and inefficient manner
in which he does business that moth
/ ing of that sort shocks anybody any
more. 1t is all the more interesting,
has actually been accomplished in the
way of injecting real business meth
DDS into government affairs.
One such step in that direction was
tions board with Dr.. S. w. Stratton,
head of the bureau of standards, as
chairman, and now a, second has been
taken thru the appointments by the
American engineering standards com
mittee of a standing committee on CO.
operation with the federal Specifica-
tfons board This will give the gov
ernment the best brains and talent at
the command of the 200 Industrial or
ganiZations that are cooperating IN
the work of the American engineering
standards committee.
The members of the committee who
are to work with Doctor stratton,s
board are: Chairman. A. E. Hall
assistant treasurer and superintendent
of distribution, Central Union Gas
company, New York; John A. Capp,
chief of testing laboratory. General
Electric company, Schenectady, and
sullivan w. Jones. chairman of the
structural service committee. Amer
can Institute of Architects, New
York.
In commercial circles it has long
been a common saying that it costs
10 per cent more to do business with
the government than with other Gus
toners. This waste-and surely un-
necessary expense must be so termed
has been due largely to a lack OF
uniformity in government specifica-
tions covering articles to be purchased
by various governmental agencies and
to the fact that the government speci-
fications were rarely if ever identical
with those of ordinary commercial
concerns
This has meant that an individual
or a corporation that wanted to sell
a certain article to the government
has found differing specifications
issued by various departments or
bureaus, none of which conformed
exactly with the specifications which
must be met in dealing with private
buyers. Thus it has been practically
impossible to produce a standard
article that would meet all ordinary
requirements, governmental and COM
merciaI.
Doctor Stratton's board aims to
bring into line with the best COM
mercial practice, not only the specifi-
cations which are to be approved by
the board in the future but also those
which have already been approved. OF
the latte, there are about forty. and
these will be revised at intervals of
about one year.
The specifications which have al
ready been submitted to the American
engineering standards committee
under the new cooperative arrange
ment. cover the following: Hose for
various industrial purposes, wood
screws, steriliziRg equipment, cotton
duck, phosphor tin, silicon copper,
and pig lead
eral officials and the officers of the
American engineering standards COM
mittee-that this cooperation between
manufacturing industries, the govern
in a widening of the source Of supply
for all government requirements and |
in important economies not only to |
the government but to other consum- |
required by the government depart |
ments.- 1t is expected that this saving |
viii amount to many millions of~dol--l
lars each year.
The first thing that Standardization |
does, according to p. G. Agnew, -secre- |
tary of the American engineering |
standards committee, is to enable |
buyer and seller to speak the same |
compel competitive sellers to do like
wise. In thus placing tenders on a /
easily comparable basis, fairness in /
competition is promoted both in do
mestic and in foreign trade.
Mass production is made possible, |
with the result that unit costs to the
public are lowered. The matter of
carrying stocks is simplified( which
makes deliveries quicker. The big
idea is to save money for the govern
ment, which benefits everybody, and
at the same time make possible better
products in all lines of industry. which
will be to the advantage of all con-
sumers, public and private
The work of the Stratton board in
cooperating with the representatives
Of the American engineering standards
committee is directly in line with the
drive for the elimination~of wastes in
industry and may be said to be a part
Of st It all goes to show that busi-
ness men are taking a genuine interest
in government affairs and may mark
the end of the era characterized by
the saying that "everybody's business
IS nobody'S business"
One of these days a board or
may be created to elirni-
nate wastes in politics and political
and then the millennium
will be in sight 1t may also be ex-
)ected that sooner or later those who
oe.ieve in and subscribe to tbe slogan.
More business in government and
ess government in business viii
start a movement to put a man in the
White House who is distinctively n
business man.
Some years ago in a preliminary
,ampaign an organization was formed
n New York that undertook to get a
inc on public sentiment as to A buSi-
less man cand-dat for president Ad-
'ertisements were published thrUout
he country asking for responses
rom those who believed in the gen.
raj proposition that inasmuch as the
government is a monumental business
Enterprise the man at the head of it ;
hould be the biggest and ablest busi-
less executive who could be found. |
20 candidate was advocated but it ;
vas said that a number of men were