Evening star., 1923-04-02
HINES TO CUT TAPE
IN BUREAU WORK
New Directors of Veterans
Aid Says He Wants
Quick Results.
FINDS TIME is WASTED
Will Shorten Delays in Providing
Relief for Men in
Need.
FINDS TIME is WASTED
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

/ whats wrong with the Veterans
| Bureau?' is the point-blank question
this writer fired at Brig. Gen Frank
J t. Hines. Uncle Sans newly appoint
ed 100000, ,000-a-year man. The d.
| rector OF the United States greatest
money spending department has just
completed his first month at the bu-
! reau.
/ I've been here just long enough"
said Gen. Hines. ito find out what's
/ wrong. 1t didn't take much digging.
There is overlapping, crossing of
wires, red tape. circumlocution and
+! systematic delay. The result is waste
of time, waste of energy and waste
of money all along the line That's
what's wrong with the Veterans Bu-
reau."
To Cut Red Tape.
How are you going to tackle the
task OF putting things right?" Hines
was asked.
MY Jobs fairly simple" he replied
IT'S a problem in administra tive
geometry-to find the shortest dis
tance between two given points, the
service man and the money. The
longest route between them is too
detours. and. by co-ordinating things,
bring together as quickly as possible
the eX-soldier and the aid he's en-
| titled to. 1t is better occasionally to
overpay an undeserving man than to
left half dozen worthy men wait and
suffer"
Hines assembled his divisional
chiefS the other day and told them
the bureau henceforth is to be con-
Quoted exactly like the vast business
a
economy and ruthless efficiency.
Pull" and procrastination are TO
make way for merit and hustle
Hines reminded the staff what a
etePans BuIss pTSSPositen SP the
eminent department but the Treas
ury approaches II in financial magni-
tude. 1t has about 10000 employees,
scattered over fourteen districts
throughout the country. 1t super
vises s1.332,OOC,OOO of government
life insurance. represented by 375.-
600 policies. During 1924 1T will ex-
pend s42S.00o,00o. 1t is caring for
$4,000 men in hospitals and giving
$4,000 vocational training. $4,000 Of
whom receive maintenance pay. OF
every dollar Of expenditure, about
SO cents are spent on vocational re-
habilitation. compensation and in
surance payments and medical and
hospital services. Only Z cents go for
for salaries, rent and miscellaneous
charges.
With the congressional committee
now prytng into bureau affairs Gen,
Hines has established close liason.
Gen. Organ, the committees general
counsel, has been assigned Offices ad-
jacent TO Hines headquarters, and
the bureau official best acquainted
with the big departments intricacies
has been designated to be at O'Ryan's
beck and call.
Service Men First.
Hines isn't waiting for the COM
mittee to discover irregularities. He
brings them to its attention Nor
is he waiting for the committee to
order STt.,g remedial redai,a action. When Hines
alton. he wields the ak and reports
to the committee. He believes in
eradicating the evil and talking
about 1t afterward.'
common talk that politicians and
politics, often highly placed, are
mainly responsible for bureau woes"
Well" he rejoined. 7 have no or
ticians. When President Harding sent
for me, his only injunction was to
make clean job of this business.
I've heard no single word from him.
hear from members Of Congress, from
! time to time, about affairs in which
they're interested, but deal with such
matters strictly on their merits. Some
/ times the congressman get what
they're entitled to; sometimes they
| don't get what they want. II they
don't. 1 tell, them why. That will
continue to be the rule
MY principal responsibility is to
the service men. generous country
has provided ample funds for their
legitimate needs and these must be
rninistered to with all possible dis
patch. We cannot do everything the
! men sometimes expect.
I'VE obviously cannot, for example,
have & hospital bed waiting at the
door of every man requiring hospital
| ization. There are now some 25, 900
| odd beds available. They're not al
| ways Immediately accessible to men
designated for hospital treatment.
! But the sum total of beds Is fully
, equal to the sum total of bed cases
What we have to do Is to equalize
! the accommodations so as to make
| them convenient to the largest pos
sible number.
1--WE must aim, too, to rehabilitate
as many mon as we can, and relieve
0Ha d. III