, 1923-03-18
Accomplishing a Great Task


L fullest sense of the term. The people are being
scrved with a dispatch and efficiency that has not
oeen equalled for a decade. For two years the exc
,utive branch of the federal government has been
working at the biggest task ever undertaken by
a public administration-the task of reconstruc-
ton and the restoration of normal conditions.
Partly due TO the world war and partly due TO
Democratic mismanag cement, the present admins
tration inherited conditions that we're we'll nigh
chaotic. This was true both in the field of private
endeavor and the realm of pubic affairs. Never in
the history of this country had there been such n
violent dislocation of industry, transportation,
commerce and agriculture as occurred during the
years Immediately preceding the advent of the
present administration,
Much of this was inevitable, due to the war.
Much of it could have been avoided had there been
a proper administration of affairs during the war.
These conditions were brought about by govern.
ment control, price fixing, rationing and a long
category of arbitrary and uneconomic rules and
methods. When the war was over practically all
of these wartime regulations and laws were con-
tinued at the insistence of the Democratic admin
%istration.
In the conduct of our federal government, willful
and almost incredible extravaganza had become the
rule. Graft was common. Bureaucratic insolencc
and responsibility was on every hand. There were
padded payrolls, inefficient employees and general
Sinking of work. Haphazard methods abounded.
Departments were disorganized and ~topheavy, lack
ing both morale and discipline. There was no team
work between bureaus in the same department or
between departments. Jealousies and chickering's
among executives were the rule rather than the
exception.
All this has been changed. 1t was a monumental
task. The work of clearing away the debris left
by the Democratic administration was in itself
monumental. The work of readjusting the admin
istrative machinery and getting it back to normal
necessarily was delayed until the debris was more
or less cleared. But it has been accomplished.
The change began with the inauguration of Pres
jdent Harding and the selection of his cabinet. The
driving power which has brought about this trans
formation has been conferred in his cabinet. Presi-
dent Harding's ability to select men of large cali.
Der and particular fitness for the task in hand is
equalled by his marked ability to work with these
men and to get these men to work with each other.
There has been no oneman government since
March 4th, 1921. There has been no undercurrent
of discord, no backbiting, no pulling in opposite
directions upon the part of the official family un-
der this administration. There has been the high
est cooperation, the utmost coordination by the
executives both high and low under the Harding
administration.
Every executive department of the government
has undergone complete reorganization in the last
two years. With one or two notable exceptions,
this has been accomplished simultaneously with a
reduction in expenditures and a radical reduction
in the number of employees, which today is prac-
tically 100000 less than March "a, 1921. Every de-
partment of the government is giving the taxpayer
more for his dollar than he has ever received.
Every department of the government is giving to
that particular field it was created to serve, more
service, better service and quicker service than ever
before in the history of the government.
The United States is the biggest business plant
in the world today. As the result of two years of
reorganization under Republican direction this
business plant is turning out more work, work of
n better quality, than it has ever turned out. More
over, it is paying its way as it goes for the first
time in the history of the government. As a result
gained their confidence. All kinds of business and
industry has improved. All classes of citizens are
facing the future with optimism. Adversely has
given place to prosperity.