Evening star., 1923-06-19

To make a ten-pound rubber ball
for your dog out of government rub-
ber bands or to carry home few
barrels of government soap is going
too far
Men who resorted to this kind of
"salvage" have been separated
from the government service, Brig.
Gen. Lord revealed yesterday at the
semi-annual meeting of the business
organization of the government at
Memorial Continental Hall.
Furthermore, other kinds of salvage
and home appropriation from gov
eminent stores are being looked
sharply into by. investigators of the
budget bureau, Gen. Lord warned.
N. G. Wells has said that it is
universal weakness of mankind that
what we are given to administer we
presently imagine we own, aecIareo
Gen. Lord. While this tendency is
not confined to federal organizations,
il is found there in it's highest devei-
opment. To combat this expensive
tendency to promote community OF
interest, to suppiement bureau 10y
atty with departmental loyalty, anu
on the union of the two TO erect d
superstructure of loyalty ana deVo-
tion to the government as Wnole
is one of the most important. one OF
the most interesting and al tne saIle
time one of the most difficult enter
priSeS in which the bureau VI 'he
budget is engaged.
Examples of "Salrage."
Hero are some examples in Gen.
Lords own words of the soap ana
rubber ball sort:
"In one of the large bureaus OF
department the consumption oi toM
nd
ing materials was so exLraorulIaty
as to attract attention. Ine anhuai
cost of supplies of this character IN
dicated that this particular pulea
must be the most Immaculate OF gam
zation in the world and entitled 10
nreferred position in Spotless Town:
investigation by representative oI
the department of which the bureau
was a part disclosed loss or inert oi
towels by the hundred, while more
than 500 soiled towels were ulscoN-
cred tucked away in desks, ME cases
and closets. The simple and obvious
requirement that an empioye turn III
a soiled towel in order TO secure
clean one was Immediately put INTO
effect.
"In this same bureau there was
great consumption of soap. Five bar,
rels of government soap were iocaleo
in the home of one of the bureau EN-
ployes and three barrels In the nome
of another. These Industrious soap
collectors are no longer in the fedela
service The necessity of Installing
proper administrative control over
supplies of this kind must be eVldent
to all.
sences from sickness and other
causes averaged 1000 per day. A lit
tie administrative attention reduced
these absences to an average or from
fifty to seventy-five per day. In
this bureau was discovered the enter
prising employe with the elastic con-
science, who made from government
rubber bands ten-pound ball as
plaything for his dog. He has now
ample time for playing with the ball
himself"
Unnecessary Expenditures.
It's dangerous business for a gov
ernment official to try to spend all
his unspent appropriation in spe-
cial drive during the last few days
Of the fiscal year now upon the gov
ernment departments.
Read this story related yesterday
by Director Lord:
Il hold in my hand copy of tele-
gram sent by a representative of a
big department to one of his assist
ants The sender of the telegram
occupies a responsible field position.
In this telegram he instructs his as
sistant to use all balances of appro-
priations before the close of the
year, which was near at hand. and
indicates the kind of supplies to buy.
He closes with this explicit and sig
nificant sentence: Do not let any
money larse in any fund
with the executive agencies COM
mitted to a drastic policy of economy,
under the leadership of the Presi-
dent; with this policy broadcasted to
the uttermoat outpost of this coun-
try. to Alaska and to Hawaii, to the
Philippines. to China and to every