Evening star., 1924-01-08
OPPOSES OFFICERS
IN BUSINESS POSTS
Research Worker Favors
Combining War and Navy
Departments.
CITES MANY ADVANTAGES
Believes Civilians Could Better
Handle Commercial Matters.
Says Efficiency Supports Plan.

One of the greatest mistakes in
government service is the handing
of purely business propositions by
Army and Navy officers. according to
W. +. Willoughby, director of the In
stitute for Government Research, who
today advocated consolidation of the
War and Navy Departments before the
congressional committee on reorgan-
ization of the executive departments.
I'VE spend $4,000 to train a man
for one job and then put him at an
other" Mr.. Willoughy told the mem
bers of the committee holding hear
ings on the proposed plans for re-
organizing the departments.
Mr.. Willoughby spoke at length on
. the consolidation of the two service
- branches. his testimony being as
much in favor of the plan as that of
Secretary Weeks and Secretary DENLY
was against it at the opening of the
are being held in public lands com
mittee room in the Senate office build
ing. Wal -sr f. Brown, chairman of
the joint committee, is presiding.
Has Plan of own.
Mr. Willoughby who has a plan of
HIS U" il LOT TtOI thS oSPeA
ments, began his testimony by saying
y that he would like to point out the
Importance of effecting this whole
reorganiZa tion." The tendency of the
government, he said, is to get more
and more complex, so that from the
standpoint of efficiency it seems I'm,
possible to him 10 take too radical
action to simplify the government.
acting upon the suggestion or
Chairman Brown. Mr.. Willoughby
devoted most of today's session to a
consideration of the advantages OF
continuing the administration OF the
War and Navy departments.
He said that such consolidation
would improve the making OF the
budget and would aid personnel
problem solving. He declared that he
thought the larger organization, sucn
as the proposed Department or De
Tense" could be administered with
claring that the War Department is
five times as large today as during
the Spanish American war, yet IL IS
as efficiently managed.
Would Aid in business.
He admitted that the proposal to
consolidate the War and Navy de-
partments seems 50 radical that a
tremendous burden, he said. is
thrown on those who advocate it.
He asserted that the proposition
does not carry anything OF consoll-
dation of the military and naval
merely the business organization of
the fighting forces is involved. He
asserted that the business work is
nearly the same for both.
In answer to q question from Sem
ator Wadsworth if one service could
make technical designs for another,
Mr.. Willoughby said that the tech
nical side is just one of setting up
enough divisions to handle such
matters, once such consolida ton
should be effected,
Mr.. Willoughby said that it is i'm
possible to conceive OF any test of
require the intimate cooperation of
separate, he declared, "but in a con-
tingncy we say we have got to work
the two together He cited cases
during the Spanish war tend
, ing to. show thes LACK OF co-opera-
tion between the two service
branches. and pointed out the neces-
the world war, of settinggup the War
Industries Board and Council of Ma
tiSpal Defense and other organiza-
tioifs to coordinate activities.
If hhe two services. We're perma
nently consolidated, he said there
would be, in existence an organiza-
tion to plan in advance and act as a
unit when the contingency arose.
Cites Weeks Testimony.
Senator Wadsworth interrupted to
say that joint action was just the very
thing that Secretary Weeks testified yes
terday was, being done, through the
joint Army and Navy board.
That is an argument for consolida
ton, then" Mr.. Willoughby replied.
They are attempting to do the very
thing we propose"
But they are succeeding" Mr.. Wads-
worth replied.
Mr.. Willoughby, rejoined by saying
that they said the same thing after
the Spanish-American war" BY estab-
fishing the joint Army and Navy plan
ming board, he asserted, the two de-
partments were admitting the necessity
of consolidation.
He said that the services oppose
the consolidation on the ground the
result would be too big, but that
neither would think it too big to take
over aviation. He cited the defense
of the Philippines by both the Army
and Navy. yet the problem is single
problem, he said.
Senator Wadsworth declared. cit is
now being handled by joint general
staff. They are already doing most
of the things you are saying they are
not doing" the senator told Mr.. Will
loughby.
Putting officers in civilians jobs act
as a depressant to purely civilian
workers, Mr. Willoughby said. In
Wadsworth as to whether it would
be possible to get a civilian super
intendent of great government
arsenal at the same salary paid a
colonel in the Army, Mr.. Willoughby
admitted he did not think it would
Mr. Willoughby, at the request of
the committee, gave his opinion as to
the transfer of non military activities
of the service departments to other
departments. He advocated the trans
fer of the bureau of insular affairs
from the War to the State Depart
ment, and the transfer of the activi-
ties Of the great lakes survey to the
coast and geodetic survey, as also
the activities of the photographic
office of the Navy. These offices, he
said, constitute the most striking
duplication in government service"
He advocated the placing of the
Naval Observatory under a Depart
ment of Education and Science, as
provided for u1Gsr the Institute for
Government Rssearcns plan of reor-
ganization. The plan under consider
alton by the committee involves the
placing of the observatory under the
Department Of Education and We'll
fare"
Mr.. Willoughby will resume his
testimony at $3.50 o'clock Thursday, no
session of the hearings being sched-
uled for tomorrow.
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