Evening star., 1924-11-30

The Secretary Of War in testifying
before the joint congressional COM
mittee on reorganization of Uncle
Sans workshop pointed out that "the
Government has grown so large that
the President, of course, cannot give
attention to details relating to the
departments, and the departments
have become so large that it is very
difficult for the Secretaries Cabinet
members) themselves to do so. The
growth of the Government and of the
business of the Government has be-
come so great that 1t is impossible
for a man to give detailed attention,
under present conditions, to very
much that goes through his own de-
partment, even If he devotes his en-
tire time to the work of that depart
ment."
Besides the 10 great departments
mentioned in the preceding article in
this series, establishments indepen-
dent of any executive department
have been present in the administra-
tive organization of the Government
from the beginning-the first of
which was the Post Office Depart
ment, whose head did not enter the
cabinet until 1929, and which did not
become in name an executive depart
mont until 1872. Today there are
just three dozen of these so-called
independent establishments" to
house some Of which Congress is
asked to build a monster office build
ing.
Biggest Employ ment Agency.
Only two OF these independent es-
Establishments Will be mentioned here,
by way of illustration. The Smith
sonian Institution was created by act
Of Congress in 1876, under the terms
of the will Of James Smithson, an
Englishman. who, in 1926, bequeathed
his fortune to the United States to
found IN Washington an establish
ment for the increase and diffusion
of knowledge among men" The grow
ing dissatisfaction OF the country
with the spoiis system OF filling Fed
eral offices led in 1883 to the passage
OF the civil service act and the estab-
lishment OF the Civil Service Com
mission. which is now the worlds
largest employment agency.
The World War, entered in 1917, re-
suited in an extraordinary and un-
precedenfed expansion of the exec
ueive services of the Government.
First affected, of course, were the
War and Navy Departments, charged
with the mobilization of our armed
forces at the seat of war But the
Treasury Department had the bur
den of financing the Government. and
its forces were augmented quite as
rapidly and extensively as those pre-
pairing for combat operations.
Every department of the Govern
ment was given extraordinary war
duties, resulting invariably in en-
largement and many times in the Gre
alton of bureaus or offices to handle
particular tasks. The Department of
Agriculture attended to the impor-
tant work of stimulating food pro-
duction a a time when most of the
abIe-bodied young men had been
called from the farms into war camps.
Foreign Problem Heavy.
The State Department had a large
burden in the conduct of our difficult
foreign relations and in safeguard
ing the persons and property of our
citizens abroad. The Department of
Justice was chaSged with keeping
radical agitation in check and pre-
venting espionage by alien enemies
resident in this country. The Post
Office Department had large part
in the foatation of the war loans.
And so on through all the 10 exec
utive departments.
No less noteworthy was the eX-
2ansion of our independent estab-
ishments," and many new organiza-
tions were added, literally scores of
new agencies were called into being
by Executive or administrative action.
if not by legislation. Perhaps the
most important of these was the Of
fee of alien property custodian, to
discover, take over. administer and
dispose of enemy-owned property in
the United States and its territories,
and the Railroad Administration,
which had the duty of operating the
railroads during the period of Fed
eral control.
Following the terminat ton OF the