Evening star., 1925-11-06
Shaving Uncle Sans Dollars
And Saving His Dimes
BY WILLIAM p. HELM, JR.

| during the year nearly 480, 900 gallons
Of gasoline the savings exceeded
$4,000.
Perhaps the largest individual saw
ing is that reported by Budget Bureau
workers at New Orleans. The report
reads:
Surveys of space are being grad
| ually made throughout the area by
committees of workers. Other COM
mittees are listing the property. sur
plus or necessary, to the needs Of To-
cal activities. Survey of motor trans
portation is being made with view
to utilizing the surplus without phys
ically pooling it.
with only one-third Of the area
organized as planned and not count.
ing savings due to transfers of prop
erty, utilities, or service from one
bureau to another, we have within a
Few months saved an amount approx
| mately 500 per cent greater than that
| noted for last year. We have shut on
| a large amount of unnecessary annual
expenditure and in this and other
ways effected or insured a total saw
Ing Of approximately s35S,0oo."
X y
The foregoing memorandum Is sign
ed by Lieut.. Col. Dennis P. Quinlan.
| co-ordinator Of the fourth area. Other
excerpts from his report follow:
LAS a typical result of harmonious
| work and coordination, the customs
service Of New Orleans district has
perfected an intradepartmental sys-
tenn of service that consolidates stor-
age control, and the making Of all
| acquisitions on that activity in the
hands OF one man. 1t is anticipated
! that 81 900 a year will be saved by
this innovation.
Army engineers reported to this
office that several large buildings in
New Orleans were being demolished
and that arrangements could be made
with the contractors for obtaining
brokenup cement, rock and brick for
use as ballast at no cost to the Gov
ernment provided trucks could be fur
nished for hauling the material away
as fast as it accumulated.
Three trucks obtained from the
Army were used for q days and $500
tons Of ballast was secured and
placed on barges belonging TO the engi-
neers. The market price of ballast of
this character is 81 a ton. The saving
on the use Of the trucks alone amount
ed to S2,025, while $500 tons of bal
last which the Government would have
had to purchase at 81 a ton was Sc
cured without cost. The total savings
in this case were Sic 6,025."
Sharp-eyed workers in the Texas
area, noting the presence Of large num-
bers OF pigeons at Fort Sam Houston,
fixed the damage done to buildings
which the birds invested at about $780,
600 in the last 10 years. A campaign
or determination was started. Thus
the Coolidge economy drive in one
instance resulted in the wholesale
slaughter Of pigeons more than a thou
sand miles from the National Capital
and it is estimated will eventually re-
suit in saving about $4,000 a year to
the taxpayers.
At San Francisco 1885 surplus
blankets belonging TO the War Depart
ment had been offered at several auc-
ton sales but remained unsold because
OF the low price offered Area work
ers attached to the Bureau of the
Budget found other services of the
Government needing these blankets
and transferred the material to those
services at a saving estimated at ap.
proximately $50 900.
Thus goes the story. Most of the
area workers, while CARRYING the econ
| omy flag in the name of Coolidge and
the Bureau of the Budget, are attached
to other branches of the Federal Gov
ernment and have their own daily
routine duties to perform. Saving the
taxpayers money is incidental TO
doing the days work with many OF
them. However. the economy drive
Is rapidly reaching a point where il
encroaches greatly on the time of
those devoting their efforts to it. The
chances are that the volunteer worker
of this class in time will be replaced
by the straightout Budget Bureau
employe.
(Cony1Rht 1oo5O