Evening star., 1925-10-05

dead" Very many Of them were
executed before the days Of letter
he2ds and forms and are all handwrit
ten, with the ink faded by extreme
age. The Indian research work has
been daily active for the last two
years. The Government now has
force of about 40 men working on
these old accounts. And some of these
records present a very intricate and
complicated task. For example,
force of four persons worked two and
a half years on one report for the
Court of Claims on an Indian treaty
claim. This was the Medawakanton
Sioux case. on which the court al
lowed over SJS1 900.
McCarI Stresses Need.
For the last two years Controller
General McCarl has stressed to the
Public Buildings Commission. the Sen
ate and House committees on public
buildings and grounds and to Congress
as a whole the urgent need for this
building. as he the administrative
officer of the General Accounting Of
flee. responsible directly to CongressI.
has found it. The Controller General
has said:
Il have no heSitancy in saving that
if the entire General Accounting OHice
could he housed in one building it
would be possible for the present to
function with less space than is now
being used. However. consideration
should be given to the fact that Off
cial papers come to the General -tc-
counting Office daily in large volumes
and in case a new building is provided
proper allowance should be made for
space to be required in the future
There is no doubt that a great saw
ing could be made if the General Ac-
counting Office could be consolidated
in a single building.
1T is my judgment that, including
rent items, we could operate for at
least quarter of a million dollars
per annum less than is now provided
and possibly a greater saving could
be accomplished.
"As to what portion of our files
could be transferred to an archives
building, should one be constructed,
that would depend upon the distance
of the location of such building from
our working office. If adjoining us
we could probably place therein so per
cent of our old and semi-active files
If located some distance away it would
be of little use to our Office and not
more than Is per cent of our files
and records could be placed therein
without disadvantage. AS a matter of
fact it is necessary for us to refer
frequently to our old files and records
IN the settlement of current accounts
and claims.
THE most economical and con-
Venlent space for the large volume of
semi-active files and records of this
office, in view of the fact that they
must be reasonably accessible, would
be basement and other underground
space Immediately connected with the
building housing our working force.
"A building that will house the ac-
tivities of the General Accounting
Office, suitably located and constructed
to accommodate our work. is most
urgently needed if substantial econ
omles are to be effected and if many
of the benefits contemplated by the
budget and accounting act are to be
fully accomplished. In my annual
report, submitted to the Congress
December 3, 1923, the situation was
summarized as follows:
The need for suitab BILE quarters can
not be too greatly emphasized. 1t is
believed there must be lack of
realization of the seriousness of the
situation occasioned by having the
facilities and activities of the office SO
widely scattered. 1t requires certain
unsatisfactory division of responsibility
by having to authorize a number of
officials to act for the Controller
General without adequate supervision,
counsel and control.
The Government has the good for
tune of having a few experienced and
capable employees to supervise these
separate activities, but the number
available is not sufficient to efficiently
operate eight separate offices, while
the organic act contemplates but one.
In other words, only one Office is es
tablished and provision is made for
personnel for but one, but by reason
Of no provision being made for one