Evening star., 1925-06-04
Will Be Put Under Secretary
Hoover in Interest
of Economy.
MOVE TAKES 1000
OFF INTERIOR PAY ROLL
Will End Duplication Of Activi-
ties and Cut Cost, Secre-
tary Work Says.

anu tne mineral statistics DIVISION OF
the Geological Survey from the De-
partment Of the Interior to the De-
partment of Commerce was made in
an Executive order issued by Presi-
dent Coolidge today.
The transfer is made in the interest
of more efficiency and economy, and
was recommended by Secretary Work
Of the Interior Department more than
! a year ago.
The Executive order was issued by
the President after he had obtained
from Attorney General Sargent an
opinion that he was empowered under
the law creating the Department Of
Commerce to Slake such transfer,
and after consultation with Secretary
Work and Secretary Hoover of the
Department of Commerce.
The Bureau of Mines Is the second
to be transferred by Executive order
from the Interior Department to the
Department of Commerce. The first
was the Patent Office. That transfer
also was recommended by Secretary
Work, who has given much attention
10 the reorganization of the Govern
| ment departments to prevent duplica-
ton OF work and more efficient and
economical administration.
Employs About 1000.
The transfer Of the Bureau of Mines
is effective July l under the order
issued today. The bureau has some
thousand officials and employees, In
Guiding those in Washington and those
In the field. The appropriation for
the Bureau OF Mines, amounting to
about $2,00o,000, is also transferred to
DAn2 nf
gether with the equipment of the
bureau.
The Bureau of Mines and the Min
eral Statistics Division are at present
located in the Interior Department
Building. After their transfer they
Will continue to occupy the same Of
| fices, Secretary Work said today, prob
! ably until the Department of Com
| merce obtains a building which will
! house all Of It's activities.
Two Offices of the Bureau of Mines
will remain under the Interior Depart
| ment--those engaged in coal. oil and
! other mineral land leasing work
Eventually some of the activities
and employees of the Department of
| Commerce engaged in work that is al
| lied with the work of the Interior De-
partment will be transferred to the
| latter department, II Is expected, al
| though congressional action will be
| necessary to permit such transfer.
Discussing today the order of the
President transferring the Bureau Of
Mines from the Interior Department
to the Department Of Commerce, Sec
retary Work said:
More Shifts to Follow.
The change is one ofathe reorgani-
zation plans approved by the Joint
| Congressional committee. The Presi-
dent has a limited authority under
the organic act creating the Depart
ment OF Commerce TO make such
shifts. 1t does not apply to other de-
| partmental changes which must await
Congressional authority. There are
other functions which will be trans
| ferred from the Department of Com.
| merce 70 the Department of the In
terror when such authority is avail
able.
I'm the Interior Department, which
| has jurisdiction over the administra-
| ton of the public domain including
| the National Parks, the Indian reser-
vations, the conduct of geological and
| Typographical surveys and the re-
claiming of arid and semi-arid lands,
the Bureau of Mines has not been as
| sociated
Its transfer with the Division Of
| Mineral Statistics from the Depart
ment of the Interior to the Depart
ment of Commerce has been resolved
upon as part of the program Of better
grouping of Federal functions, accord
ing to that major purpose, it being
proposed to create in the Department
of Commerce a division embracing ac-
tivities Of the Government scientific
and economic research in aid to indus.
try.
Economy Chief Aim.
"The primary objects of such segre-
Pgation are, OF course, to secure econ
omy in administration and more eff
cient relationship with the public. As
instance of the large areas of overlap
between the Department of Commerce
and Interior in these functions our in
Ivestigations show that the laboratories
OF the Department of Commerce carry
on scientific research in the use OF
gasoline and lubricating oils in gas
engines, while the Bureau OF Mines
carried on research generally into gas
oline and petroleum products.
The research laboratories in the
Department of Commerce carry on in
lvestigation into the quality of ma
terials for manufacture Of porcelain,
whereas the Bureau Of Mines labora-
tories carried on research into raw
materials for porcelain manufacture.
The Department of Commerce labora-
tories carry on investigation into the
qualities Of fuel, whereas the Bureau
Of Mines laboratories tested fuel as
to its qualities. The Department of
Commerce contains a division for
service in domestic distribution and
foreign trade in mineral products. the
Bureau of Mines carried on work of
economic character OF much the same
implication The Department OF Com
lmerce provides statistics of mineral
production every 10 years-in some
cases every two years-whereas the
Department of the Interior provides
lstatistics of mineral production eVewy
year and in many cases every month.
THE Department of Commerce re-
cruits statistics on production Of ex.
plosives every two years, while the
Bureau of Mines procures statistics on
their production at regular intervals
The Department Of Commerce carries
on investigations into safety appli
ances in various industries while the
Bureau Of Mines carries on the same
as applied to the mining industry. The
Department of Commerce carries on
research into the tensile strength Of
wire rope generally for all industries,
Continued on PAGE 4. Colurnh 81