Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1925-07-24

budget 1t has established the classification. But
until congress authorizes some one or some agency
to reorganize the executive departments-why, no
reorganization, that's ALL
So we have this anomalous situation: The
Executive and the heads of the executive depart
ments urging reorganization; the rank and file OF
bureaucracy fighting reorganization and congress
hesltating between the two and evading the issue.
The explanation of this anomalous situation Is
plain. Every item In the reorganization program
steps somebody's toes Everybody is in favor of
every item except the which cramps his own
activities. Every item is opposed by some or
ganized minority. Congress is lost in babel of
voices shouting approval and opposition.
Organization and coordination are essential in
business They highly essential in government
taking yet submitted the mind of Bad
coordination among industries finally comes home
to the people a whole in the form of increased
prices And bad organization in government comes
home in many directions than even the taxes
1t wastes.
So says Secretary Hoover in an address before
the Chamber of Commerce of the United States In
which he advocates Reduction Of Waste in Gov
eminent by Reorganization of the Executive
Departments" He first points out that as the
bureaus and agencies are now grouped and
organized there two primary causes of waste
One Is the confusion Of basic principles The
other is the grouping that divides responsibility.
Consequently there is lack of definite national
overlap and conflict. AS TO the confusion of basic
principles he has this to say in part:
with the growing complexity of government
problems it has been necessary for congress to
delegate to the executive side many secondary
legislative functiQ&s in the making of regulations
and many secoEdary judicial functions in the en-
forcement of rhem. That Is the so-caled admin
istrative law And there has been the crudest mix
ing of these semegisative and semijudicial
functions with purely executive functions. These
semijucicial and semilegislative duties are fire.
uuentlE entrusted to single officers, while
administrative functions often carried on by
boaad s All of this is exactly the reverse of the
basic principles of sound administration. Boards
and commissions are soundly adapted to the DELHI
crate processes necessary to semjudicfal and
semiegisatve and advisory functions, but they
absolutely hopeless where decisive administra-
tive action is necessary And likewise most of
such functions should not be entrusted to single
mind. There is not single successful business
organization in the country that confuses such
functions the way we do in government
He cites the shipping board as a glaring case
and says there "other breeds of this same sort
of confusion between individual and joint re-
sponsibility." The federal board for vocational
education and the federal power commission ere
two he names. And he continues:
The same chaos of function is carried into other
directions where administrative or executive ofB-
cials given these semijudicial and semlegisla-
tive authorities The secretary of agriculture has
been loaded with powers of semegirlative and
semijudical character in the administration Of
the stockyards and commodity exchanges The
secretary of commerce has selnilegislative and
semijudicial powers navigation and some
branches of communications, and the secretary Of
labor has certainly judicial authority over mat
of immigration Nor do these confusing
functions solely reside in cabinet officers MANY
bureau lads have such powers. The responsible
tiles in decisions under these powers are at least
important those of Federal courts with this
important difference however, that while there is
theoretical appeal to the court in most cases. yet
practically most decisions are ANAL Worst of all
there none of the safeguards to the right
individuals in the determination of questions
submitted such in courts. Duties of
this semilegislative and semi5udicial character
should not be imposed upon administrative off,
cials. In those matters where they involve semi
legislative action they should not even be con-
ferred upon Judge, much less upon executive
officials. No Individual should be at the same time
legislator, policeman, prosecutor, Judge and Jury
Every single department, bureau and board In
the entire government should be placed upon the
operating table and cleancut separation estab-
lished between semijudcial and semilegislativs
functions on the other. The former rightly belongs
to individuals
AS 10 the division of authority over services
directed TO the same major purpose by scattering
them through unrelated groups he says: