Evening star., 1925-10-06

square feet; 1850 B street southwest,
$3.50 rental, 1850 square feet; 1904
1905 street southwest. $1,000 rental,
1900 square feet; 221 Linworth place
southwest, $5.400 rental, 21,800 square
feet; 220 Linworth place southwest,
"a 800 rental. 1891 square feet; 1869
c street southwest, 5000 rental, 2,2S4
square feet; 1868 c street southwest,
80 900 rental, 10000 square feet; Ohio
Building, American University. $4,000
rental, 52.585 square feet; rear 2l5
Twelfth street southwest, $1,0S0
rental, $3.50 square feet; go F street
northwest basement. $420 rental,
1920 square feet. Then there are a
number of storage buildings for which
rent is paid as follows: 929 Seventh
street southwest, $500; First and NJ
northwest. $500; 1915 G street north
west. $500: rear of 217 Twelfth street
southwest, $3.50. -.
Effect on Efficiency.
The loss Of time and personal touch
involved In thus having entire bu-
reaIs Of the department, or large units
of individual bureaus, so far removed
from their respective headquarters
that necessary official intercourse is
hampered and delayed, are handicaps
on efficient administration that cannot
be measured in terms of money, yet
do unquesVonably affect efficiency of
administration very injuriously.
The condition tends also to create a
feeling of separatenesS, even of isola-
ton, on the part of the remoter units.
that is harmful. Interbureau and in
trabureau conferences, coordination
and cooperation, are hampered and
restricted by separation. When, for
example, q conference between the
Secretary of Agriculture and the for
ester Is necessary, the latter must be
called from $50 F street, a half mile
or more away from the Administra-
ton Building. When the chief of the
Bureau Of Agricultural Economics
wishes to confer with a leader Of work
In Temporary Building c he must wait
until the man sent for can travel the
distance, approximately seven city
squares from Building G to 1858. B
street. 1ntercommunication by mes
senger and truck Is inevitably en-
larged by such dislocation of depart
ments and bureau units. and In some
cases clerical forces are unavoidably
duplicated. In addition. the Difficult
ties of proper supervision are greatly
enhanced, the expenses Of operation
and maintenance are increased and
the loss Of time involved in the trans
mission Of official papers, supplies and
personnel, while it cannot be definitely
expressed in figures, is undoubtedly
enormous.
Scattered Over City.
A chart has been drawn which at
first glance might be thought to have
been designed as map of the city of
Washington, but which in reality is
intended to show the position Of the
various buildings occupied by the De-
partment Of Agriculture relatively to
the Administration Building. in which
is the Office of the Secretary of Agri-
culture. On this chart are shown ap-
proximate airline distances from the
Office of the Secretary to these other
buildings-the maximum distance be-
ing about seven miles. This is from
the small storage building located at
Seventh and K streets southwest to
the Fixed Nitrogen Research Lab.
oratory at the American University
Park. Much more important and sig
nif1cant than the remote location Of
a storage building. however, is the
fact that important bureaus. such as
the Forest Service, the Bureau Of
Public Roads, the Bureau of Home
Economics and the Fixed Nitrogen Re-
search Laboratory are at great dis
tances from the office of the Secre-
tary.
Bureau Branches Scattered.
Equally disadvantageous, in the
light of proper and efficient admins
tration, is the fact that branches of