Evening star., 1926-03-07
BY ARTHUR CAPPER,
Senator From Kansas


Is there a time coming when every
citizen will have one officeholder to
support? The idea is extravagant,
but its realization is not impossible.
When our forefathers set up this
Government $50 years ago, they were
content with few governmental frills.
. The times being simple, complex
government was not required. SO
they got along quite well with one
public official to every 1000 adults.
| Then came years of increased mo-
mentum and compleXity in civiIiza-
tion and government. This is bound
to be the case in world that is MAX
inc progress from stage coaches to
flying machines. from candelight to
electric illumination from face-to-face
converse to radio.
BY 1860 this 1-to-1 900 ratio in of
| ficeholders had increased to to 100.
| In the late sos and early 90s the
| proportion was l to 10. Today it mus t
be greater. however incredible the
thought may seem.
All May Be on Pay Roll.
Just how long will it take to put
everybody on the public pay roll?
How many more boards, bureaus,
commissions and new officials must
!
White House to bring this about?
Not many.
This is the situation back of Presi-
dent Coolidge's recommendation that
| government be reorganiZed and sim
plified. To do this, red tape must be
eliminated and duplicating bureaus
and bureaucratS be apped-others
merged and combined. We now have
| 81 of these subdivisions of govern
ment. Twenty years ago there were
only Ia.
| Less governmental machinery. but
more efficient government and better
centralized government. is our need.
| We must find the way to it.
| Among other things, that calls for
q better system than our political
method of putting a lot of unframed
greenhorns into office every two or
| four years and firing all those who
have meanwhile been learning the
du. as OF their offices at the expense
of the taxpayer and have shown their
| fitness or incompetence for public
! service.
Would Limit Boards.
Then. here at Washington. we have
| a number of independent administra-
, tive board that are little govern
| nts-governments within govern
ment-like the United States Ship
ping Board, which recently defied the
! President. Some of them contain an
unnecessary number of men and are
| answerable to nobody in particular
even themselves.
| With such boards the responsibility
! for performing what they are
supposed to do is divided. No one
| person is accountable.
| This principle is wrong. What is
J everybody's business is nobody S
| business and doesn't get done or
/ is poorly and wastefully done.
Responsibility should be centered, not
scattered. Every good business house
knows that rule and practices it.
The work of these boards should
| be delegated to one man wherever
possible, or should be merged with one
of the 10 governmental departments
where responsibility is centered in a
| Secretary. Some of them might even
; be put out of business entirely.
A committee of two members from
each house, with a chairman appointed
| by the President. will probably be
| given authority by the present Con-
gress to submit recommendations to
the President for simplifying, COM
| bining, or dispensing with any part
! of the National Governments machin
cry or reducing it's personnel. Power
, to act on these suggestions will be left
with the President, as it should be.