Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-29

the various departments and establish
ments were called together and organ
ICED into effective committees and
boards to simplify and unity procedures
and eliminate tortuous, wasteful, and
unbusinesslike methods. In this way al
the major activities of the Government
were studied and harmonized by the
effects of our own personnel. Out from
this study and effort Sprang business
organization that compares favorably
with like establishments in the business
world in efficiency and unified control
Harmonious cooperation has won.
In pre-budget days not single
/ administrative form indicated there
4 was such a thing as a National Gov
| eminent. The several departments had
their own business forms in varying
and confusing multiplicity. Today we
have 38 Federal forms displacing the
many hundreds that served to confuse
business and add to the cost OF
government. Not single specification
contributed to good Governpent bust
I ness. Today we have COZ standard
lied specifications which cover In large
part the entire field of Federal require
ments. We are using one uniform
Government lease in place of several
hundreds of departmental leases, while
! uniform construction and supply con-
/ tracts in connection with our standard
t lied specifications are contributing
daily to good business and material
saving.
Spread Gospel of Saving
Our great real estate and rental
interests, our disqualification, our buy
ing, selling and printing, our patent
interests and office methods are sub
| ject to the same careful study and
supervision. Out in the field we have
our area co-ordinators and our $50
Federal business associations, with 63
more In the making. These unique
Government agencies are spreading
the gospel of efficient government
economically administered. They are
our most trenchant opponents of CO.
operation. The intangible savings re-
| Sulting from this co-ordinating work
mounts into millions yearly. The work
Is not spectacular, but it is the very
foundation OF good business. I believe
that the Federal Government today is
the best conducted big business in the
world. To these faithful workers in
our co-ordinating agencies, in Wash
lngton and elsewhere the country owes
great debt Of gratitude. This picture
| OF widespread commitment to good
government throughout the service
ana extravagant government is not
good governments most inspiring
ana encouraging. We have demon
Strated that saving results from efficien-
cy and efficiency comes from saving.
Largely because of such work as this.
less than two years from the time when
| the lowest point was reached. the
country was very genertlly restored to
normal conditions. From that time on
there has been an upward swing, broken
only by short static periods or slight
temporary receSsionS. The closing
months Of 1928 and the opening weeks
OF 1929 have seen American industry
and commerce at the highest point
ever attained in time of peace.
In order to understand more clearly
what the effect of these efforts has
been on the country. it is only neces-
sary to compare some of the major
economic factors of 1928 with those of
1921. The output of our factories in
creased during that interval nearly 60
per cent: in some cases, such as iron
and steel production, it was more than
doubled. The production of the mining
industries as group was at least so
per cent greater last year than seven
buildings was much more than twice
as great IN 1928 as in 1921. The adj
vance was especially notable and graft
Tying In the building of homes and
schools. Check payments outside of
New York City, where the volume is
much affected by stock exchange trans
actions, have increased by about 81 per
cent over 1921. Railway traffic has
been about One-third greater than in
the earlier year and has been carried
on with far greater efficiency and dis
patch. ~4
1.-THE number Of automobiles regis
| tered Is now nearly. three times as
great as at the beginning of 1921, and
the number manufactured during 1928
was more than three times as great as
during 1921. Electric power produc-
ton last year was considerably more
than double what 1t was seven years
before. From practically nothing the
business Of radio broadcasting has be-
come enormous, and the number of
radio receiving sets produced exceeds
100000. The burdens of our house.
wives have been immeasurably lightened
and their lives broadened by the intro
auction OF numerous electrical con-
veniences and devices, most of which
were unknown a few years ago.
Wealth Increases.
1.-THE extent that the financial re-
serves OF our citizens have increased
is strikingly apparent. Savings de-
posts rose from $16,500, 900 900 at the
end OF the fiscal year 1921 to more
than $4,000. 100000 on June 80, 1928.
SetWeen 1921 and 1897 tine amount of
life insurance in force very nearly
NF
ton came to exceed $4,000, 900 600.
The assets of building and loan asso-
cations have risen from less than
$4,000, 100000 in 1921 to more than
$7,178,0 00,0 900 in 1927.
The record of the advance in educa-
ton IN this country during recent years
has been truly astonishing. Figures for
1927 and 1928 are not yet available, but
in the short period Of SIX years, between
1920 and 1926, the number of students
in our high schools, colleges and uni
verSities grew from about three to nearly
five millions. There has been an i'm
menSe increase in the output Of reading
matter OF all kinds.
With all our increase in production,
the numbers of persons employed in
several OF our major activities have,
apart from the sharp recovery after the
depression in 1921, tended to decrease.
At present there are fewer persons en-
ployed in manufactures, mining, rail-
way transportation and agriculture
than In 1919, and the increase as COM
pared with IS or 20 years ago is de-
cidedly less when compared with the
total population Of the country. This
change means the elimination of waste
and is an evidence of advance in liv-
ing standards. With the constantly
rising efficiency and greater production
per man the quantity of goods avail
able per capita of the population has
| increased materially. It has also been
possible to set some workers free to
furnish us services as distinguished
from commodities of distri-
button, automobile travel, recreation
| and amusement. BY this means the