Evening star., 1929-06-25
Department HEADS
REGAIN CONTROL
President Feels Budget Has
Progressed Enough to Re-
turn to Old Method.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

President Hoover feels tllatSth budget
system of operation in Government
finances has progressed so far that
there can now be return to the
method of direct responsibility by heads
of departments in handling estimates
of expenditures.
The first impression of the Presi-
dents use of the word restore" was
that there was some reflection on the
manner in which the budget system
was managed during the Coolidge ad-
ministration and that the placing of
direct responsibility on the departments
once more meant that the budget di-
rector hereafter would have less to say
than under the previous regime. The
truth Is that 1t was never contemplated
that the department heads should lose
their identity in managing the fiscal
affairs for which they were by law
responsible, especially in administering
the funds appropriated to them.
Such strong personalities as Gen.
Dawes and Gen. Lord had the support
OF the respective Presidents under whom
they served and at times the director
Of the budget appeared to be an officer
, OF greater authority than that of a
cabinet officer. 1t is related that John
w. Weeks as Secretary of War had an
cent Harding about estimates for the
War Department. Mr.. Harding is re-
ported to have said that the director
of the budget had said that the size
OF the standing army could be reduced
and money saved, whereas Mr.. Weeks
contended that the recommendations of
the War Department be accepted.
Accept Weeks Program.
"If you think the director of thf
| budget" said Mr.. Weeks, knows more
about the way the War Department
should be run than I do. then yor
need another Secretary of War"
That ended the discussion and Mr.
Weeks program was accepted. There
have been other cases in which cabinet
officers. feeling that they knew theil
own departments intimately, have
clashed with the director of the bue,
get. With the emphasis given to econ.
omy during the Coolidge administra.
tion 1t frequently became the province
of the director of the budget to decide
what estimates should be approved, anc
this meant really deciding questions O,
policy. Technically, the director 81
the budget did not supersede a cabinet
ohicer, but his advice as a rule wa.
received by the President, who in turr
exercised his authority over the depart.
ment by siding with the director o.
the budget. So long as it was neces-
sary to emphasize economy and make
department heads realize the impor.
tance of holding down expenses. the
system used under the Coolidge ad.
ministration was unquestionably effec.
tive and nobody knows whether the
| time has come to restore to the de.
partment heads the fun powers they
used to exercise.
Heads TO Make Decisions.
Mr.. Hoover is going to take a chance
however, that the department heads
and the bureau chiefs have learned the
lesson Of economy and from now on II
viii be up to them to demonstrate that
they can make decisions which need
not be challenged by some one outside
of their department
It has been suggested that under the
Hoover administration there will be al
located to each department lump sun
and that these amount; will be fixeC
In conference between the President anc
the director of the budget and also be-
tween the Chief Executive and the de-
partment heads. Once the sums are
fixed 1t will then be within the discre-
ton OF the department heads to diStrib-
ute the appropriation within the de-
partment in accordance with the broad
policy of each cabinet officer. The
ideal system, of course, is one in which
the director of the bulge. and his as
sistants. who have desks In the vari-
Gus departments, reach an understand
ing with each cabinet officer, who In
turn receives from the President APP
proval for recommendations of each de-
partment.
There has recently been a tendency
to shift the responsibility to the ofiice
of the director Of the budget Congress
is interested only incidentally, because
the problem Is largely one of admins.
tration, and so long as the total budget
comes within the amount expected to
be received from taxes and other source:
the legislative body is usually inclined
to accept the budget as prepared by
the executive establishment.
(r.orvrivht 1920