Evening star., 1932-02-17
Message Scores Waste
President Urges Economy and Importance of More
Effective Organization of Executive Branch
of Government.

| The additional expense of such officers
over and above the salaries now paid 10
officials who would be displaced would
be less than $4,000 per annum. The
| saving in cost of administration would
be many times this sum. The most i'm
portant Of the posts Of this character
are the following:
Public works administrator (new Of
fice).
Personnel administrator (change from
chairman CT Civil Service Commission. .
Assistant secretary for public health
(new).
Assistant secretary for education
(change from commissioner.
Assistant secretary for merchant ma
rine (new office.
Assistant secretary for conservation
(neW Office.
Assistant secretary for agricultural
research (change from present assistant
secretary.
economics (change from directorr.
THE establishment of an assistant
secretary for merchant marine would
enable the ecnsummation Of the, pro.
posals in my message OF December D
in respect to the Shipping Board"
The public works administration
should be partially a service agency
to the other departments of the Gov
ernment, executing certain construc-
ton work, the subsequent operation OF
which should be carried on by those
departments. 1t should be also par
TALLY an administering certain con-
tract work which cannot be dele
gated to any one department. Naval.
military, and some other highly spe-
cialized construction work should not
kn two, CT to
supervision and construction of rivers
and harbors work should be continued
under direction of the Army engineers,
who should be delegated by the Sec
retary of War to the service of the ad-
ministrator of public works for this
purpose.
Agencies for Personnel.
The personnel administration should
comprise various agencies relating TO
the personnel of the Government as a
service agency to all departments of the
| Government. I recommend that the
Civil Service Commission should be
maintained as an advisory body to the
personnel administrator, and the ap-
proval of this body should be required
in all regulatory questions. The per-
sonnel administrator should be the
chairman of the commission. Other
| functions relating to the personnel O!
the Government should be transferred
to the personnel administration as may
be deemed wise from time to time:
| With respect to certain agencies In
the Government, recommend sepa-
rate legislative reorganization OF poiicy.
| The first of these is the reclamation
service. Reclamation should have a
broader import than that of bringing
unproductive land under cultivation. We
do not need further additions to our
agricultural land at present. Additlonal
agricultural production except such
marginal expansion as present proJectS
warrant is inadvisable.
The conservation of water by storage
| is required, not alone in the West, but
in all parts of the country.
The effective development OF water
conservation through storage is largely
an interstate question in the aid OF DO
mestic and industrial water supply,
transportation. irrigation and flood con-
troll. Where construction work Tor
storage relates to these larger issues. 1t
| Is properly the work of the Federal
Government. Where water power Is de-
veloped as a byproduct 1t should be
| disposed Of in advance by contracts
which will fairly reimburse the Govern
| ment for It's outlay. The Reclamation
Service should be extended to cover
these broad purposes Of storage and
conservation of water rather than the
narrow purpose of irrigation. Such I'M
portant projects as the dam at Boulder
Canyon, the dam at Cove Creek. the
| development of the Columbia should
/ ultimately be undertaken when there
is need for such service and when con-
tracts can be be made for the sale OF
power to amortize construction to the
Government The actual construction
work under this plan should be carried
out by the public works administrator
and the completed projects administered
by the Reclamation Service.
Land Policy Change.
There should be a change in policy
in dealing with public lands If we are
to preserve their value for grazing and
other purposes. The Committee on
Conservation and Administration of the
Public Domain, authorized by act OF
the Congress approved April 10, 1880,
completed the task assigned to 1t a
year ago. Its report has been trans
mitted to members of the Congress.
| = iy,fo oHecf tho rer-