Evening star., 1932-12-11
Capital Sidelights
WILL r. Kennedy.

When the House Committee on Ex
penditures meets tomorrow to consider
the Presidents reorganization message
it viii have call on several veteran
employees Of the Government who know
all the ins and outs Of reorganization
proposals and the reasons for certain
groupings Of Federal agencies. with {
background Of more than Q decade o
intensive study. It will also be abl'
to drawn upon q treasury of informa
tion-factual, theoretical, scientific or
ganization and tireless research-or
this subject.
Two employees Of the Government ar,
outstanding In their study Of United
States Government reorganization
Harold Graves, former assistant direc'
tor of the United States Bureau Of En-
cheney, later special assistant to Sec
retary Hoover in his reorganization o.
the Commerce Department and now ad.
ministratfve assistant to Walter D
Brown, Postmaster General, wrote one
of the best reports on this subjec,
ever prepared. The other Is William II
McReynolds, former chief investigator
for the Bureau of Eniciency, later di-
rector Of classification of the Person
mel Classification Board, who Is now
special assistant to the budget director
Col. J. Clawson Roop, who was called
upon by the President to draft his re-
organization plan.
There are also Q number Of public
spirited men who have made rather ex-
haustive studies of Government organi-
zation who would be available. Most
prominent among these Is DR.. William
F. Willoughby, director Of the Institute
for Government Research.
Just brief summary Of previous re-
organization efforts has bearing here.
A budget committee, non-govern.
mental, composed Of outside men well
known in the fields Of organization
business and finance, years ago sub.
mitted to Congress one Of the best
analyses ever made on this subject
That was written by Harold Graves.
Then came q report by President
Harding's cabinet, in which Mr.. Hoover
as Secretary of Commerce took promi-
nent part. This led to the organization
Of joint congressional committee. ol
which by unprecedented executive &C
tion Walter D. Brown, q representative
of President Harding drafted from pri.
vate life, was made chairman. That
joint committee made report which
included the main features OF the Hard
ing cabinet report.
An important outside the Govern
ment third party study was made by
the Institute for Government Research
under the direction Of DR.. Willoughby
For more than 10 years the United
States Bureau Of Efficiency has beer
the treasury for factual and detailed in.
formation and research on the subject
Of reorganization Of the Federal Gov
ernment.
And now comes the President Hoover
message with q set-up that Is not baset
primarily on drive for economy ane
the looping of of agencies, but aims al
good administration, with the convic'
ton that through good administration
will come greater economy and EN-
cheney.
The physically dirninutive "menta
giant" Representative David ]. Lewil
Of Cumberland, Nd, former member ol
the United States Tariff Commission
who has just been reelected to Congress
knew what hard work meant as boy
for at the age of 9 and until he was
% years old he worked in q coal mine
and while working there learned to reac
in Sunday school. He has alway:
the distressful depression he has en-
phasized that "the moral sanction,
alone are not sufficient to protect the
worker in his right to work" and that
legal sanctions have not yet been, given
this right"
He points out that this Is an ain
congruity, o contradiction, and argues
Here is q right, the Oldest right In
the world, right which no one has
ever disputed. and yet this right will not
assure q single laborer loaf Of bread
tomorrow" Then he tells this illustra-
tive story:
when I was lad about IL years Of
age, working in the coal mines Of Penn
sylvania, witnessed an accident that
left an indelible impression on my mind
The driver was starting into the mine
with his mule and couple Of empty
cars. The mule suddenly took crazy
spell and ran away into the Eighties:
mine. There was no method OF control
The runaway mule and cars continued
until they came to q prop at switch
that was sustaining lot Of loose rock
the cars struck the switch, jumped the
track. knocked out the prop, and down
came the overhanging roof. smashed the
cars, killed the mule, and ended the
earthly career Of the driver.
What happened In the offlce Of the
bOdk " VI dAICCt1lo Va VAC SoAilPoAy dt lbS
next meeting? This accident was re-
ported. They naturally said that they
could not run coal mines without killing
mules. without smashing cars, and sc
they charged up the price Of q new
mule and OF new cars to the cost Of run.
ming the business But how about the
value of the drivers life? He was no,
q slave, but an American citizen. That
was different. His widow had no Legal
rights. His life had no legal value. But
gentlemen, If his face had been black
ened by an African sun, If he had been
Negro slave in the Alabamas before
the war, then a thousand dollars al
least would have been charged up tc
the company's operating expenses te
cover the human value contributed to
the cost Of running a coal mine. And
now let me add that the first work
mems accident compensation law passed
on this side of the Atlantic Ocean was
passed by the General Assembly oi
Maryland in 1902, and-pardon my pos
sible mmodesty--that bill was prepared
by the hand of the man who, as a boy
witnessed the accident in the coal mines
OF Pennsylvania"
Relationship.
From the Cleveland News.