Evening star., 1937-01-13

system on Capitol Hill ana tne arCn-
deacons of political pull in Govern
ment NAV succeed in blocking this re-
organization plan as they have other
plans of similar nature under past
administrations.
The idea of reorgani2ing the eXecu-
tive branch of the Government and
It's numerous commissions and bureaus
is not new, having been suggested by
Republican as we'll as Democratic
Presidents. but it remained for Presi-
dent Roosevelt to take bold initiative
in projecting a plan that really re-
organizes.
One is almost tempted to be thank
full that Mr.. Roosevelt won by his own
influence such huge majority in Con-
gress in the last election if the con-
crete result flowing therefrom now is
the actual adoption by an enlightened
Congress of the plan that has just
been submitted to it.
Proposal Far-Reaching.
The proposal is far-reaching and
constitutes BY far the most compre-
hensive reform that have ever been
proposed with respect TO the admins
trative side Of the Federal Government.
Its weakness is not that it concen-
trates power in the Chief Executive,
for in administrative tasks this is es-
sential, but that it does not provide
for the clear definition of the Federal
function from a policy standpoint so
that Congress and the executive may
both follow more closely the true re-
oulrements and obligations of the Fed
eral Government without adding re-
sponslbllities that truly should be left
to the States and cities.
The Presidents Committee which
formulated the reorganization plan
frankly confessed in its report that it
cid not consider the policymaking
function as this was something for the
executive and Congress to handle.
But IN the long run Government ex-
penses will increase instead of dimin-
ish unless there is some committee or
commission which with the President S
backing is willing to so into the sub
!ect Of the Federal function and mark
out constitutional as we'll as financial
limits
Step in Right Direction,
The new plan as a whole, however,
is a step in the right direction and
when Senator Byrd of Virginia and
his committee finish looking into the
matter from the congressional ASPECT
which is also desirable it is certain
that the country will get a real oppor-
tunity TO know something about the
reorganization of the Federal ma
chinery.
Much Of the new plan is necessarily
theoretical, if not politically imprac-
ticsl in the sense that it must run the
gauntlet of hard-boiled congressional
scrutiny plus the effects of an exercise
by bureaucracy of its usual capacity
for legislative pressure among it's
friends on Capitol Hill This has
blocked previous legislation on govern
mental reorganization and may steril-
lie some of the fine proposals now
being made
Everything will depend on Mr..
Roosevelt's own enthusiasm for the
plan. He can content himself with
the present message and recommended
tions and feel that he has done his
part. He can, in effect, show that it is
not he but Congress that maintains
the spoils system and prevents merit
from being introduced in the choice of
personnel But if he wants really to
put the full influence of his position
and prestige behind the whole plan
and get Congress to adopt the princi-
pies in some form of law that gives
Mr.. Roosevelt specific power to carry
out the details, he can probably at
this stage of his career force the meas
ure through. Delay would be fatal to
the plan for if too much time elapses,
the whole report will be sniped at and
here and there concessions will be
made to pressure and the subject may
be forced gradually into the future
when other items of controversy on
the congressional scene may cause
such cleavages as actually to prevent a
majority from being mustered for the
plan in Congress.
AmplificatiOn Needed.
There will be many points in the re-
organization plan that will require am
plification and discussion. Thus it is
not clear why the controller generals
office should be abolished and its func-
tions given in part to the Department
of Justice and in part to the Treasury
This means that normally the handling
of the expenditures is turned over to
political officers. Much better would
be a plan which made the controller
generals office part of a regular eX-
ecutive bureau or agency, but with ar
independent status like the Bureau of
Internal Revenue, so that the mini
mum of interference shall be possible
with respect to the judicial decisions
Of such an auditing bureau.
Likewise, the Budget Bureau needs
more specific limitations and direct
responsibilities, so it will conform to
congressional desire.
Finally, the new plan by no means
requires Congress to give up its consti-
tutional duty and power to direct the
executive what to do. but merely in
sists that the instructions shall be suf-
ficiently broad and intelligently stated
In laws, so that an executive bureau
can with common-sense discretion
carry them out What the plan really
calls for is an end of hamstringing by
means of the customary appropriation
bills, yet with responsibility and obli-
cation for expenditures fully defined
and subject to full public disclosure to
the legislative branch Of Government
an ideal long sought by all Of us
who have for years been urging and
pleading for a modernization of the
Federal structure to meet the needs OF
o growing population and the COM
plexities of our present-day economic
life.
tcopyright. 1879