Imperial Valley press., 1937-11-19
News Behind the News
- Government REORGANIZATION
This is the fourth of six stories on Congress
and what lies ahead of il in special session


and what lies ahead of il in special session.
Observation-Disclosures of the fed
eral government, for decades dlVerthg TOPIC
of conversation, seems likely to become reality
as the 18th Congress assemblies to act or not TO
act on the Roosevelt program.
The best reason for thinking so is the TACT
that reorganization bills designed TO effect
portion of the recommendations OF Roosevelt
and his Brownlow- Merriam -Gulick committee OF
experts carries an obvious price tag.
The price, payable to Congress would be the
removal of a thousand or more government
career men-bureau chiefs. division heads and
so on-in a process which would lay their jobs
open to patronage raids. And the price may be
raised before Congress gives the President some
of the powers he wants for the purpose OF stream
lining" the executive setup.
The administration, with reservations, backs
the omnibus reorganization bill which will be
pushed by Senator James F. Byrnes OF South
Carolina The bill provides presidential author
ity to transfer. re-group or abolish bureaus
agencies, services and functions, except in the
case of independent agencies such as the inter
state Commerce, Securities Exchange and Federal
Trade Commissions.
CONGRESS- would have 60 days to veto any
change it didn't like. l5-year term civil SER
vice administrator would replace the present civil
service commission and would be charged with
developing federal career service.
The President would be authorized to bring
about 100000 now-exempt federal employees into
the civil service and to establish new Depart
ment of Welfare under cabinet secretary, VINO
presumably would be Harry Hopkins of WPA.
The President would be given six admnistra-
tive assistants. The name Of the Interior Depart
ment would be changed to Department OF Con-
servation and National Resources Planning
Board would be set up to study development
and utilization of the nations natural and hu-
man resources
The House has passed bills with more or less
similar provisions as to presidential reorganlza-
ton powers and authorizing the SIX assistants
1t has before it bills with more or less similar
provisions as to civil service and the comptroller
generals office.
The price" referred to is Byrnes bill provl-
sion permitting the President to find that any
office of the head of bureau agency, division
or service is policy determining in character,
whereafter he would name new appointees. They
would require Senate confirmation. The net Ell
feet would be to make hundreds, If not thou
sands of jobs now held by experienced career men
an item OF senatorial patronage
Chief fight in the House. and probably the
Senate is expected 10 center on the provision
which would put nearly all federal employees
under civil service Enactment of this proposal
would be a remarkable remuneration OF power
patronage power by President and Congress.
There is also sure to be battle against aboll-
ton of the comptroller generals office formerly
held by Republican John R. McCarl, who block
ed expenditures as to whose legality he and
New Dealers disagreed
There are few who won't agree that Roose-
welt never said truer thing than his descrlp-
ton of the federal administrative set-up as
"a higgledy-piggledy patchwork of du-
plicated responsibilities and overlapping powers y