Evening star., 1938-04-03
COmmendable Compromise

AoAhiiiiViiud Illf)IOInlSc
Administration leaders displayed good
judgment yesterday in Offering to amend
the reorganization bill so that majority
in Congress could disapproye presidential
orders rearranging bureaus without fac
ing a possible veto that would require a
tWo-thlrds vote to override. Dispatches
from the South indicate the President
has agreed to this House concurrent reso-
luton plan, and for this he is entitled to
commendation. The Chief Executive as
sured the country few days ago he had
no desire to become dictator and yes
terday's developments give force to his
assertion.
House leaders were equally wise in
making knsWn their willingness to leave
the Bureau of Education in the Interior
Department instead of making it part
of the new Department of Welfare, in
order to eliminate any fear, however
groundless it may be. that the bill is a
step toward Federal control of education.
Even before the storm of opposition
broke on the floor of the House, the spe-
clal House committee already had moved
to preserve the General Accounting Of
fee. Although the House bill splits the
work of that agency between the con-
troller general and a new auditor gen.
eral, it is far less Objectionable than the
Senate proposal to wipe out the General
Accounting Office and permit the budget
director to supervise current accounting
OF Federal expenditures.
These several changes make the bill
more reasonable and no doubt will lead
to its early passage. There is how
ever, at least one other change the House
should accept before it takes final vote.
That is the amendment to be offered by
Representative Ramspeck of Georgia to
retain the bipartisan Civil Service Com
mission and drop the plan to replace it
with a single administrator.
The bill contains several desirable
civil service features to bring large
groups Of employees into the merit system
and to give all Federal workers method
of appealing from their efficiency ratings.
1t would be unfortunate If. in anacting
these comnlendable provisions, Congress
should expose the merit SYSTEM to the
dangers vhic, some members of Con-
gress see in the single administrator
principle. Efficiency is the argument
used in support of the change, but if
abolishing the commission weakened the
confidence Of the people in civil service
the result would offset any possible gain
in efficiency OF administration.
The House plan to permit disapproval
of executive orders by concurrent reso-
luton, which would not require presi-
dental signature, is not as complete a
congressional safeguard as the Wheeler
amendment which the Senate voted
down by small margin. But it is a
vast improvement over the pending bill.
Under the Wheeler amendment Con-
gress had to approve or disapprove the
orders, whereas under the House pro-
posal, If no action is taken within sixty
days, the orders take effect automat-
ically. While a majority could stop the
orders without fear of veto, the main
weakness in the proposed House amend
ment is that since vote is not manda-
tory the resolution might be delayed by
other business until the sixty days were
up This would not be likely to occur.
however, If there was widespread opposi-
tion to a particular order