Evening star., 1939-02-05

municipal service ana SlOulQ serve
without term during the efficient
and satisfactory performance of his
duties, subject to removal for cause
by the appointing authority.
Must Be Versatile Official.
I'm the administrative officer
should be vested the functions OF
execution, direction, management
supervision, and coordination that
cannot be handled effectively other
wise than by single executive. He
should be responsible to the govern
ing body for carrying out, through
the administrative departments, the
policies determined by the govern
ing body as expressed in ordinances
or similar enactments. He should
be empowered to appoint the heads
of the administrative departments
to serve during efficient service
Employees below the department
heads should be appointed by such
heads according to merit provisions
of law.
THE title District Administrator
is suggested for the administrative
officer, with District Executive as q
second choice.
The District Administrator-it
that is chosen as his title-should be
paid salary at least as large as
that of the head of any major
branch of the Federal Government.
The report prefaced the proposed
plan of organization with general
condemnation of the existing mu-
nicipal structure. 1t declared the
commission form of government to
be "outdated" and generally dis
credited" and stressed that there are
many obvious defects" in the exist
ing organization, which is described
as complex and involved"
Agencies Vary in Form.
Under the present organization
the report explained, there are
"multifarious agencies that vary
among themselves in their form, in
the scope of their authority, in their
relationships to each other, and in
their relationships to higher author
tiles. They include branches OF
Federal departments, independent
Federal establishments, agencies
definitely attached to the main gov
ernment of the municipal corpora
ton, hybrid agencies in which func-
tions having local and Federal or
regional characteristics are mex
tricably intermingled, and a bewil-
dering array of advisory councils,
eX-offcio committees, co-ordinators
and co-ordinating committees with
functions extending across the lines
of other established agencies. Little
rhyme or reason, logic or consistency
is to be found in the whole con-
glomeration. AS might be expected,
the inevitable result is confusion
among the several agencies and
their officers as to the limist of
their authority and vagueness as to
the extent Of their responsibilities.
There Is not much evidence OF
the influence of plan or system in
the assignment of functions to the
several agencies. Some agencies
exercise functions that are unre-
lated to each other and some have
functions so like those OF others
as to require duplication of similar
staffs and facilities.
"One of the most important sources
of economy in the administration OF
an enterprise as large as that of the
government of the District Of Colum-
bia is provision for the consolidation
or at least the central control, Of all
services and activities Of kinds that
are involved in the conduct of all
departments no matter what their
primary functions may be. The
District now has no single depart
ment Of finance, or of revenue, or OF
personnel"
The report further pointed out
that individual members of the
Board Of Commissioners serve both
as members of a legislative body and
also as city managers, leach having
practically exclusive control by con-
sent Of the others over part Of the
municipal service"
Services Held Handicapped.
Such legislative duties as the
Commissioners now have under the
limited powers granted by Congress
the report declared, "are exercised
at the sacrifice of their time as ex-
ecutives; and such executive duties
as they perform are exercised as lay
men Except in the case of the En-
gineer Commissioner rather than
as professional administrators chosen
for their technical qualifications.
1.-The weakness in the plan lies, not
only in this theoretical conflict be-
tween two very different types OF
duties, but in a very practical situa-
ton that always develops when re-
sponsibihty for the general manage
ment Of single enterprise Is divided
among several individuals. There Is
then invariably a tendency for each
individual to refrain from interfering
with the assigned prerogatives OF
the others; Intentionally or unin-
tentionally, each confines himself
to his own particular part Of the
service. This attitude extends to
participation in what should be
group consideration of matters OF
policy or legislation. Each member
does most If not all of the legislat-
ing for his own department.
What all this means in practical
effect is that commission form OF
government in the District amounts
to the splitting into three parts OF
the portion of the government that
is under the Commissioners and the
assignment Of each part to one man
who serves both as q one-man
legislature and as the city manager
for his part. If some other form Of
government were now IN effect and