Evening star., 1939-03-07

DISCUSoES u. U. +. VlEWF(
Martin, jr., who spoke last mig
costly overlapping In our Washing
ton bureaucracy is needed urgently
Such economies would mean further
vast savings to commerce and en-.
terprise through the elimination o1
duplicating Government contacts
These can and should be accom-
plished in the American-the con.
Stitutional way.
Our great Federal bureaucracy to.
day carries a total of $4,000 EN-.
ployes on the civil pay roll, as com.
pared with SOS, 900 six years ago.
This increase of more than $50, ,00(
persons on the Federal pay roll, ex.
elusive of increases in the military
services, has been accompanied by
a tremendous increase in the num-
ber of boards, bureaus, commissions
authorities, divisions. and admins
trative sections throughout the Gov
ernment.
Many of these new agencies today
are stumbling over each other, work
ing at cross purposes, are even
arrayed in open conflict over policies
and programs-all at the expense
of the people.
In not few cases this confusion
has induced a condition of utter
paralysis in the Government func-
tions.
Such costly overlooking of bureau
cracy must be stopped!
In the so-called Economy Act" of
March 20, 1888, President Roosevelt
was given blanket authority to con-
solidate and reorganize the various
Government departments. This au-
thority, however, expired after two
years, on March 20, 1885.
II Minor Regroupings.
In this tWo-year interval the Presi-
dent effected only II regroupings by
executive order, eight of them Of
minor nature in the Veterans
Bureau, and the others relating
principally to such secondary agen-
cies as the Geographic Board. the
American Battle Monuments Com
mission, the Alien Property Gus
todian, the Bureau of Mines and the
Division of Territories and Island
Possessions.
But while these II minor regroup-
ings were being worked out over a
period of two years, no less than 81
new agencies Of government were
created to administer various VEN
lures and experiments of the New
Deal.
Today these new agencies alone
employ more than 10000 men and
women, and many other segments
have been added to the towering
structure of our Federal establish
ment since March, 1885.
The latest figures reveal that al
together since March, 1888, the pres
ent administration has created nc
less than "a new agencies of govern
less than "a new agencies of Govern
ment. Their unrelenting flood oi
executive orders encroach upon the
most intimate daily concerns of oul
people in every State in the Union
1t would be folly to assume that all
of these new agencies are focusing
their energies upon ways and means
to revive public confidence in the
American scheme of private enter
prise.
Such, briefly, is the record of ex-
travagant expansion in Washington
during the last six years. This is
the performance realized by the
American people on that important
section of the Democratic platform
of 1882 which pledged:
1--WE advocate an immediate and
drastic reduction in Government ex-
penditures by abolishing useless
commissions and Offices, consolidate
ing departments and bureaus, and
eliminating extravagances to &C.
ccmplish a savings of not less than
IS per cent in the cost of Federal
Government. ="
Huge Pay Roll Increase.
When that promise was made the
civil pay roll of Federal Govern
ment was little less than $1O0,OOO,-
600 for the month; but in Decem-
ber, 1888, the last month reported
officially by the Civil Service Com
mission, this pay roll was SAL
924 600!
1t is hard to believe that an ad-
ministration with such a record
could accomplish a real program OF
Government economy, free of all
implications of one-man govern
ment and dictatorship.
Despite this unpromising back
ground we on the minority side
stand ready to cooperate actively
in any pledge the President may
submit in fulfillment of that ringing
promise he gave the American peo-
pie from Sioux City, Iowa, on Sep
tember %, 1882, when he said:
Il shall use this position Of
high responsibility (the presi-
dency) to discuss up and down
the country, in all seasons, at all
times, the duty of reducing taxes.
This I pledge you, and
nothing I have said in this
campaign transcends in impor-
tance this covenant with the
taxpayers of this country"
In that pledge to the American
people, President Roosevelt voiced
the sentiments not only of the
Democratic party, but of all our
workers and farmers.
likewise, Mr.. Garner, then the
Speaker of the House, said on the
floor on March 20, 1892:
"On January 6 of this year-(that
is, 1932)-after a two-hour session
and full discussion, our Joint COM
mittee-(composed of House and
Senate Democrats) II unanimously
decided upon this language as ex-
Nressin0 what shoalld he the noro