The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1939-02-23

Entered as Second Class matter
ECNOOMIC HIGHLIGHTS
Some Of the most potentially inn
portant news often fails to make
the front page. This was demon
strated a short time ago when the
President appointed a commission
to study the subject of a federal ca
reer service. In the words OF a
team of Washington columnists, AL
sop and Kintner, this should "shine
like the traditional good deed in a
naughty world. Yet, instead of shin
ing, it has passed strangely unno-
ticed."
Bureaucracy, in the view Of most
political economists, Is the imposing
barrier that stands square and UNI
moving in the way Of any movement
to reform and improve the admins
trative side of government. And
bureaucracy Is the direct result OF
our long entrenched patronage
system, whereby politicians in pow
er pay off their obligations and In
didectly or directly feather their
own nests by appointing their
friends and hackers, and their sis
tiers and their cousins and their
aunts, to federal jobs. It has been
believed in Washington for some
time that the President has been
thinking about ways and means OF
doing something about tearing
down this barrier, and establishing
an American career service pat
termed more or less after the justly
famed British civil service. The ap-
pointment Of the commission seems
to be a tangible start toward this
end.
The Job this commission has been
given requires first calibre minds.
And 1t has them. It consists Of two
members Of the Supreme Court,
Justices Reed and Frankfurter;
the Attorney General, Frank MUIR
pd1y; q well-kn0wn industrialst,
General Wood Of Sears-Roebuck; q
distinguished engineer; Gano Dunn;
q former civil service commissioner,
Leonard White, and a Treasury adj
ministrative expert, w. II. Mercy
nolds. AL Of these men,. 1t is said
have long been interested in Inn
proving the government service.
Under the English plan, the real
work of the government Is done by
men who hold their jobs all their
lives, and are then retired on ade-
quate pensions. They cannot be dis
charged, save for reasons Of dis
honesty or incompetence. A change
In the party-in-power does not af-
feet them at all, and so they can
afford to be politically non-parti-
san. Usually they enter the service
as soon as they leave school or un-
iversity, and they are subjected to
the most rigorous training In their
respective fields. Promotions are
based so far as 1t IS humanity pos
sible on ability and efficiency. They
don't get the publicity-they do get
the results. And some Of them,
such as Sir Robert Vansittart Of the
Foreign Office, become even more
powerful and more sought after
than cabinet members.
In the United States, we have
used the career system in but one
branch Of government State De-
partment. A young man wishing to
enter the foreign service must have
q better than average education and
background, and must go through q
stiff training In the generalities Of
diplomacy. After that he Is given
q still sitter training in the par
ticular diplomatic field he wishes to
enter-Far East, South America.
Central Europe, etc. These are the
men who have kept this government
functioning abroad and by and
large, say those who know. they
have done q splendid job. It's an
open secret that many an Ambass-
ador has been kept from making
ruinous mistakes by the advice Of
some secretary or counsellor-of-
embassy, who knew the ropes and
the pitfalls.
In the other departments Of gov
eminent, as everyone knows, politics
reigns supreme. A change In adj
aministration results In an immed-
lite hebira Of the supplanted, and
an advance on washington by the
yittors desiring the spoils. The In
evitabls result Is waste, inefficieucy
and duplication Of effort. The most
brilliant department head. II his de-
partment Is filled with incompetent
or lazy political favorites, Is OBJ
viously stymied.
No matter what the committee
decides, any move to place the gov
eminent service on q career basis is
certain to meet with much con-