Askov American., 1942-12-31
Government Must Be
Sinplified

Bookkeeping, financial state
ments and reports are necessary
but such work can be overdone.
The businessman must do
enough bookkeeping to know the
extent of his business, to render
bills for his services and to pay
his bills. He must know where
he is at.
If we are to have governmental
statistics it is also necessary that
individuals and corporations CO.
operate with the government in
the procurement of figures. But
this can readily become bur-
den to the average businessman.
While bookkeeping and reports
are necessary it must be borne in
mind that they do not constitute
actual production and therefore
care must be exercised that this
type of work is not done to the
extent that there be waste of time
and money.
Along this line of thought Sem
ator Robert M. aFollette of Wis
consin, wrote an article in The
Progressive, which follows:
AS the role of government in the
economic life of the nation has ex-
panded in recent years, there has
been a staggering increase in the
amount of paper work required of
individuals and business establish
ments to furnish the government with
all the information needed to admin
lister new laws and determine broad
questions of policy.
All-out mobilization of the coun-
try's human and material resources
is threatening to impose an almost
impossible burden of governmental
forms and reports upon business.
The problem had developed to the
point even before the war where the
need was recognized for simplifica-
ton of business reports to the federal
government and for elimination OF
duplication of reports to different
agencies.
Sirable before the war. Now it is an
absolute necessity. If steps are not
taken to cut down on the volume
of reports which the government is
asking businessmen to prepare, they
are going to be forced to spend more
of their time and effort making re-
ports than they can devote to produc-
ing goods for the war effort.
Burden on Small Business.
One of the serious aspects of the
additional burden of paper work al
this time is that it is falling on the
smaller business establishments, ever
the grocery stores, which have never
been able to equip themselves with
elaborate bookkeeping systems and
are even less able to do so now ir
the face of the prevailing difficulties
in securing competent employees and
business machines for such work al
"a time of acute manpower and ma
terial shortage in the country
Some of these very small businesses
have never before been called upon
by the government for reports other
than tax returns and census informa-
ton. Others have been left alone tc
the same extent, except for the pos
sible addition of social security re-
ports on their employees.
But now, with the government ex-
tending control over countless phases
of industrial production and the dis
tribution of an increasing list of ra-
toned commodities, all business con-
Germs, large and small alike, are SIM
ply swamped with reports which are
required by the government.
The large business concerns have
long had serious problem in keep
ing abreast of these requirements, as
a report of the federal governments
Central Statistical Board showed
three years ago.
For example, the report indicated
that in a number of lines of business
a concern might be called upon te
report its total pay roll on as many
as IL different federal forms. Sim
liar Implications was found in re.
porting such information as employe-
earnings for individual employees
gross operating revenues, sales, out
put, etc.
Much Can be Done.
If the federal and state govern
ments are going to do the jobs they
are expected to do in regulating var
ious phases of business, protect in
vestors, enforce fair trade practices
maintain decent labor standards, pro.
vide social security, and in this war
time emergency bring out the max
imum efficiency in the utilization ot
our productive resources, it needs 8