Evening star., 1942-07-20
The Tydings Report

The report of the subcommittee
headed by Senator Tydings serves a
valuable purpose in directing atten-
ton to the failure Of the executive
branch of the Government to prac-
tice, in it's own establishment, the
doctrine of drastic conversion to
total war which it advocates for the
country as a whole
There can be little doubt that
there is much to justify the
subcommittee complaint 1t has
long been evident that the adminis-
trative branch of the Government,
while giving lip service to the princi-
pie of streamlining nonwar activi-
ties, has never been willing to take
the really drastic steps which the
necessities of war require and which
have been put into effect in some
elements of our civilian economy.
AS one example, it might be pointed
out that the Federal Government
has not even remotely approached
the application to it own organiza-
ton of the same relentless war eco
nomic curbS have had to be applied
to that section of civilian industry
which is not directly engaged in the
war effort. 1t may be said that this
Is human falling. Superficially
plausible arguments can be and have
been made for retaining this or that
governmental activity which is only
remotely connected or not connected
at all with the war effort. But the
fact remains that the Federal Gov
eminent has not set an example for
the rest Of the country in stripping
down to the war essentials, and until
it does set such an example the rest
of the country, on the whole, will
continue to be laggard in its own
effort.
In making this criticism of the
executive branch the subcommittee
rests its case on a lengthy and de-
tailed examination of the adminis-
trative war structure-the first really
comprehensive study that has been
undertaken. This, in itself, is bene-
fit, for the executive branch has
grown so complicated and so un-
wieldy through the piling of bureaus
on bureaus and reorganizations on
haf ie uirfr l1xy
impossible, without painstaking
study, to grasp more than the broad
outlines of the overall picture. The
fact that careful study has been
made also adds weight to the sub
committees conclusion that no ade-
quate effort has been made to trans
fer workers from non-war to war
agencies, that Office space sufficient
to accommodate more than $4,000
additional employees now is being
wasted in administrative agencies,
and that there Is vast amount OF
duplication Of functions which could
be and ought to be eliminated. In
this connection, the recommendation
for legislation empowering the Civil
Service Commission to effect the
compulsory transfer of Federal en-
ployes from one agency to another
deserves favorable attention.
There will be disappointment, how
ever, that the subcommittee has sin
gled out the Budget Bureau as the
principal culprit in this failure to
streamline the Government. In the
first place, such a conclusion does
not square with the record of Con-
gress itself In this respect 1t is
difficult, for example, to reconcile
this criticism of the Budget Bureau
with the attitude of Congress on
farm legislation, with the inadequacy
of the tax BILL the vote to continue
such agencies as the National Youth
Administration and the authorization
of projects like the Florida canal.
Congress, through it's powers of leg
islation and appropriation, has a di-
rect control over the administrative
branch. When it fails to exercise
that control, there Is necessarily a
loss of force in criticism of the ex-
ecutive branch for failing to take
the steps which Congress could have
required it to take.
In these circumstances the sug-
gestion that the Budget Bureau
might be transferred from executive
to congressional control is an ex-
ceedingly dubious one. II the Budget
Bureau is dominated by a deficit
spending philosophy, as the subcom-
mittee contends, Congress has power
to correct that condition. and should
exercise it. But it does not follow
that any gain would result from lift
ing the Budget Bureau out of the
executive branch and bringing it
under direct control of Congress.
Theoretically, at least, the proper
place for the Budget Bureau, in view
of it's functions, is in the executive
establishment. The objective of
Congress should be to require it to
perform the functions for which it
is intended
Just few more regulations neces-