The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1943-02-20

Three Criticisms
Most Often Heard
on Bureaucracy

Washington's wartime bureau
cracy is described by one set OF
its adverse critics as power-mad
Another bunch find their main
fault with it on the ground that
it's socialistically, communistic
ally or otherwise totalitarianly
subversiye OF our traditionally
democratic form OF government
Representative Joseph w. Mar
tin, Republican leader in the
house of representatives, made a
speech the other day on the form
er thesis. Representative Martin
Dies, on the Democratic side, is
the outstanding exponent oil
the latter superstition.
And there are plenty OF com
plants. from both camps, of bu-
reaucratic extravaganza - pure
wastefulness. with no particular
object in view. Senator Alben
W. Barley, Rooseyeltian mana
ger in the upper chamber, re-
Gently Joined in this cutlery.
When a statesman OF Dear Al
ben's" rating let's out a hollar
concerning his own administra.
ton. it really is deserving OF at
tention.
Well, as an observer, my own
theory is that the bureaucrats
are not so much powernutty. |
find them accommodating enough.
Nobody bothers me with censorial
rules. My experience with the
outfit is that they cough up such
news as they have available and
are glad TO get IL printed. In
deed, have had them express APP
probation to me for helping TO
circulate il. Some OF them want
to see more of It disseminated
than overhead authority is in
clined 10 authorize.
= And | am skeptical OF that sub.
versive activities idea, too. II
a chap like Mayor Fiorello La
Guardia OF New York is such an
influence, maybe a bit OF it pre-
walls. | do not think that Fiorel.
10 is. though, and, if there really
are any subversives in his crowd,
do not believe he Endorses them.
/ knew that bird away back in
Congress. He was a liberal and
maybe a radical but no revolu-
tionary.
Extravagance undoubtedly Is
copious. II was to have been ex-
pected. | suppose, the bureaucrat-
ic organizations having been
scraped together so rapidly.
What seems to me to be the
bureau folks worst fault is that
they are too Internally expert
and expect everybody else to be
equally so. The average individ-
ual must have realized this late.
ly from the trouble involved in
filling out his income tax report.
A multi-millionaire corporation
can afford to employ a financial.
shark to provide the Treasury
with its desired information, but
an ordinary citizen finds himself
in heck's own hole trying to de-
termine what he owes to Uncle
Samuel. He is told that the gov
eminent will supply him with an
official TO post him as to the few
hundreds he is stuck for, but 1t
takes him days to locate the
proper functionary. In the mean.
time he is being warned constant
ly 10 get a wiggle" or the pen.
alties against him will be some.
thing awful.
An income tax blank. for a
common person, like me, ought to
be simple.
What is the income? What de-
auctions am | entitled to? AL
ready knowing the answers to
both these questions, | can cal
culate the amount of my indebted
ness in 10 minutes. The Treas
ury makes the problem one OF
hours and hours Of figuring in
stead. II is entirely due to those
Treasury experts anxiety to show
everybody how smart they are.
Bill Bullitt. when solicitor gen
eral OF the United States. used
so say that there never should be
general legislation that the gen
erality of individuals cannot I'M
derstand.
Now the whole thing is a Chi.
nese puzzle.
q mean a Japanese puzzle. The
Chinese being such good friends
OF ours. / hate to imply anything
so mean about then.)
Now. | have concentrated on in
come tax returns, because nearly
everyone is so currently familiar
with them. However, federal
agencies missionaries are a
publicly-recognized affliction of
the last IS months, during which
1923 separate and distinct samp-
les have been broadcast-and
this counts only those issued by
special wartime bureaus; those
from the regular departments are
extra.
Little business cannot answer
them adequately. II hasn't the
facilities.
Senator Byrd's joint congress.
sional committee on non-essential
expenditures supplies the add
tional news that even big bust.
ness has been compelled TO sacri-
flee considerable manpower in