Evening star., 1949-07-03
|GSA Starts Task
0fStream|iniinq
Seven Agencies
New Federal Bureau
Employs 1887 in
Washington Area

I"lPIoyS l+s0oI III
Washington Area
The newly-created General Ser
vices Administration is starting
its task of streamlining the opera
tions Of the seven Federal agencies
now under its control, Admins
traitor Jess Larson announced
yesterday.
The GSA was set up three days
age to take over the jobs previous
ly performed by the Federal Works
Agency, which Mr.. Larson head
ed: the Public Buildings Admin
istration, Bureau of Community
Facilities, Public Roads Admins
tration. Bureau Of Federal Supply,
War Assets Administration and
the National Archives.
Exclusive Of $4,000 employees
scattered over the country, the
total number of workers coming
under jurisdiction of the new
agency in the Washington area
is 1887.
1904 Inherited from FWA.
The bulk of the District area
workers, 1904. are employees in
herited from FWA. The remain
der includes 1880 from the Bureau
Of Federal Supply, $50 from WAA
and 1863 from the National Arch
ives establishment.
Besides giving overall direction
to the seven agencies, the new Of
flee will handle property manage
ment and buying of other execu-
tive Offices so as to eliminate du-
plication and cut down expenses.
The Hoover Commission, which
recommended the new pooling
move, estimated that saving of
about $250,000. 900 could be real
lied from the unified supply sys-
tenn.
DR.. Robert L. johnson, chair
man of the Citizens Committee for
the Hoover Report, hailed the
creation of the GSA as opening
"the road to an efficient, business
like system of Federal property
management"
If this new authority is aggres-
sively used" he added in a state
ment, 1.-The $40 of Federal paper
work needed to buy a ST book
should be eradicated. 1t
offers an opportunity to perform
a major surgical operation on the
dead rot of records which fills the
files of the Federal Government
."
Will Garry on for Present.
Mr.. Larson said in a statement
that the various bureaus affected
will carry on their usual functions
for the present. But he added that
the GSA is launching studies to
bring about consultations and
lreorganiZations in the interest of
efficiency and economy"
President Truman yesterday di-
rected the various bureau chiefs
to report as soon as possible re-
suits of their own surveys to deter
mine the most efficient and eco
nomical" methods OF correlating
their activities.
These range from the public
building program directed by FWA
to maintenance of the Franklin D.
Roosevelt Library at Hyde Park,
IN. Y.
Mr.. Larson's announcement said
the GSA is preparing a manual to
guide Federal officials "in setting
up records management programs
and in applying new streamlined
disposal procedures"
It said the new agency will
continue centralized purchasing
where it is most advantageous to
the Government"
The Federal Works Agency
lasted 10 years to the day. 1t was
created July l. 1889. in the first
plan of reorganization authorized
by Congress. This reorganization
grouped in FWA these agencies
dealing with public works not in
cidental to the work of other de-
partmentS, and which admins
tered Federal grants or loans to
State and local governments for
construction purposes.
Huge Collection of Records.
In his new capacity, Mr.. Larson
will be custodian of the worlds
greatest collection of Government
records. These now take up TO-
100000 cubic feet of space. enough
to fill 100000 filing cases, or six
Pentagon buildings.
Cooperation between the Ma
tional Archives Establishment and
the Public Buildings Administra-
ton in the utilization of Govern
ment-owned or rented space, 1t
was claimed, should lead to its
most economical and effective use
in records storage.
In the District alone the total
figure is 30,8O0,000 square feet of
building space, 5.160,000 of which
are occupied by records.