Evening star., 1949-02-06

ted States, this 12-man body is, at
ment. Certainly sporadic attempts
were made in the 18th century to
tamper with the Government struc-
ture. But it is only during the Goth
century, particularly since World
War I, that the attention of public
administrators, political scientists
and legislators has been scientif1-
cally fixed on this problem.
There have been six previous ma
jor efforts to reorganize the execu-
tive branch.
In 1912 President Taft presented
to the Congress the report of his
Commission on Economy and Eff
cheney, but no action was taken.
In 1928 President Harding sent
his suggestions for improvement to
d Joint Congressional Committee on
Reorganization of the Executive
Departments. Several of his most
far-reaching changes were not &C
cepted by the joint committee,
which recommended its own plan
instead. It, too, did not receive
congressional approval.
The Institute of Government Re-
search, q private organization in
terested in public administration,
also in 1923 submitted a reorgani-
zation proposal, but Congress again
took no action.
Two Similarities
In 1882 President Hoover was
granted broad powers to reorganize
the executive branch by executive
order with the provision that either
house could nullify it by disapproval
within so days of the transmittal
of such order to the Congress.
President Hoover submitted a wide
scale reorganization, but the House
of Representatives disapproved his
proposals.
The last major attempt to re-
organize was the twofold effort in
1887. The Brookings Institution
made a lengthy report to a select
committee investigating the execu-
tive agencies, but no legislation re-
suited.
The report of the Presidents
Committee on Administrative Man.
agement, group of political scien-
lists appointed by President. Roose-
welt, also made its report in 1887.
Most of its recommendations did
not become law.
II one reviews these past recon-
mendations, he will be Immediately
struck by two things:
1. They have met with indiffer-
ent success at the hands of Con-
gress.
2. AL proposals center around
several major problem areas. And
although succeeding Congresses
have refused to accept the sug-
gested solutions, they are made time
and time again. Once more the
recommendations of the Hoover
Commission will prove no excep-
tion to this general rule.
Why did Congress react so in
differently in the past to reorgan-
ization? The experienced members
of the Congress are better informed
and more concerned about our
sprawling bureaucracy" than any
other group of American citizens.
They struggle with its intricacies
daily and they are sincerely appalled,
by their own inability to control 1t
through legislation, investigation
and appropriation. They are in
telligently disturbed, far more than
the individual citizen.
Not d Job for Congress
Past experience suggests there are
several reasons.
For one thing, the Congress is
unable to legislate every detail or
to examine every one of the de-
partments and agencies with SUM-
cient precision to complete an over
all plan. Probably the hardest
working body in the world, it is
necessarily immersed in day-to-day
problems which require immediate
answers.
Also each Congressman is for
many reasons more aware and more
interested in the activities of one
department or agency, than in the
many others. Each agency has its
friends, its sponsors ION the Hill"
Students of the Federal Govern
ment have therefore long been con-
vinced that only the President can
really reorganize the Government
on an overall basis. He can do this
only If Congress will give him the
power. For that reason a new
technique was created in 1899 espe-
cially for reorganization. First sug-
gested by Secretary of Commerce
Hoover, this power eventually was
granted to President Roosevelt. IT
allows the President to draw up and
submit to Congress a plan for re-
organization. If both Houses of
Congress do not disapprove the plan
within go days it becomes law.
Since this is clearly a legislative
function the Congress was long
loathe to give up such a power. But
over the years it too had grown to
realize that this was the only way
Led by such able students Of gov
ernment as Senator James Byrnes,
later Justice of the Supreme Court
and Secretary of State, and Repre-
sentative Lindsay Warren, now
Controller General, the Congress
temporarily granted this power to
President Roosevelt in 1889. This
power was once renewed but again
expired in 1948.
Last month the Hoover Commis-