Evening star., 1949-02-24
Hoover Report :
Asks Reforms in
u. ). Accounting
Board Split a Ways
In Its Criticism of
Government Setup
By james Y. Newton

The 12-man Hoover Commission
today split four ways in criticizing
the Governments vast accounting
setup, but agreed unanimously on
a change in accounting which, if
adopted. would reduce materially
the big staff here of the General
Accounting Office.
This dealt with the practice Of
requiring Government agencies to
send to Washington for checking
and settlement "all expenditure
vouchers and supporting docu-
ments for every individual trans
action"
This is a very costly system"
the commission said in another
in its series of reports to Congress.
1T means freight carloads Of
vouchers from all over the United
States hauled to Washington for
individual examination in the
General Accounting Office"
SPUG odAupAlAlS OEScus
AS substitute. the commission
recommended the expense ac-
counts be checked at various con-
venient locations over the country
through a spot sampling process.
The whole group found serious
weaknesses" in the Governments
fiscal operations and recommended
radical revision" of present
budgeting and accounting methods
which would show: "On budget
ing-What is the money wanted
for? On accounting-what do the
taxpayers get for it?"
The Presidents budget" the
report said, ''as submitted to Con-
gress annually, does not indicate
accurately what the costs of each
activity will be over the coming
year; and the Governments &C
counting system, outmoded and
cumbersome, does not indicate
what was accomplished with the
money spent in the year past"
Present practices, it was de-
clared, confuse the Congress and
the public and make effective ad-
ministration almost impossible
The sharp four-way split came
over a proposal, approved by q
seven-m man majority including
former President Hoover, the
C ommission chairman, which
would limit the work of Controller
General Lindsay c. Warren and
his General Accounting Office.
Accountant General Proposed.
, AS a means of attaining uni
! form accounting practices. the
majority recommended creation OF
an accountant general" in the
Treasury Department who would
prescribe general accounting
methods and enforce accounting
procedures -. subject to approval
of the controller general" Mr..
Hoover's middle course was backed
by. among others, Secretary Of
Defense Forrestal. Senator Aiken.
Republican, of Vermont, and
Representative Brown, Repub-
!ican. of Ohio.
That idea provoked two dis
sents. Senator Mcclellan, Demo-
crat, of Arkansas and former Rep
resentative Manasco, Democrat, Of
Alabama held that the majority
would encroach too far on Mr..
Warren's authority, received di-
rectly from Congress.
James H. Rowe, jr., former ad-
ministrative assistant to President
Roosevelt, and James K. Pollock,
University of Michigan professor.
argued the majority would not go
far enough in clipping Mr.. War;
ren's authority. They said, in ef-
feet, that through law and prac-
tice, present operations of the
controller general in the account
ing field amounted to usurpation
of functions of the executive
branch which leads to confusion
in administration.
Secretary of State Acheson, vice
chairman of the commission,
avoided fight with Mr.. Warren
by automatically commencing q
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