The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1950-02-09
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 9, 1850.
Worlds Worst Businessman
By Robert L. johnson,
D:I,4 To,o,,o1o ITp;1orcitNy

by ROBERT IL JOilISOll5
President Temple University
How long would your company stay
in business if it lost money and ran
into debt year after year? For that
matter how long could you run your
own home if you spent SO to go to
the store to buy one dollars worth of
goods?
On any such basis, you'd soon be out
Of a job-and home.
Year after year the federal govern
ment loses money. 1t spends, literally,
more than $40 filling out forms to
place a single purchase order. And
half the things it buys cost less than
SO.
Uncle Sam is Just about the worlds
worst manager. He owns $29 billions
worth Of goods, including million
automobiles, and has no clear account
of where they are or what they are.
Some of his departments are stocked
up so years ahead on simple supplies.
He borrows money from himself
and pays interest on it. He maintains
enough records and documents-most-i
w worthless-to fill six Pentagon
Buildings. He keeps seven different
sets of books. Neither his books nor
his budget give any real notion of the
financial score The Post Office, for
example, has to wait eight months to
find out exactly how much money it
has lost. This year it will lose about
$500 millions This is more than the
cost Of the whole government so years
ago.
If you're an eX-serviceman you saw
money thrown around in wartime
just as | did. In war some eXtrava-
gance is unavoidable. But in peace
time the Army asked funds for houses
in Alaska at $4,000 per house, and
for $4,000 tropical uniforms at 1929
apiece.
These are just few examples from
the Report of the Commission on Or
ganization of the Executive Branch of
Government.
1t all began because Congress,
President Truman, and the public saw
real danger in government duplica-
ton, lack of organization and waste.
In July, 1947, Congress created the
Commission with six leading Demo-
Gratis and six outstanding Republicans
as members. At President Truman's
suggestion, former President Herbert
Hoover was named chairman and
Secretary of State Dean Acheson vice
Hartman.
The Commission put 800 experts to
work digging up facts. Nobody was
mad at anybody. Everybody wanted
20 get at the truth. After months of
1ard study resulting in two million
words of facts and figures, the Com
mission reported to Congress that
bad organization and outmoded meth
DDS are laying heavy toll on the
nation. At least So billions and,
think, ST billions year can be saved
without cutting government services.
You and | are citizens. We pay
taxes. We'd better have good look
at our government before its gets too
big for us to understand and too cost
ly for us to support. If that should
happen the government will no longer
work for us; we will work for it.
Many free peoples in history have lost
their freedom in that fashion.
Put it another way; We now pay I'M
federal taxes $500 d year per person,
over $1,000 per year per family. We
pay income taxes which we can see,
and other taxes which we can't see:
so percent on cigarettes, 25 percent
OH such things as cameras, 20 percent
on light bulbs cosmetics, luggage and
so forth; Is percent on travel and
telephone calls. We pay taxes upon
taxes in the cost of everything we
eat, wear, and use.
We carry big load of debt-$7, 900
per average family. This isn't pie in
the sky. 1t is my promise to pay-and
yours-as real as any grocery bill.
We pay interest, at the rate Of $3.50
per family per year, on that debt.
Let us look facts in the eye: The
purchasing power Of your dollar and
the living standards of your family