The coastland times. [volume] (Mnateo [i.e. Manteo], N.C.) 1947-1959, 1951-09-21
HISTORY
Continued from Page One)

too dark. The Congress has dis
played most heartening confidence
in US over the years. But we in the
General Accounting Office must all
ways bear foremost in our minds
that the support and backing of
the Congress and of the citizens of
our country must be earned and
deserved. Our job, as in the case
of any organization, whether in
private business or the Govern
ment is a continuing one. Let us
never forget that no organization
exists for long at a standstill or as
a matter of right. The General
Accounting Office was established
to meet particular needs of our
democratic form of government
and we must serve those needs
with constant vigor and with con-
tinual awareness of ever changing
conditions. ls-
The very nature of the General
Accounting Office and it's status
in Government as an agent of the
Congress, independent of the exec
utive branch, make it of paramount
Importance that we do our job with
unassailable integrity. Our actions
must be based on fact and fact
alone. Our conclusions must be fair.
We must execute our duties in a
fortnight manner without consid-
Grafton of partisan factors and
without fear of recrimination from
any source whatsoever. Should the
work of the General Accounting
Office ever fail to follow any one
of those principles, then the value
of the Office will be lost.
1t is essential that the General
Accounting Office not only coop
crate with the executive branch in
its field of operations, but also lead
the way to achieve those improve
ments that will result in better
government. There are some of you
from the executive branch here
today who not too many years ago
would have said, "That is not pos
sible." think you will not agree
with me that it is not only posi-
BILE, but has been done and is con-
tinuing to be done with increasing
tempo.
A prime example is the Joint
Accounting Program which was in
augurated in December 1947 by
the Secretary of the Treasury; the
then Director, Bureau of the Bud
get, James E. Webb, and myself.
This program has had the undevi-
ating support of the President from
its very inception. 1t is a partner
ship with the three partners coop
Grating 100 per cent and having
one common goa-the improve
ment of accounting, budgeting, f.
nancial reporting, and auditing in
the Government. | gladly pay pub
lie tribute to Secretary of the
Treasury Snyder and Director of
the Budget Lawton. AS a result
of this program and of legislation
enacted by the Congress, culminat-
ing in the Budget and Accounting
Procedures Act of 1850 and the
Post Office Department. Financial
Control Act of 1850, accounting
improvements are going forward
with rapid acceleration on a Gov
ernment-wide basis. The primary
objective of this great program is
full disclosure of public funds
full disclosure for the benefit OF the
President, for the benefit of the
Congress, and full disclosure, if
you please, for the benefit and in
formation Of the American tax
payer.
The General Accounting Office
which takes up its quarters in this
building is a far cry from the office
which l first knew as Comptroller
General in November 1910. With
all modesty, | want to say that l
think the Office has done an out
standing job over the years. There
was the audit of billions of dollars
in expenditures during the emer-
gency and war years, as. well as
the many other related duties such
as the settlement of several mil
lions of claims, the rendering of
thousands of decisions on the le-
gality of expenditures, the contin-
uous Investigations and inspec-
tons, and the rendering of assis-
lance to Congress and it's COM
nlittees on legislative and investi-
gative matters and to the agencies
on fiscal and accounting problems.
Since the termination of hostil-
tiles of World War II, new duties
have been given to US by the Con-
gress and new activities and APP
proaches have been inaugurated to
enable US better to perform our
primary functions. The Govern
mentC orporation Control Act,
enacted in 1915, requires the GEN
eral Accounting Office to audit an
nually all Government corpora
tions. This means an annual audit
Of about 65 Government corpora
lions, whose financial transactions
run into billions of dollars. The