Norwich Bulletin Newspaper, January 18, 1912, Page 9

1 SN OF 500000015 ALREEY I ST President Taft Finds a Very Encouraging Outlook in the Reports of the Special Gommission. Commends the Findings of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency, and Urges a Continuance of Its Work— Believes There Are Grand Opportunities for Furthe: Economies—Waste in Single Item of Distributing Pub- lic Documents Amounts to in Order to Spend More Wisely. Following are the recommendations of the president in relation to the re- port made to him by the commission on economy and efficiency: To the Senate and House of Repre sentatives: I submit for the information of the congress this report of progress made in the inquiry into the efficiency and economy of the methods of transact- Ang public business. Efficlency and ecomomy in the gov- ernment eervice have been demanded awith increasing insistence for a gen- eration. Real economy is the result of efficlent organization. By perfecting ithe organization the same benefits may be obtained at less expense. A reduc- tion in the total of the annual appro- priations is not in itself a proof of economy, since it is often accownpanied by a decrease in efficiency. The needs of the nation may demand a large in- lcrease of expenditure, yet to keep the total appropriations within the ex- jpected revenue I8 necessary to the mmaintenance of public credit. Upon the president must rest a large share of the responsibility for the de- mands made uponthe treasury for the lcurrent administration of the execu- #ive branch of the government. Upon ‘the congress must Test responsibility for those grants of public funds which mre made for other purposes. Reason Per the Inquiry. Recognizing my: share of responsibil. ity for efficlent and economical admin- dstration, I have endeavored during the past two years, with the assistance of theads of departments, to secure the ‘best results. As one of the means to his end I requested a grantifrom cen- gress to-make my efforts more effec- tive. An appropriation of $100,000 was made Jume 25, 1910, “to emable the presidept t& inguire into the methods of transacting the public business of the executive departments and other government establishments and to rec- ommend to congress such lafislation ms may be necessary to carry into ef- fect changes found to be desirable that vannot be sccomplished by executive action alone.” T have been given this fund to enable me to take action and o make specific recommendations with wespect to the details of transacting the businese of an organization whose activities are almost as varied as those of the entire business worid. The op- erations of the government affect the Interest of every person living within the jurisdiction of the United States. Jts organization embraces stations and centers of work located in every clty and In many local subdivisions of the country. Its gress expenditures amount to nearly $1,000,000,000 annually., In- rluding the persomnel of the military and naval establishments, more than #00,000 persons are required to do the work imposed by law upon the execu- five branch of the government. Magnitude of the Task. This vast organization has never been studied in detmil as one piece of administrative mechanism. Never have the foundations been lald for a ghorough«consideration of the relations of all of its parts. No comprehensive jeffort has been made to list its muiti- farious activities or to group them in woch a way as to present a clear ple- fture of ‘what the government 18 doing. Never has a complete description been @iven of the agencies through which these activities avre performed. At no #ime has the attempt been made to wtody all of these activities and agen- cles with a view to.the assignment of jeach activity to the agency best fitted for its performance, to the aveldance wof doplicatien of plant and werk, to ghe integration of all administrative agencies of the government, so. far as snay be practicable, into a unified or- ganization for the most. effectlve and ‘economical dispatch of public busi- First Complete, Investigation. | Notwithstanding that veluminous re- Iports are complied amnwuslly and pre- wented to the congress, no satisfactory 'statement has ever been.pubjished of ithe financial transactions of the gov- ernment as a whole. Provision is anade for due accountability for all amoneys coming into the hands of-of- ficers of the government, whather as wollectors of revenue or disbursing jagents, and for it suringsthat sutheri- wations for expenditures as made by flaw shall not be excesded. Rut no ‘gevers] system has ever been. devised for reporting and presenting {nforme- ftlon regarding the chamcter of the made'in; sych. a way; to reveal the actuslicosts entailed in mn ‘possible the' exercise ot tutelll- t judgment regarding the discretion layed in mkmg ture and concerning the value of the resuits eb- tained when contumd 'lth th&-flt!- fices required. ... -3 I am convinced . m wl really worth 'fll' m $250,000 Annually—Saving qulried “bearing on particular services' or features of administration, The benefits - thus obtained must be but temporary. The problem of good ad ministration is not one that can be solved 4t one time. It is a continuous- 1y present one. Pian of the Work. In accordance with my instructions the commission on economy and effi- cienc'y, which 1 organized to aid me in the inquiry, has directed its efforts primarily to the formuiation of con- crete recommendations looking to the betterment of the fundamenstal condi- tions under which governmental opera- tions must be carried on. With a basis thus laid it has proceeded to the prose- cution of detailed studies of individual services and classes of work and of particular practices and methods, push- ing these studies as far and covering a8 many points and services as the re- sources and time at its disposal have permitted. In approaching its task it has divid- ed the work iato five fields of inquiry having to do respectively with organi- zation, personnel, business methods, ac- counting and reporting and the budget. Organization. I have stated that the congress, the president and the administrative of- ficers are attempting to discharge the dutles with which they are intrusted without full information as to the agencies through which the work of the government is being performed. To provide more complete information on this point the commission has sub- mitted to me a report on the organi- zation of the government as it existed July 1, 1911. This report, which is transmitted herewith, shows in great detail, by means of outlines, not only the departments, commissions, bureaus and offices through which the govern- ment performs its varied activities, but also the sections, shops, field sta- tions, etc., constituting the subordinate divisions through which the work is actually done. It shows for the serv- fces at Washington each such final unit as a laboratory, library, shop and administrative subdivision ahd for the services outside of Washington each station and point at which any activ- 1ty of the government is carried on. 8pecific Economies Demonstrated. ‘With this outline as a basis the com- mission has entered upon the prepara- tion of three series of reports. The first series deals with the man- ner in which the services of the gov- ernment should he grouped in depart- ments. - The second and third series of re- ports deal, respectively, with the or- ganization and activities of particular services and the form of orgamization for the performance of particular busi- nese operations. One of the reports of the second se- ries is upon the revenue cutter service, which costs the government over $2,500,000 each year. In the opinion of the commission its varied activities can be performed with equal or great- er advantage by other services. The commission therefore recommends that it be abolished. It is estimated that by so dolng a saving of not less than $1,000,000 a year can be made. Another report illustrating the sec- ond series recommends that the light- house and life saving services be ad- ministered by a single bureau instead of, as at present, by two bureaus locat- ed iIn different departments. These services have much in-common. Geo- graphically they are similarly locgted; administratively they have man§ of the same problems. It is estimated that conmsolidataion would result in a saving of not less than 3100,000 an- nually. In a third report the commission has recommended the abolition of the re- turns office of the department of the interior. This action, in its opinion, will cauge no loss in service to the public and will result in a direct sav- ing of not less than $25.000 a year, in additfon to a large indirect economy in the reduction of work to be .per- formed in the several offices. Tn another report the commission has recommended the consolidation of the six auditing offices of the treasury and the fhelusion in.the auditing system of the seven naval officers who now audit customs aceounts at the prircipal ports, The changes recommended will improve In many ways the anditing of public gccounts. and. will result in an immed!- ate-saving of at'least $135,000 annually. A third serles of reportsis being pre- pared on those branches of the organ- fzation which are technical tn:charac- ter and which exist: for the service of the government. as & whole—branches ‘which haye to do-with such matters as public printing, heating, :lighting, the making ‘ of / repairs, the providing of transportation and“the complilation of statistics where:mechanical equlpment 18 essentlal. Abolh!ol of -Local Offices, o which flle'm +economy in pgb- lic expenditure is. possible is to be hnd in the lwlnulfleu of establishment and the discontinuance of these local offices are matters of ad- ministrative discretion. In other in- stances they =re ezteblished by perma- nent law in such s manner that thelr discontinuance is beyond the power of the president or that of any executive officer. . In a number of services these laws were passed nearly a century ago. Changes in economic conditions have taken place which have had the effect of rendering certain offices not only useless, but even worse than useless in that their very existence needlessly swells expenditures and complicates the administrative system. The respounsibility for the mainte- nance of these conditions must nat- urally be divided between the con- gress and the executive. But that the executive has performed his duty when he has called the attention of congress to the matter must also be admitted. Realizing my responsibility in the premises, | have directed the commission to prepare a report setting forth the positions in the local services of the government which may be dis- continued with advantage, the saving which would result from such action and the changes in law which are nec- essary to carry into effect changes in organization found to be desirable. On the coming in of the report such | offices as may be found useless and can be aholished will be so treated by executive order. Personnel. In my recent message to the con- gress 1 urged consideration of the ne- cessity of placing in the classified serv- ice all of the local officers under the departments of the treasury, the in- terior, postoffice and commerce and la- bor. As yet little if any attempt has been made by law to secure, either for the higher administrative positions in the service at Washington or for local of- fices, the qualifications which the in- cumbents of these positions must have if the business of the government is to be conducted in the most efficient and economical manner. Furthermore, in the case of many of the local of- ficers the law positively provides that the term of office ‘shall -be of four years' duration. Extension of Merit System. The next step which myst be taken is to require of heads of bureaus in the departments at Washington and of most of the local officers under the . departments qualifications of capaclty similar to those now required of cer- tain heads of bureaus and of local of- ficers. The extension of the merit sys- tem to these officers and & needed re- adjustment of salaries will have im- portant effects in securing greater economy and efficiency. In the first place, the possession by the incumbents of these positions of the requisite qualifieations must in it- self promote efficiency. In the second place, the removal of local officers from the realm of po- Mtical patronage in many cases would reduce the payroll of the field serv- ices. At the present time the incum- bents of many of these positions leave the actual performance of many of their duties to deputies and assistants, The government often pays two per- sons for doing work that could easily be done by one. “What i3 the loss to the government cannot be stated, but that it is very large cannot be denied ‘when it is remembered how numerous are the local officers in the postal, cus- toms, internal revenue, public lands and other field services of the govern- ment. In the third place, g0 long as local officers are within the sphere of po- litical patronage it is difficult to con- sider the question of the establish- ment or discontinuance of local offices apart from the effect apon local po- litical situations. Finally the view that these various offices are to be filled as a result of political considerations has for its con- gequence the necessity that the presi- dent and members of congress devote to matters of patronage time which they should devote to questions of pol- icy and administration. Dangesrs of Fixed Term System: The greatest economy and efliciency and the benefits which may acerue from the president’s devoting his time to the work which is most worth while may be assured only by treating all the distinctly administrative officers in the departments at Washington and in the fleld in the same way as inferior officers have been treated. The time has come when all these officers should be placed in the classified service. The time has also come when those pro- vistens of law which give to these offi- cers a fixed term of years should be re- pealed. 8o long as a fixed term is pro- vided by law the question of reappoint- ment of an officer, no matter how eoffi- clently he may have performed his du- ties, will Inevitably be raised period- ically. So long as appointments to these offices must be confirmed by the senate and so long as appointments to them must be made every four years Just so long will it be impossible to provide a force of employees with a reasonablypermanent tenure who are qualified by reason of education and training to do the best work. _Superannuatien. 1 shall gubmit in the near tnlnre for the conmideration of the congress a plan for the-retirement:of aged em- ployees in the civil service which will sefeguard: thelinterests of the govern- ment and ‘at the same timé make rea- sonable provision for the needs of those who have given t.hebgtpntot their lives:toithe service.of tha=tata. In eyery case where tecamicu: prou- esses have jbeen studied® it has been demonstrated beyond question _that large egonomies may be effected. The subjects first approached were those which lie close to each administrator— viz, office practices. An illustration of the pessibilities within this field may be found in the results of the inquiry into the methods of handling and filing correspondence. Every office in the government has reported its methods to the commission. = These,reports brought to light the fact that present methods were quite the reverse of uni- form. Some offices follow the practice of briefing all correspondence; some do not. Some have flat flles; others fold all papers before filing. Some use press coples; others retain only carbon cop- ies. Cost of Handling and Filing Corre- spondence. The reports also show not only a very wide range in the methods of doing ‘this comparatively simple part of the government business, but an ex- traordinary range in cost. For the handling of incoming mail the aver- ages of cost by departments vary from $5.84 to $84.40 per 1,000. For the han- dling of outgoing mail the averages by departments vary from $3.94 to $69.89 per 1,000. This does not include the cost of preparation, but is confined merely to the physical side of the work. The variation between indi- vidupal .offices i3 ‘'many times greater than that shown for averages by de- partments. It has been found that differences of average cost by departments closely follow differences in method and that the greatest cost is found in the de- partment where the method is most | involved. Another fact is of interest— | viz, that in the two departments above referred to, which show the lowest averages, orders have been issued which will lead to large saving with- out impairing efficiency. It cannot be said what the saving ultimately will be when the attention of officers in all of the departments has been focused on present methods with a view to chang- ing them in such manner as to reduce cost to the lowest point compatible with efficlent service. It, however, must be a considerable percentage of nearly $5%00.000, the total estimated | cost of handling this part of the gov- ernment business at Washington. Need For Labor Saving Office Devu:es The use of labor saving office devices in the service has been made the sub- Ject of special inguiry. An impression prevails that the government is not making use of mechanical devices for | economizing labor to the same extent as are efficlently managed private en- | terprises. A study has been made of the extent to which devices of this character are now being employed in the several branches of the govern- ment and the opportunities that exist | for their more general use. In order to secure information as to the various | kinds of labor Saying devices that are | in existencé and as to their adaptabil- ity to government work, ap exhibition of -labor saving: office appliances was held in Washipgton from July 6 to 15, 1911. 'One hundred and ten manufac- turers and dealers participated, and| more than 10,000 officers and employees | visited the exhibition. There is no| doubt that the exhibition served the| purpose of bringing to the attention of | officers devices which can be employed | by them with advantage. The holding | of this exhibition was, however, but a | step preparatory to the contemplated | investigation. Unnecessary Cost of Copy Work. The efforts of the commission result- ed also in the adoption by several bu- reaus or departments of improved methods of doing copying. The amount | of copy work heretfore done by hand each year in the many offices is esti- mated to aggregate several hundred | thousand dollars. The commission ex-| hibjted at its offices appliances that| were thought to be especially adapted | to this kind of government work. - Fol- lowing these demonstrations methods of copying were introduced which have brought about a saving of over 75 per cent in offices where used for six months. This change in one small cross section of office practice will more than offset the whole cost of my inquiry. Waste in Distribution of Public Docu- ments, Going outside the office, one of the business processes which has been in- vestigated is the distribution of depart- mental documents. This is a subject with which both the congress and ad- ministration heads are famillar. The prevailing practice In handling depart- | mentel publications s to have them | manufactured at the government print- ing office. Each job when completed is delivered to the department. Here | the books or pamphlets are wrapped and addressed. They are then sent to the postoffice. There they are assorted | and prepared for shipment through the mells. From the postoffice they are sent to the railroad station, which s | only a few steps from the government printing office, whenee they started. | | The results of this laborlous and cir- cuitous method 1s to make the use of | the best mechanical equipment imprac- ticable and to waste each year not less than & quarter of a miilion dollars of government funds in useless handling, to say nothing of the Indtrect loss due to lack of proper co-ordination. Wasteful Use of Properties and Equip- ment. The use of equipment is a matter which also bas been investigated. Up to the pregent time this investigation has been in the main confined to the subject of electric Mghting. The gov- ernment pays over $600,000 per year for electric current. It has made large capital outleys for wiring and fixtures. With the inereasing demands in many buildings the present equipment is tax- ed to its limit, and if the present meth- ods are continmed much of this wir- | ing must be dene over. In many places | | in much annoyance and trouble in go- | ence and care for anfraals and the stor- | the publication of notices; heat, light, | the present requirements of law relat- working at a great % , due to inade- ) h and there- In every y has been con- getting before the legislatfve branch, wicug, SUIPly DY giving proper atten- tion to location of lights and the use of proper lamps and reflectors, the light eficiency at points where needed may be much increased and the cost of current reduced from 30 to 60 per cent. Other inquirfes into the use which is being made ot properflu and eqnlpment are conmnplated “which promise even larger results. Unnecessary Cost of Insurance, It is the policy of the government not to insure public property against fire and other losses. Question has been raised whether the government might not apply the same principle to other forms of risk, including insur- ance of the fidelity of officials and em- ployees. A report is now in prepara- tion on the subject which will show opportunities for large savings. I be- iieve that the present expense for in- suring the faithful execution of con- tracts, which, though paid by the con- tractor, is more than covered in the added price to the government, can be largely reduced without taking away any element of security. The importance of establishing and maintaining standard specifications is found not only in the possibility of very materially reducing the direct cost of government trading, but also | in insuring to the service materials, supplies and equipment which are bet- ter adapted to its purposes. One of the results of indefiniteness of specifi- | cations is to impose coatract condi- tions which make it extra hazardous for persons to enter into coutractual relations. This not only deprives the government of the advantage of broad competition, but causes it to pay an added margin in price to venders, who must carry the risk. Excessive Cost of Travel. The nmmaj cost of travel to the gov- ernment was found to be about $12,- 000,000. It was also found that the government employees were traveling in practically every way that was open to the public. It was further| found that, although tife government | was the largest user of transportation, [ | it was buying railroad tickets on n less favorable basis than would be| possible if the subject of traveling ex- penditures were systematically han- dled from the point of view of the government as a whole. The form of | | ticket most often used between such | points as New York, Philadelphia and | | Washington was the single trip first | class ticket. In two departments defi- | nite tests have been made in the use of mileage books, and in each prac- tically the same result has been re- ported—viz, an average saving of a lit- tle over one-half of 1 cent per mile. One of the results or byproducts of this inquiry into travel expenses was the recommendation that the jurat or affidavit which is now required by or- der of the comptroller be discontinued. The jurat does not add to the value of the return, involves persons traveling ing' before an officer com nt to ad- minister oaths, while every disciplina- ry result is obtained through certifica~ tion under the law prescribing a pen- alty for the falsification of accounts. A discontinuance of the jurat in all cases would result in a direct saving of about $60,000 per annum. Other Expenditures to Be Investigated. Before economy In government trad- ing can be adequately covered such subjects as the following must be sys- tematically inquired into—viz: Subsist- ence and support of persons; subsist- age and care of vehicles; telephone, | telegraph and commercial messenger service; printing, engraving, ltho- | graphing and binding; advertising and | power and electricity purchased; re- | pairs by contract and open market or- | der; bullding and other materials; | drafting, scientific and stationery sup- plies; fuel; mechanics’, engineering and | electriclans’ supplies; cleaning and | toilet supplies; wearing -apparel and hand sewing supplies; forage and oth- er supplies for animals; provisions; ex- plosives and pyrotechnic supplies; heat, | light, power and electrical equipment; Kve stock; furniture and furnishings; | educational and sclentific equipment. From what has been already ascertain- ed concerning certain of these differ- ent objects of government expenditure it is evident that large savings will re- sult from such an examination. Reports at Present Required by Con- | gress, | The commission has made & study of | | ing to reports which are in whole or | in part financial in character from the | various departments and establish-| ments. There are more than ninety | acts of congress which annually re-| quire reports of this character, Thesa requirements of the law result in near- | Iy 200 printed reports relating to finan- cial matters, which must be submitted annually to the congress by the vari- ous departments and establishments. Studles of thess reposts and compari- | sons of the classification of expendi- tures as set forth therein have been made by the commission to the end that, so far @s practicable, uniformity of classification of objects of expendi- ture may be recommended and-identi- cal terminology adopted. In due time I shall tramsmit to the congress such recommendations for changes in the present laws relating to these annual reports as appear to be pertinent and -necessary. No National Budgst. The United States is the only great nation whose government is operated without a budget. This fact seems to be more striking when it is consid- ered that budgets and budget proce- dures are the outgrowth of democratic | government spends. e e e e Bt o et ple a definite annual program of bual. ness to be financed. It should ba in: the nature of a prospectus beth off revenues and expenditures.. It should' comprehend every relation of the gov- ernment to the people, whaher with reference to the raising of revenues or the rendering of service. In many foreign countries the . & nual budget program is ' with special reference to the revenue to be raised, the thought being that the rais- ing of revenue bears more direct rela- tion to welfare than does government expenditure. Around questions of source of revenue political parties have been organized, and’' om such questions voters in the United States .Jhave taken sides since the first rev- enue law was proposed. Citizens’ Interest In Expenditures, In political controversy it has been assumed generally that the individual citizen bas little interest in what the In my opinion, this has been a serious mistake, one which is becoming more serious each year. Now that population has be- come more dense, that large cities have developed, that people are re- | Quired to live in congested centers, that the national resonrces frequently are | the subject of private ownership and private control and that transportation and other public service facilities are | beld and operated by large corpora- | tons, what the government does with nearly $1,000,000,000 each year is of as much concern to the average citizen as is the manner of obtaining this amount of money for public use. In the pres- ent inquiry special attention has been given to the expenditure side. ‘We want economy and efficiency. We want saving and saving for a purpese. We want to save money to enable the government to go into some of the beneficial prejects which we are de- barred from taking up now because we cannot increase our expenditures. Projects affecting the public health, new public works and other beneficial activities of government can be fur- thered if we are able to get a dollar of value for every dollar of the govemm- ment’s money which we expend. Continuance of the Commission. I ask the continuance of this com« mission on economy and efficiency be- cause of the excellent beginning which has been made toward the reorganiza- tion of the machinery of this govern- ment on business principles. 1 ask i becanse its work is entirely nompar- tisan in character and ought to apply to every citizen who wishes to give effectiveness tfo:popular government, in which we feel a just pride. This work further commends itself for the reason that the cost of organization and work has been carefully consider- ed at every point. Three months were taken in consideration of plans before the inquiry was begun; six months were then spent in preliminary. investigations before the commission was organized. Before March 3, 1911, when I asked for a eontinuation of the origlnal appropriation for the cur- rent year, only $12,000 had been spent. It is.a matter of public record that the three largest insurfinée companies in New York when under legislative nvestigation spent more than $500,- 000 for expert services to assist the administration to put the business on & modern basis, but the economies the first year were more than tenfold the cost. I am informed that New York, Chicago, Boston, St. Louis, Cineinnati, Milwaukee and other cities are prose- cuting inquiries the cost of which is largely disproportionate to the cost in< curred by the federal government. Furthermore, these inquirfes have the vigorous support and direct co-opera- tion of citizen agencies which alone are spending not less than $200,000 per annum, I sincerely hope that congress will not in its anxiety to reduce expendl- | tures economize by cutting off an ap- propriation which is likely to offer greater opportunity for real economy in the future than any ether estimated for. As has been sald, the changes which have already been made are resulting | In economies greater than the cost of | the inquiry. Reports in my hands, with recommendations, estimate ap- proximastely $2,000,000 of possible an- nuel economies. Other subjects under investigation indicate much larger re- sults, These represent only a few of the many services which should be #ub- Jjected to a Nke painstaking ingniry. If | this 13 done it is beyomd question that many millions of savings may be real- | 1zed. Over and gbove the economy and increased efficlency which may be sald to result from the work of'the commis- sion as such is an Indirect result that cannot well be measured. I refer to the influence which a vigorous, thoe oughgoing executive inquiry has om each of the administrative units, In this relation it may be said that the expenditure for the inquiry: during the present fiscal year's at the'rate of $130,000. The mass of information which must be collected, digested and summarized pertaining to each sab- Ject of inquiry is enormous. From the results obtained it is evident thas ev- ery dollar which is spent in the prose- cution-of the inquiry in“the future will, result in manifold savings. Ewvery economy ‘which hasg been or ‘will-be af-/ fected through changes in organization. or method will inure to:the benefit of the government and.of the people in increasing measure throughthe yosms. which follow. Itis clearly the parsof wisdom to provide for the coming year| means at least equal to thoss available during the current year, agt in my opinion the appropriation sheald be dn- creased' to $200,000, and an additional] amount of $50,000 should be provided: for the publeation of those results, which will be of continuing value t/ doctrines and have had an important part in the development of modern constitutional rights, The American commonwealth has euffered much | from irresponsihility on the part of its governing agencles. The constitutional purpose of a budget is to make gov- ernment responsive to pablic opinion and for-dts acts. A budget should be the means for officers- of the government and to the' people. WILLIAM H. TAFT. The White House, Jan. 17, 1912, Cold Comfort. Modest-Amateur (showing his latest palnting)—I'm sure, Miss Ethel, you think ¥m still: some little way from: being an artist. to say the polite thing)—Oh, no. Veey,