Show Officials Official of Department of f Interior Int o Spend Million a Year Traveling B By Harry J J. J Drown Brown 7 Officials and employees of the iJ in interior tenor department are spending u up mij upward ward of a million dollars a year rear b in i traveling on official business The Thi S exact amount of the departments department's S travel bill for past pant years ears cannot b be I accurately determined from th the I records of the various bureaus an and ana I available records do not give even even I 1 Ian an approximation of oC expenditures expenditure I Ifor for trav travel l during the fiscal year yea r which closed June 30 0 but In the i i year which closed June 30 1932 i I travel expenditures totaling 1 1 have been checked up fluid and nd L the list admittedly Is far tar from froni com coin pleto On making this astounding discovery discovery dis di- s cover covery Secretary Work York notified each L I I chief of or bureau in his department to tc call a halt upon all unnecessary travel and to revise past m methods c cf f sending men into the field with a a. aview view lew to etI effecting what apparently is isa isa isa a needed much ec economy Strict ord orders rs have e gone from the secretary to permit no travel at government government expense that is fg not necessary and where traveling expenses must be incurred orders direct that Intelligence Intelli gence and judgment be used in ini i routing outing those who sho tra travel el on gover- gover ment meat business Heads of bureaus further have ha been notified to keep keepin in mind the distinction between personal personal personal per per- convenience and the governments government's governments government's govern govern- ments ment's service Result Secretary Work Vork who hio has brought I about many economies In lin th the interior interi interI- or department in the blie fifteen months I he lie has hns been at Its head had an nn Inkling Ink Ink- ling hag that an unduly large travel bl bill was was being run up by those who go goOn goon on nIl the road but when he set about getting the facts he had no idea that the tho total would yen even approximate mate mat a a million dollars in in one year Nor were the tho heads held of most o of time the bureaus bureau aware of the large amounts amounts' which were being expended by themselves and b by their subordinates s sIn in iii traveling at t government expense In fact until Secretary Work Vork called for Cor a a complete te showing of r travel en ex expenses in each bureau the die h heads ot of th the v various rIous bureaus with the single exception of the pension office had no accurate Idea of what their travel trave bill bm amounted to r And AntI what is won worse e Ul most St of the hj bureau heads today cannot t tell ll to toa toa toa a certainty how much has i een s spout spent for travel b by their own officials and employees The records have not been kept In iii the past Imst save In the lie tE pension office In a way war that this c expenditure ex cx- re can lie be segregate 1 from fram other costs But all this is s u n changed and beginning Jul July 1 1 each bureau head has been Instructed Instruct Instruct- ed to keep an itemized account of ot all expenditures within his Durum irp ir r I travel so that the cos's coss may bu be studied and unnecessary travel ua elim hii- hii mated The Tho general land office Is spending spend ing big more for tor travel than an any oilier bureau of C th the Interior department Its heavy expenditure in fn the main the traveling expenses of bC special agents Inspect Inspectors rs timber limber cruisers mineral examiners am anti ana sur surveyors e ors most of DC whom must tra travel el extensively extensive In the performance of their duties Men The reclamation bureau hureau on In the theother other oilier hand has lias the largest travelIng travel travel- travel travel-j Ing lug p personnel of f n all 1 the bureaus and i the explanation is made mado that the time majority of or the 1371 employees ee drawing traveling allowance are laborers laborers laborers lab lab- on Oil the government works who are arc shifted il season seasonally Ur from the time pr pro projects of the north to tho those so ot of states having ha a milder r climate a and d i S S I I I I 1 I r i i i L s L I I back again in the spring This accounts accounts accounts ac ac- ac- ac counts for time the large number of ot those drawing travel pay and for the rela rela- I small per capita calta expenditure for travel Service Travel in the Indian service is similar sim sim- ilar lIar to that In the land office ce and the diversified character of or its work makes travel necessary for many of the officials officials and employees es In both the land office and Indian service a large Jarge arge part of the travel is done by those thos having a travel status rather than duties which confine them atone at atone atone one place and the came thing is true of the field force c cJ the bureau of or 1111 mines ineS' ineS which now operates ten tenI mine res mine rescue ue cars which are kept on onI the time go throughout the year The cost of ot moving these cars cars by the time way is not included in the total I travel expenditure of ot the bureau of mines There is in lii the bureau of education education tion lion no record which will Show how what is spent spout by field eld representatives representatives' In travel but of officials stationed at Washington V this bureau shows more I travelers than any other bureau Inthe in inthe the department in fact fact three thirty of oC its officials were on the time go during during during dur dur- ing the year ear covered by the foregoing foregoing foregoing forego forego- ing figures whereas the bureau or of mines w wIth th primarily y field activities s had only eighteen traveling out of Washington and those who traveled for the time bureau of education spent more than did the Washington officials of any other bureau of the department In checking up on on n pension applications applications applications the thc bureau of oC pensions keeps busy a corps of examining surgeons and amid inspectors and only two trips were made m de out omit of f Washington by officials officials of ot- of the bur bureau au The Thc sixty four inspectors and surgeons ran up travel bill 1111 of less than and what is is' is ismore more every cent expended expended ex ex- h by any representative of that bureau is is' is accounted for regularly Moreover field field re representatives rese 01 Ot the the pension m bureau travel s systematically st every trip Is is' is mapped out In advance to cover a given territory ry with the least travel and at atthe the mInimum minimum min mm- of expense The Time travel accounting accounting ac ac- nc- nc counting s system Sten of or the pension bu bureau bu- bu reau is going to Ibo bo ho adopted by bU 1 all the time b bureaus of oC the tho interior depart depar- meat ment in the time so that every ory bureau head can can- cantell tell on call just I how much money appropriated prInted for Cor his budeau budean is going into travel al allowances nl- nl just what travel Is performed performed per per- formed and what elem elements ms go to tomake tomake o make up imp the to totals als Unquestionably the tIme major part ortho ot or tho the expenditure of or the tue Interior department de do- for for travel Is a necessary expense which cannot be he avoided but hut through the introduction of system ys- ys tem tent and economy in travel nn anti and antimore m more re especially by the elimination of or all unnecessary travel Secretary i Work Is confident he ho can cut the I travel expenditures to a point away below r a million dollars a D. year ear I Just where and aud how the economies economIc will be brought rought about will be he I mined In Iii Oc October ober when detailed l re reports reports re- re ports porLe are arc made 1 liy by each bureau chief on the travel e expenditures of his subordinates s during the mouths months ot 01 July August and aud September If it Sec Secretary rotary Work York Is successful In cut cutting down the travel expenditures of his Jus department through the enforcement of economy and curtailment the budget bureau which is in touch UCh with the present survey will commend com coni- mend this plan to all department orthe ot or the government o The rime i t IU likewise who is a fiend for economy In government operation Is awaiting with Inter Interest st the result of Secretary Works Work's ca campaign to c cut cOt t own down tr expenditures in his department |