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Show B WE'RE COLD TO REFORMS Bftflfl Wc hnvo not hadln our time n I'rosW fll deal who was n business man or who ftflfll had close acquaintance with business flftB methods. The Chief Executives hnvo, I for tho most part, not boeu executives flfll aa that term Is now understood. Any- BflflB Hikig but. They retarded the govern- fll Mental machlno aa one regards a hired ssetsr car a piece of tncVhanlsm In which to pet sowewhere, and with no E thought of Itt power-transmission Bflftfl system or economy of operation. H Mr. Taft did senso tho fact that he flftflfl was at the head of as organisation flflfla whoso activities are almost as varied flflftfl as those at the eatlre business world. Mr. Harding, I believe, shares this flflflfl feeling. HH Aa Mr. Taft pointed out, this great organisation has never been studied BflftV ta detail as one piece of admlulstra- flftflfl tiro mechanism. No comprehensive flBfl effort has been made, until very re- flfll cently, to list Its many activities or to group thorn In such a way as to pro- B aeut n cleur picture of what the gov Bfl eminent Is doing, No satisfactory statement has over beep published pr flftflfl the lluunclal transactions of the gov flftfl eminent as a whole, With large In- I terests at stake congress and the ex- ftfl ecutlve have never had nil the t)ifor- ; flflflj watlon which should be currently flflftv arntlablo If tho most Intelligent dlrcc- BHB Won Is to be given to (he dally uutlonul HHHjl business. Pbbh Congress, the President and tho ad- HH wlalstratlve oftlcera have bceu nt- 3 tempting to discharge thulr duties PJB without full Information ua to the HBflB agencies through which the work of HftaH the government Is being performed. Hl 'l the punt, services, agencies, bureaus, flflfljj what not, have been created one b BHH one us exigencies have seemed to du- Van iiiand, with tlttlo or no reference to BflJI uuy scheme of organization of the gov HbbV eminent aa a whole, H ilr. Tuft pointed out all tills and PbBH tuude an earnest effort to (diange It. BV Willi what result? Why, Just exactly BBH none. Congress was cold. The pub- HH lie meaning you and me was colder. PbbV irYe didn't tako any Interest In the Pbbvj project, and therefore congress po- PbbhJ Iltcly yawned It away Into tho tall jVH grass and out Qf sight. Mr, Tuft was !! given enough money to employ an etll- B rienry and economy commission and ABB! to make Inquiry "into tho methods of BBJj transacting the public business of tho BkBfl executive deportments uud other gov (BBBJ ernment establishments." PjBB The Inquiry was made and the BBBJ rhnuges recommended, bul tigthlng BBJj bus ever been doue about It. Thli economy nnd cfflclcncy commission was very couscrvatlvo and cautious. It took Mr. Tuft's view that tho problem prob-lem of good administration Is not one that can be solved at one time. It is a continuously present one. litis commission, made up of excellent men, suggested that tho revenue-cutter scrv-Ico scrv-Ico bo abolished and its activities be taken over by other services. It was estimated that by so doing n saving of not less than $1,000,000 could be made. Another report recommended that the lighthouse and life-saving services bo administered by a single bureau Instead In-stead of as nt that time, by two bureaus bu-reaus located In different departments. It was estimated that this consolidation consolida-tion would result in a saving of not less than f 100,000 yearly. The abolition of tho returns oQlce of the Interior department was recommended, recom-mended, nt an estimated direct saving of about 125,000 a year, In addition to a large Indirect economy In the reduction of work to bo performed In the sererai unices. The Consolidation of tho six auditing ofllccs of tho treasury and the Inclusion Inclu-sion In tho auditing system of the seven naval oftlcera who audited customs cus-toms accounts nt tho principal (torts was urged. The change was expected to produce an Immedlato saving of nt least $1113.000 vt-nrlv. From this modest start other changes nnd reforms and savings were to be umdi Hut we weren't interested In the high cost of government or the high cost of living cloven years ago. Mr. Tuft didn't get a rise out of. us. He didn't have much of a pull with congress, con-gress, either, poor mun, and all his lu-qulry lu-qulry went for nothing as far ub any action was concerned. lie and Ids commission did bring out and establish, however, certain facta uud conditions. It wus a trustworthy and competent Investigation as far ns It went. That Is something lo the good. There Is a patent disposition in con gross now to take the whole problem of (he routine admlnlsiratlxo processes of the government under consideration and see how best to Improve them Whether unythlng really worth while will come out of It will depend entirely en-tirely on the degree of Interest you display, If you will take tho trouble to show thut you kno.v that the national na-tional business Is mismanaged ami costs too much, and that you arc tired of it, there will be action. |