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Show MVERXMKXT KKOIJ.XI'ATIO.V Nothing can be su'-'-Tsf ully accomplished, ac-complished, without a preconceived plan; whether one build a tool shed or a Woolworth building, a scow or a battleship, draw a diagram or pnint a masterpiece, a plan must be the foundation. Hut any plan will not do; and the plan must be audi that when the structure or ship is built the diagram dia-gram drawn or the masterpiece painted. It will perform the function for which it was created. In other words, the plan must be logical and properly conceived as well as properly proper-ly executed. The plan of reorganization of the United States Government which is usually thought of. and which, because be-cause of its constant recurrence in people's, minds, has come to be accepted ac-cepted as logical, is the groupings of similar activities, so that the manufacture man-ufacture of the product will be most economically and efficiently accomplished. accom-plished. The idea is of constant recurrence because it is the business idea, the idea of the world of commerce, the accepted basis of almost all activity. activi-ty. It is the best idea for commerce business, and civilian activity, because be-cause manufacture and use are here things apart. The maker of an au-' tomobilo, or a typewriter, or a book, or a bale of hay considers economy of production and lets the buyer worry about the economy of its use. True, he desires that the user find the product economical, because the manufactuies des'fes the one-time purchaser to be a second-time purchaser; pur-chaser; the theory of profit and loss, of business and commerce enters into in-to his manufacturing ideas, since he must pie-sc his? customers or lose them. But his fundamental principle princi-ple is economy of production, that his sale price may be low, that he may sell much and so make a profit. pro-fit. The Government is not "Ocerned in profit and loss in the ' r'cing. of 'anything it uses. It doer 'ic' carry the mail to make a profit but to promote pro-mote public welfare. It does not operate op-erate a life-saving service for gain, but to protect lives and save property proper-ty for its citizens. It does not coin money to make a profit, but to serve the business interests of us all. It does not make maps, or provide them, or work out agricultural prob lems, to make a money profit for the government machine but to make the lives of us all easier, happier, better. Therefore to reorganize the disorganize! disor-ganize! machine as if it were a sick manufacturing business, to consider reorganization merely as a basis of economy of production, is fundamentally fundamen-tally wrong. The important job before be-fore the Congress is not primarily to cut down costs but to promote efficiency. ef-ficiency. Increased efficiency will cut down costs; first costs cut down with legislative axe will so decrease effi- ciency that ultimate costs will rise. The principle on which the Gov- j ernment in general must be rebuilt, and particularly the prnciple upon! which the scientific activities of the! Government must" be treated, if cha-, 1 os is not to result, is this; The i m -1 ! portant end to be gained is the max-! ' Imum and most efficient use of any j product of any Government machine iThe product may be material; air-j ! craft, lihips, guns, greenback or pow- j , der or intangible; time, informa-, tion, theory, weather, prediction, sur veying or light and sound' and signals sig-nals for marines In either case the principle is the same economy and efficiency of use is to us who pay the bills the important thing. If use can be served while economy of manufacture manu-facture is also served, well and good. If most efficient use demands a larger larg-er manufacturing cost than efficient use with a less cost, then (he larger cost is the most economical. This may be plainer with a concrete example. ex-ample. Much discussion has taken place regarding the advisibility of the establishment es-tablishment of a Department of aviation, av-iation, in which all the Government's aerial activities could be centered. Such a Department would provide planes and aviators for such diverse activities as mapping, exploration, mail-service, army, navy, surveys, life-saving service and transport. It would have jurisdiction over air laws, regulation-, lai'dii:,? fields civilian ci-vilian and amateur flying anr manufacture. manu-facture. It would er.co-.irage, 71 r mote and assist' in the development of new ideas would, in fact he to aviation what the Department of Agriculture Ag-riculture is to the tilling of the soil and the raising of stock. There is small question but that such a bureau, if not a Department, will eventually be created, although it may be but a part of a larger Bu-reaii Bu-reaii or Department of Transportation. Transporta-tion. But to take from the Army and the Navy their planes, their aviators, avi-ators, their fields and hangars, would not promote efficiency of use of planes plan-es in war. It would save money. So would it save money to put all battleships bat-tleships out of commission until a war came along. So would it save money never to hold target practice wth fourteen-inch guns. So would it save money to maintain no military establishment in fact, but to have it entirely on paper. But the ends we wish to serve with our Army and Navy are those of defense, or preparedness for ev entualities, of the possession of an expandable and efficient weapon which we pray we may never have to use, but which we want efficient if we do have to use it. Unless the profession of arms is allowed to do its own experimenting, develop its own weapons and practice its own men in their operation, it can never rise to the peak of efficiency. Here is the principle illustrated: The essential thing in reorganization reorganizati-on should be the use. not the making, mak-ing, of the product. Granted that one central factory could make airplanes airplan-es cheaper than two. Granted that a civilian manufacturer could produce planes quicker and cheaper than either ei-ther Army or Navy. .But can any but Army and Navy produce Army and Navy planes which will be as useful to Army and Navy as those produced in their own shops Jiy Army and. Navy? There are many cases of duplication dupli-cation of effort and facility in the Government machine which can be, and should be eliminated; which, when eliminated by combination will make for a greater efficiency of use as well as of manufacture. There are in the Government, nineteen agencies doing hydraulic construction; fifteen concerned with rivers and harbors; twenty-five working over buildings: and grounds, construction and . supervision; su-pervision; sixteen doing road construction; con-struction; twenty-four doing mapping map-ping and chart work; fourteen concerned con-cerned with public lands; sixteen agencies for chemical research; ten offices working with public health; fifteen with education; eleven dealing deal-ing with foreign commerce; and so on. Doubtless many of these could be, should be. coalesced. I But they should not be combined ; merely because it appears as if they I should or because economy of opera-' I tion alone will result. Congress has created a joint com-I com-I -mission to study Government reor-; reor-; ganization. It will require at least a j year and perhaps more, for this Joint j Commission to make an exhaustive j investigation and a report. In the I mean time, well, intentloned legislators legisla-tors are doing, or trying to do, euri-! euri-! 011s things with the Government. I With the greatest possible respect j for all legislators who introduce the bills looking to changes in the Government Gov-ernment machinery, if, must neverthe less be chronicled that if a Joint Commission will require a year or years to find out what should be done, no one Senator or Representative Representa-tive is competent to decide off-hand and' in advance that certain changes ; should be made. There is before the Senate a bill abolishing one and cre-Ijating cre-Ijating two new departments and mov-!Ing mov-!Ing around, like chess men on a board, a lar--" number of Govern-I iiif-ut bin-Hans. How th" learned : K.-nat' r who introduced this bill !:nov - w ' t he is doing or why. the pn-M-ut writer will not venture to' !: ('',:!- say. and with emphasis, thai in basic lit-s danger, that it is f r. far easier further to disrupt the already worn-out Government mach-; inery than it is to build it, and that one of the great causes of present J Governmental inefficiency is haste, and ill-advised legislation. Another great cause of our Governmental Gov-ernmental machinery troubles is bureaucracy, bu-reaucracy, politic and personal ambition. am-bition. To fill a need a certain Bureau Bu-reau 'is created, with a Chief and a Secretary. The Chief does a good job. the Bureau grows, the Congress : uthorizes a larger number of clerks fhe administration changes, the Thiol' dies, some one gets John Smith inpointed as chief. The Bureau ceas-ci ceas-ci to be necessary or becomes so nearly allied to another Bureau that' " is a practical duplication. Some one suggests its.abandonment, or its merging with the other bureau. John Smith, with pride in his job and a desire for his salary, "lines up" as many legislators as he can, lulling them bis side of the story, and making them believe in the absolute ab-solute necessity of the retention of bis Bureau. The Bureau stays. Inefficiency In-efficiency triumphs. Bureaucracy has its way. No one in Washington wants to give up his jol) or his title. The dog wants to swallow the tail and the f-iil desires to engulf the dog. The rreater is always trying to swallow t'-e less; the less is forever trying to become the greater. When some leg-i leg-i -lator attempts to- rearrange Bureaus Bu-reaus A and B and C, by taking them from their Departments and nutting them under a newly-created Department, he probably consults '-one of them, but as soon as they get vindi of the change they are all upon up-on his trail to coiivince him that A and B and C should be left alone or .'jiven the right to absorb the others. It is submitted that this Government Govern-ment machine of ours is far too im-"ortant im-"ortant to all of us to be made the snort of bureaucrats or the nail on which legislators, well intentioned, but ignorant, hang their publicity-hunting publicity-hunting bills. After all. this is our Government. We pay for it. We support sup-port it. It is here to serve us all. The thing we demand from it is service, ser-vice, first. Give us economy of operation oper-ation if you can, is our message to ''ncleSam. but give us service. Let us lie well governed. What the Government Gov-ernment makes, let it be well made, made so that it can be efficiently used. |