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Show FflHflJH K, UK PIKES FIIL REPBRT: Retiring Secretary Reviews Political Outlook and Tells of Poor Organization WASHINGTON, March 1. (By Thej Associated Press) Offillal Washing-1 ton, "a combination of political caucus, drawing room and civil service bureaus." bu-reaus." containing "statesmen who are politicians and politicians who are not statesmen," Is poorly organized for its task which "fewer men of larger capacity ca-pacity would do better." Such is an epitome of the views of Franklin K. Lane, retiring secretary of the interior, expressed in a characteristic charac-teristic parting report to the president on the occasion of leaving public life, after more than twenty years of servicethe serv-icethe last seven in the cabinet. Official Washington Poorly Organized '"Washington," says the retiring sec rotary, "is rlch in brains and character charac-ter It is honest beyond any commer-i clal standard. It wishes to do everything every-thing that will promote the public good. But it is poorly organized for the task that belongs to It. Fewer j men of larger capacity would do the ; task better. Ability ia not lacking, bu' i it is pressed to the point of paralysis because of san infinitude of details, anil I Jan unwillingness on the part of the ! srreat body of the public servants to itake responsibility. Everyone seems ;to be afraid of everyone. To seir protective pro-tective souse is developed abnormally, the creative sense trophicd. The trust, confidence, enthusiasm these simple virtues of all great business are the ones most lacking in government organization. or-ganization. We hne so jmariy checks' and brakes upon our work that our progress docs not keep pace with 'Ik nation's requirements. More Discretion Needed "We could save money for the go-ernment, go-ernment, if we had more discretion as to how we should use that given us. For the benefit of the civil servant? j there should be quicker promotion or ! discharge and a sure Insurance when disability comes. For the higher ad- ministratlve officers Ihere r.hould be I salaries twice as high as those now , given and they should be made to fee! I that they are the ones responsible for i the work of the department; the -head being merely an adviser and construct 'or of policies. As matters are now de- vised (here are too few in the gbvern-jment gbvern-jment whose business it is to plan, i i Every man is held to details, to the ! I narrower view which comes too often ! I to be the department view or some tort of parochial view. We need for ; ihe day that is hcrt and upon us men who have .little to do but study the i problems or the time and test heir ca-ip.tciy ca-ip.tciy at meeting them, j "In a word wo need more opporun 1 ity for planning, engineering, states-imanship states-imanship above, and more fixed authority author-ity and 'responsibility below." , Department of Interior's Needs Describing the interior department as an "abiding place far a group of un-rplatcd un-rplatcd government! agencies," the i retiring secretary ' characterized -ft 1 'none the less as "the most distinctly! American of all the departments and reviews briefly the aims and accomplishments accom-plishments of his administration, some of the former unrealized, onstruction ) of the Alaskan railway, opening of! Alaska lands by a leasing system, water power development legislation land a leasing system of oil and miner-al miner-al lands on the public domains arc enumerated among Ihe latter. Too Much "Red Tape" Alaska, .the secretary thinks, is ham ; pored by too much "red tape" in Wash-j I ington which is a "static policy" in jinany of the government's bureaus. .Alaska, Mr. Lane says, should be ad-I ad-I ministered by a federal beard in the (territory, be policed by a constabulary .as was northwestern Canada, should have her coasts made safe for naviga-l Hon and have Canadian musk ox crossed with the native reindeer, to furnish a new supply of meat to the Pacific coast. Americanization, the development of the capital as an educational center for the country, farms for soldiers, and developments of natural resources, are amons the projects Mr. Lane leaves behind him and his report argues for the wisdom of their prosecution. nn |