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The news that the Government hasa general manager, and that he is generally rated exceptionally good at his job, is apt to provoke most citizens to some pretty indignant questions. What about the rise and fall of Washington czars and co ordinating agencies, the famed Washington confusion, the wearisome headaches, bottlenecks, bickerings, fumbles and bumbles? What has General Manager Smith been doing all this time? If he is any good, why hasn't he straightened out the mess? Pending investigation, John Citizen may be pardoned for concluding that Harold Smith is a hell of an efficiency expert.
They All Spend Money. The Bureau of the Budget has been in existence only 22 years. Before that, every Government agency applied individually to Congress for its yearly appropriation. In its first 1 8 years, under the first Director, Charles Gates Dawes, and his successors, the understaffed Bureau did little but harp on economy and round up the various figures for Congress. But as early as 1918 Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin Roosevelt had urged on the House Appropriations Committee a plan to create a budget bureau which would be the central control agency of the Government.
His reasoning was simple and logical. Gov ernment agencies do 10.001 jobs, from building battleships to advising farmers about the pink bollworm. But they all do one thing in common: spend money. A Budget Bureau should be in an ideal position to survey and coordinate the whole activity of the Government, inquiring into purposes and projects, checking performances, uncovering and eliminating extravagance, duplication, confusion.
As President, Mr. Roosevelt did not put his theory into practice until 1939. The year before, the Bureau had 45 employes, spent $196,000. In 1939 Harold Smith (he had been Michigan's budget director since 1937) took over, and began to expand.
Life Insurance, Lubricating Oil. Every Government request for money must have the Budget Bureau's approval before it is passed along to Congress. Few get by intact. But the Bureau itself must also appear before the House Appropriations Committee to explain and defend its own request. This year Director Smith asked for $2,172,000 — nearly twelve times the 1938 appropriation — to run his Bureau of 571 employes during fiscal 1944. In justification, Smith listed a few of the things that he and his staff of experts have been up to since the nation went to war. Among other jobs, they had:
¶Worked out a reorganization of the Army Air Forces' administrative opera tions (resulting at some fields in man-hour savings of as much as 25%), proposed similar internal improvements for a dozen other war agencies, ironed out many a conflict.
¶Developed an accounting and auditing system to handle military life insurance premiums which will eliminate 2,000 clerical employes, save $3,000,000 a year.
¶Made plans to move enough Government agencies and workers out of Washington to empty 3,000,000 sq. ft. of office space, 5,000 homes and apartments, rooms for 8,000 single persons.
¶Studied the practices of big private motor-fleet operators, applied them to Federal auto fleets for an estimated annual saving of 750,000 gal. of lubricating oil.
¶ Inspected some 3,000 Government war construction projects, made financial and engineering recommendations.