Table showing the number of persons examined, those who passed, and those who were appointed to positions in the Department of Agriculture, etc.-Continued.

a Examination held in previous fiscal year.

Some of these appointments were made from an examination held in the previous fiscal year. The majority of the examinations from which none or only a few appointments have been made, as indicated above, were held toward the close of the fiscal year and the appointments were made after July 1, 1906. In some cases, however, the examination was held to fill but one vacancy.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF EXAMINATION FOR INSPECTOR OF MEAT PRODUCTS.

The facilities the Commission has at hand for securing promptly a large number of persons qualified along special lines have been well illustrated by the examination for inspector of meat products held as a result of the act approved June 30, 1906. In the course of the debate on the measure some doubt was expressed by various Members of Congress as to whether the Commission would be able to secure qualified inspectors rapidly enough to meet the needs of the service. The act, however, as passed did not take the positions out of the competitive classified service, and results have demonstrated the wisdom of this course. On July 2 the Department of Agriculture asked the Commission to hold an examination to carry out the provisions of the law. Twenty-four hours thereafter an announcement giving the scope, times, and places of the examination was sent to the press, to local boards of examiners, and to various institutions through whose agency it was believed that competent inspectors could be secured. Applications came in from every section of the country, and the examination was held on July 21 at about 200 places, at which 2,496 persons appeared, 795 of whom attained eligible ratings. On July 28 the first certification of 51 names was sent to the Department, and within a few days of that time all the papers were rated.

Owing to the heavy demands of the Department, the papers of persons receiving ratings of 65 per cent or over were made eligible, and as a result of this action 825 selections in all have been made from the registers of the Commission. This office has been informed by the Department of Agriculture that the results have been satisfactory. A considerable number of excellent employees has been secured, and an extremely small percentage of those certified has turned out to be unsatisfactory. The Commission has now established a second register, and is prepared to meet the future needs of the service. It is not believed to have been possible for the Department of Agriculture, with the machinery at its disposal, to itself weed out of the large number of applicants those not having the necessary qualifications for the position in anything like the time actually occupied by the Commission in accomplishing this task. In further illustration of the Commission's ability to supply large numbers of eligibles it may be added that almost 2,000 appointments have been made within the past four months from the examinations for meat inspector, forest ranger, veterinary inspector, printer's assistant, meat tagger, and forest supervisor. (Twenty-third Report, Civil Service Commission, pp. 7 and 8.)

BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY.

JANUARY 17, 1907.

(Part of testimony given on above date before Committee on Expenditures in the Department of Agriculture.)

STATEMENT OF DR. B. T. GALLOWAY, CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.

(The witness was duly sworn by the chairman.)

The CHAIRMAN. Will you state what, if anything, is being done so far as you know with reference to bringing about coordination in the Departments in connection with this question of the collection of statistics, Doctor Galloway?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Mr. Chairman, I can answer only in a general way. The question of statistics has not been specifically taken up by the subcommittees of the Keep Commission, but it is the object of the committees to survey the whole field and make recommendations to the Secretaries in reference to the organization of committees in the Department and recommendations in reference to the organization of committees for the purpose of coordinating the work of the Departments. That is about as far as the committee work has proceeded.

The CHAIRMAN. That would involve, when it is carried out in its details, the statistical work as well as other work?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. So that that general comprehensive plan is now under consideration?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. And is it being adopted, or is it simply being considered by the committee?

Doctor GALLOWAY. The subcommittees have only gotten to the point of making specific recommendations for the appointment of committees within the Departments, and the President has issued an order to that effect, and the Secretary of Agriculture has recently promulgated such an order directing chiefs of Bureaus to appoint committees within their respective bureaus to consider certain phases of their work, and coordinate their work, and coordinate the work of their bureaus with other bureaus in the Department. That is as far as it has gone. I will put in the record the order of the Secretary with reference to the Department of Agriculture upon this subject. (The paper referred to is as follows:)

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,

OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, D. C., December 24, 1906.

General Order No. 105.

In conformity with the recommendations of the committee on Department methods, approved by the President, the following is promulgated:

(Witness: Galloway.)

1. A committee on business methods is hereby appointed for the Department of Agriculture, to consist of the Chief of the Bureau of Animal Industry as chairman, the Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry, the Chief of the Forest Service, the Chief of the Bureau of Soils, and the Disbursing Officer. The duty of this committee shall be to report to the Secretary of Agriculture, as he may direct, plans for new methods of routine business, changes in the system of bookkeeping, correspondence, filing, and office procedure generally, as well as to undertake specific duties within its field assigned to it by the Secretary. It should also be the definite duty of the committee to know thoroughly the business methods prevailing in the various offices of the Department, to investigate them when necessary, and on its own initiative to recommend to the Secretary advisable changes or modifications in these methods."

2. The chief of each bureau, office, and independent division is hereby ordered to appoint a committee in his bureau, office, or division, to be known as the bureau, office, or division committee. Its membership shall include all offi cers who report directly to the chief of the bureau, office, or division. This committee shall meet once a week. The chief of the bureau, office, or division shall be its chairman. The work of the committee shall be advisory only. It shall make definite recommendations, but the power of final decision shall rest, where it belongs, with the administrative head of the bureau. The purpose of this committee is to promote cooperation by all of the subdivisions in the promotion and advancement of the work of the bureau-in brief, to promote "team work."

To indicate more clearly the scope of the work of such bureau committees the following order of business is suggested:

(1) Statement by chiefs of new, current, or proposed work or methods. (2) Reports of subcommittees which may from time to time be appointed to consider or investigate special subjects.

(3) Miscellaneous business.

Topics for consideration under the last title are: (a) Cooperation; (b) coordination of work; (c) business methods; (d) policy.

3. It is also ordered that committees on business methods be appointed by the chiefs of the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Weather Bureau, the Bureau of Plant Industry, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Chemistry, in view of their complicated organization and large personnel. In each instance this committee, which shall be composed of three members from the bureau committee. shall be charged with duties similar to those of the Department committee on business methods, except that their work shall be confined to their own bureau and their recommendations be made to the chief thereof.

4. The committees created by the foregoing order will cooperate with the general Department council, or committee, which, headed by the Secretary and made up of his principal subordinates, was established in this Department some time since to promote cooperation, to improve methods, to develop "team work," and to avoid conflict and duplication.

JAMES WILSON, Secretary of Agriculture.

The CHAIRMAN. You are the Chief of the Bureau of Plant Industry?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. How long have you held that position?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Since the Bureau was organized. The Bureau, as a bureau, has been organized for six years. Prior to that time there were several divisions in the Department that were separate and independent. I had been a chief of one of these divisions for twelve or fourteen years prior to being made chief of Bureau, and when the Bureau was organized and these divisions were incorporated in the Bureau I was made chief.

The CHAIRMAN. How many independent divisions were incorporated into the Bureau?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Six or seven.

The CHAIRMAN. What was the purpose of the creation of the Bureau?

(Witness: Galloway.)

Doctor GALLOWAY. The purpose of the creation of the Bureau was to coordinate and unify the work and to simplify in every practicable way the handling of the problems that were coming up in connection with plant investigations.

The CHAIRMAN. Was there any duplication of work among these six divisions prior to the organization of the Bureau?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Not at that time; but the tendency was in that direction.

The CHAIRMAN. Did the organization of the Bureau increase or decrease the cost to the Government of the carrying on of the work? Doctor GALLOWAY. It decreased it.

The CHAIRMAN. In what way?

Doctor GALLOWAY. It decreased it by making unnecessary the keeping of separate and distinct accounts for the different branches of the work. It decreased it in making it practicable for us to unify many systems of handling the work, getting supplies, handling supplies, handling labor, securing men, and in other directions.

The CHAIRMAN. Did it result in your being able to reduce the personnel?

Doctor GALLOWAY. No; the personnel was not reduced at the time, except in certain minor directions.

The CHAIRMAN. Was there any appreciable reduction in the personnel?

Doctor GALLOWAY. No, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Then, if there was no appreciable reduction in the personnel, in what particular was there any decrease in expense to the Government?

Doctor GALLOWAY. The decrease came primarily and mostly, as I have indicated, in the simplification of the handling of accounts, and in the simplification of the handling of our work. While it did not diminish the personnel-the number of people-it enabled the people we had to do more work than they theretofore had done.

The CHAIRMAN. If the men that you had when the divisions were separate and independent accomplished the results that were desired up to that time, and then when the divisions were consolidated in one Bureau they were able to accomplish more, why did not that result in rendering a certain percentage of the personnel unnecessary?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Simply because we have ten times more problems and more questions and more work than we are able to do.

The CHAIRMAN. Then at that time, if I understand it, when you had the six divisions, and changed over into the Bureau, there was either an accumulation or else a lot of work pressing that it was important for you to do?

Doctor GALLOWAY. There was a lot of work pressing that it was not practicable to do, chiefly on account of lack of men and funds. The funds of the Bureau have been largely increased since its organization.

While

The CHAIRMAN. Yes. Then that is the solution of that. it rendered your existing force more efficient and capable of accomplishing larger and better results, there was work on hand to be done that could not before that time be accomplished, and could not be

(Witness: Galloway.)

done with the force you had on hand and the money at your disposal. Am I right? Is that it?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes; that is the fact.

The CHAIRMAN. What were these six different divisions called when you organized the Bureau ?

Doctor GALLOWAY. We had a division of botany, a division of physiology and pathology, a division of pomology, a division of agrostology, a division of gardens and grounds, and a division of seeds.

The CHAIRMAN. That is six. Have those divisions lost their identity under the bureau system, or do you maintain in substance that differentiation of work?

Doctor GALLOWAY. We maintain in substance only that differentiation of work, for the reason that the problems that we are carrying out can be much better carried out by decentralization processes than by centralization processes, and we no longer speak of them as divisions. The division lines have been entirely eliminated. We have a man, for example, working on fruit, and in connection with his fruit work he may be a good pathologist. He may come in contact with a disease problem, and he may have had the training that would enable him to finish up that problem. Under the old plan of having these divisions it would not have been practicable for that man to carry it out.

The CHAIRMAN. Under the old plan he simply confined himself to his special line?

Doctor GALLOWAY. He simply confined himself to his special line. The CHAIRMAN. Under this new plan you utilize him in connection with everything he is able to do?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes.

The CHAIRMAN. Or, in other words, you make it a broad subject instead of a narrow subject?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes, sir; or, putting it another way, we make the man and the problem go together and stay together until that problem is rounded out and completed.

The CHAIRMAN. Even if that should happen to involve what might, under other circumstances, be separate and independent scientific lines of investigation?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes, sir. If the man is capable of handling the problem, we let him stay with it until he has completed it.

The CHAIRMAN. Whereas in the other way you would have one man at work on one scientific phase of it and another man at work on another scientific phase of it?

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes, sir; and we had the constant insistence of these separate and distinct men not to get over onto their territory because that was their territory. That has now all been done away with.

The CHAIRMAN. The total expenditure under your Bureau is about $1,184,890, I gather.

Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. You have personal charge of the personnel?
Doctor GALLOWAY. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. Questions of promotion and employment are, in the last analysis, determined by you?