to prevent a heavy pile-up of work, which, with the accompanying break-down of administrative procedure, will affect all activities of the Department.

There are three main divisions in the work of the section-the handling of printing requests; the distribution of publications and other printed material; and bookkeeping. The handling of printing requests includes the preparation of requisitions, review of manuscripts, and selection of paper stocks, type, and all details connected with printing and binding for the Department. This phase of the work is being strengthened by the appointment of an editorial technician, provided for in the 1941 appropriation, who will advise the several bureaus and offices as to the most suitable and economical methods of preparing manuscripts for the purpose of obtaining the best results in getting out a high grade of work. This, however, will not relieve the need for assistance in handling the details involved in the distribution of printed material and the maintenance of accounting and other records.

The distribution work involves the dispensing of information with respect to publications, the distribution from consignment of stocks, the maintenance of records of stocks, the preparation of statements of publications distributed, and the maintenance of records of maps distributed. It also involves supervision of ordering and distributing congressional material such as bills and reports on bills and similar documents to all units of the Department. Prompt service is demanded particularly in the distribution of congressional material. The services of an assistant clerk-stenographer, grade CAF-3, at $1,620, are urgently needed in order that this work may be performed currently and efficiently.

The bookkeeping work consists of maintenance of detailed records of printing allotments and of obligations for each agency participating in the Department's printing fund. It also includes preparation of monthly statements for submission to the bureaus showing the status of their allotments. In this work the section is required to prepare repay vouchers, requisition funds, and perform all accounting work relating to printing and binding for the Department. These duties involve a great deal of bookkeeping as the charges include thousands of items for printed forms, documents, etc., and much reimbursable work. It is very important that these records be maintained accurately and that they be kept current in order that there may be a proper accountability for the printing and binding appropriation, but this will not be possible without adequate personnel to perform the work. The junior clerk, CAF-2, at $1,440, will be assigned to this unit.

OFFICE OF SPECIAL ADVISER ON LABOR RELATIONS

This item provides $7,600 to establish a unit in the Secretary's Office consisting of a special adviser on labor relations, CAF-13, at $5,600, and a senior clerk, CAF-5, at $2,000, to handle problems in connection with labor relations arising in construction operations of the several bureaus and offices of the Department. As evidenced by the 1941 appropriations for construction aggregating $84,420,050, the Interior Department's construction program is of considerable magnitude. It involves the employment of thousands of people and the expenditure of large amounts for labor; it includes a great volume of work by contract as well as by force account; and it includes various types of construction such as dams, power plants, canals, transmission lines and substations, roads and parkways, buildings, railroads, and various other structures.

In operations as extensive as these troublesome questions continuously arise with respect to labor relations such as complaints as to alleged violations of wage scales, improper classification of labor union jurisdiction, violation of the 8-hour law, violation of the 40-hour week, working conditions, housing facilities, quality of food, unfair treatment by the contractor's supervisory personnel, and many others. Insofar as possible these questions are settled by field officials, but many of the complaints are referred to the Department where a final decision must be made. It is important that proper decisions be made on these matters and that all decisions on labor problems be uniform throughout the several bureaus of the Department.

At present there is no one in the Department to handle these problems. The adviser on labor relations would familiarize himself with the labor laws and contitions and with the requirements peculiar to the specifications employed by the several construction agencies. He would be in a position to advise the Secretary on important labor problems and to supervise and coordinate the handling of all labor relations in the field. He could adjust many questions before they get to the point of formal controversy and many delays in construction could be avoided and much time and expense could be saved by having adjustments made in this manner rather than through formal appeals to the Department of Labor.

Finance office

The sum of $8,300 is requested for a finance office to be established in the office of the Secretary. This will provide for a finance officer, grade CAF-14, at $6,500, and a clerk-stenographer, grade CAF-4, at $1,800.

Although the Department maintains general supervision of finances of the several bureaus and offices through budgetary control exercised by the Department's budget officer and through administrative control of officials charged with the accountability of funds, including the review of all departures from established policies and practices and the coordination of financial matters in accordance with procedures of the Treasury Department and the General Accounting Office, there is need for a central unit in the Secretary's office to supervise in a technical manner the accounting work throughout the Department. In recent years there has been a steady increase in the Department's financial program. Requests have increased for accounting information for budgetary control and for other purposes, and there is every indication that further demands will be made in the future. In addition, advancements are being made continuously in accounting principles and practices which should be incorporated in Government procedures. The various accounting systems in the several bureaus and offices, which are necessarily varied due to the different functions of these agencies, should be adapted promptly to meet these changing conditions and requirements; they should be maintained on bases as nearly uniform as practicable; and they should be operated in a manner which would give complete and accurate accounting information currently for budgetary control and for administrative use in planning operations as well as for giving proper accountability of expenditures. These objectives can be obtained only through qualified technical supervision by a central unit.

Present plans do not contemplate a centralization of accounts, which would require a very large and complicated set-up, nor do they call for the installation of control accounts in the Secretary's Office, although the latter may prove to be practicable and desirable after the General Accounting Office completes the survey and revision of the accounting systems in the various bureaus and offices of the Department which is now in progress. The immediate need, for which this increase provides, is for centralized technical supervision over the Department's accounting matters.

This Department is expending well over $150,000,000 annually from regular appropriations and handles receipts each year of some $29,000,000. In addition it is handling trust funds amounting to about $6,500,000 a year and during the current year is participating in the Work Projects Administration program to the extent of $5,000,000 and in the Civilian Conservation Corps program to the extent of about $23,800,000. The operations of the several bureaus are varied and the financial operations, particularly of the Indian Service and the Bureau of Reclamation, are complex and involve many important problems. This is especially true of the Indian trust accounts and the reimbursable features of the power and irrigation projects of the Bureau of Reclamation and the Indian Service. With the expansion of activities in recent years it has been found that many of the existing accounting systems have not been flexible enough to assume the added burdens placed upon them and that improved methods and procedures have not been adopted promptly. As a result many of the records have been inadequate and have not produced accounting information currently enough to be of value for administrative use in planning operations. A finance office with general supervision over accounting operations of the Department will serve to assist the bureaus in adapting their systems to changing conditions and requirements and to bring to the attention of the General Accounting Office revisions in the systems that may prove necessary. This office, also, will be in a position to coordinate the accounting work and see that uniform procedures are followed wherever practicable. If it is found desirable to establish control accounts for the Department in the Secretary's Office, the finance office will assume maintenance of these records.

It is planned that this unit will be in charge of an expert accountant designated as finance officer. It will be the duty of the finance officer to familiarize himself with the accounting systems and financial operations of each agency in the Department; to keep abreast of developments in governmental accounting procedures and accounting principles generally; to maintain close cooperation with the General Accounting Office in the installation or revision of accounting systems; to handle contacts with the Treasury Department and the General Accounting Office on various financial matters; and to advise the bureaus on financial problems which may arise. He also will obtain and review periodic financial reports

from each activity. In addition, this employee will represent the Department in conferences and contacts involved in the revision of budgetary control and financial reporting practices contemplated by Executive Order No. 8512, dated August 13, 1940. It is understood that this revision will be a broad program extending over several years and may, in fact, be a continuing process. Among other things it will involve the proper classification of expenditures, and the Department's representative should be a qualified accountant with a thorough knowledge of the Department's accounting practices and problems and governmental accounting procedures. He should be able to contribute to these studies and see that the new procedures adopted are properly carried out in the several bureaus and offices.

The unit also will require a clerk-stenographer to act as secretary to the finance officer, to take his dictation, receive calls, and perform necessary clerical work in the office.

NEW POSITIONS REQUESTED

Mr. LEAVY. The total increase in the Office of the Secretary, Mr. Burlew, is $36,520?

Mr. BURLEW. Yes; that is the increase for new positions.

Mr. LEAVY. What are the items that go to make up that increase?

STENOGRAPHER, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY

Mr. BURLEW. First, there is one clerk in the Office of the Secretary; that is, for general stenographic work, who we can assign to various people. We have many officials who come in from the field and we should be able to furnish them with stenographic help. We just cannot meet the requirements with our present staff of stenographers. We want to have what you might term a floating stenographer, who we can assign to anyone who requires the service.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. Are you securing good stenographers and what salaries do you pay?

Mr. BURLEW. We usually pay $1,620 for good stenographers. We have paid $1,440 but we are finding great difficulty in getting stenographers at that figure. A typist without stenographic training usually receives $1,440 and we have to pay more for stenographers.

ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES FOR DIVISION OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

Mr. LEAVY. The next item is $11,120.

Mr. BURLEW. That is for the Division of Personnel Management. Mr. LEAVY. What is the reason for that much of an increase? Mr. BURLEW. We have had an increase in the number of employees, of course, and there has been a tremendous increase in regular routine personnel matters. We are trying to simplify the work and to this end we are attempting to set up a statistical section so we can have figures available to meet our administrative needs and to answer the numerous calls for personnel data from Members of Congress and various governmental agencies.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. That is explained at the bottom of page 4?

Mr. BURLEW. Yes.

We require a senior clerk in Mrs. Maulding's office, the Director's office, to handle general correspondence; and she needs a stenographer to handle the work there; this is to do the correspondence work.

And then we want some card punchers, also, to the extent of $2,520; and some typists. This is all for regular routine work of the division.

ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES FOR RADIO AND PUBLICATIONS SECTIONS OF DIVISION OF INFORMATION

Mr. LEAVY. The next item is in the Division of Information.

Mr. BURLEW. Yes; we have discussed that item, the amount requested is $7,880.

Mr. LEAVY. That has to do with radio transcripts?

Mr. BURLEW. With radio, and with the Publications Section. The publication section is desperately in need of more help and we must assign additional clerks to that section.

The radio item provides a radio engineer to operate the broadcasting studio. This in effect is a transfer from the Public Buildings Administration which has carried him up until this time but which will be unable to do so after June 30 of this year. The increase also includes a clerk-stenographer to handle clerical work and correspondence of the Radio Section.

Mr. LEAVY. Why do you need more help in the Publications Section?

Mr. BURLEW. At one time we had P. W. A. clerical assistance, and, as you will recall, this committee allotted to us some 121 employees who were on the P. W. A. rolls, and transferred them to the Interior rolls. Unfortunately the Publications Section, which had six people was overlooked; we did not include them in the transfer. We have attempted to make up the loss by temporarily assigning help from various places, but they just cannot do the work which is demanded of them with the present help.

Mr. LEAVY. If you do not get this additional appropriation, what activity is going to suffer?

Mr. BURLEW. Every activity in the Department. You see the Publications Section handles publications for the entire Department; and all requisitions to the Government Printing Office come through this unit. Furthermore they are now delayed interminably in answering correspondence.

ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES FOR OFFICE OF SPECIAL ADVISER ON LABOR RELATIONS

Mr. BURLEW. For about 3 years we have endeavored to get an adviser on labor relations to handle problems in connection with labor relations arising in construction operations of the several bureaus and offices of the Department. Under the 1941 appropriations the construction program aggregates some $85,000,000, and that means the employment of thousands of people and the expenditure of large amounts for labor. In a program of this magnitude we are bound to have labor troubles of different kinds and we want to try to keep them down. A few years ago we were able to utilize the services of the labor relations staff in the Public Works Administration, and when we had labor trouble he frequently would go in and settle the difficulty before it got to a point where it could not be settled by the Department.

There are all sorts of questions about wages and hours and overtime, and things of that sort which must be compromised by someone. These questions are now referred back to Washington and we have no one to handle them. These are not matters for the Department of Labor to handle. We want someone who can familiarize himself with the labor laws and conditions and with the requirement peculiar to the specifications employed by the several construction agencies-a man

who would be in position to advise the Secretary on important labor problems and supervise and coordinate the handling of all labor relations in the field.

We have endeavored to get this position before and this is the first year we have been able to get Budget approval.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. Any further questions on that item? Mr. FITZPATRICK. Just one question on that item: If we should give you such a man, would he have the power to make a settlement of the labor disputes in the field or would he have to bring it back to get the approval of someone here in Washington; that is, would you invest him with the power to settle?

On

Mr. BURLEW. He would be invested with power-of course. some labor questions he would have to get the approval of the Secretary, but in our experience with the Public Works Administration it was found that the labor relations man's efforts were such that there was very little occasion to refer back for approval; he was able to settle the differences between the parties.

Mr. FITZPATRICK. In other words, you would invest him with that authority?

Mr. BURLEW. He would be vested with authority to reach an agreement and to work out differences in the field.

Mr. FITZPATRICK. I mean, he would be able to exercise the power to agree with them?

Mr. BURLEW. Yes.

Mr. FITZPATRICK. And in certain instances to reach a compromise? Mr. BURLEW. Yes.

Mr. FITZPATRICK. I think that would be a very good suggestions.

FINANCE OFFICER AND CLERK STENOGRAPHER FOR FINANCE OFFICE

Mr. LEAVY. The next item is the finance office.

Mr. BURLEW. The Bureau of the Budget has favored a finance office in the Department for several years and the Comptroller General's office, within the last year, has strongly recommended it. The Comptroller General's office is installing accounting systems in several of our offices, and I am told that it is absolutely necessary to have a central finance office. This does not mean a centralized accounting system, or anything of that sort, but eventually we expect it will be practicable to establish a control system. Our bureaus are so varied in the nature of their work and in their accounts, that it is impractical to have a central accounting office, but we ought to have some measure of control, which we are very much lacking at present.

TOTAL AMOUNT OF INCREASE REQUESTED FOR OFFICE OF THE

SECRETARY

Mr. LEAVY. It would appear you are asking for an increase of $43.180 instead of $36,520.

Mr. BURLEW. Yes.

Mr. LEAVY. But this involves a matter of transfers?

Mr. BURLEW. Those amounts do not include transfers. The difference there is due to reallocations of positions that were reclassified by the Civil Service Commission to higher grades. The amount for this purpose is $6,660.