Items of Interest November 4, 1905 Issue

Items of Interest

Dr. E. D. Durand, special examiner for the United States Bureau of Corporations, in the conference on commercial education at the University of Illinois, in the last session which completed the installation of President Edmund J. James, made some interesting admissions in the course of a discussion on "Training for the Government Service." "The majority of people little dream," he said, "as they gaze with awe at the beautiful compilations sent out by the Government Department, of the slovenly manner in which individual items are drawn up. Many of the reports sent out are worthless and meaningless because of this. The trouble is that the Government has put cheap clerks on the work that should be done by expert statisticians. The economic work of the Government is growing rapidly. We need large numbers of good men trained in the schools of commerce. The desirability of having these men is realized more every day by the powers that be. That the Government pays too much to clerks and too little to men in responsible positions is a well-known fact."

Secretary Taft, whose department has charge of the building of the Canal, left last week for Panama in company with a number of officials, to make a personal investigation of the needs there in order that he may be able to report to Congress intelligently on any necessary legislation. He will have a personal interview with Governor Charles E.Magoon, the administrative officer of the Canal Zone, and will consult with Chief Engineer Stevens. Secretary Taft timed his visit so as to be in Panama on November 3, the second anniversary of the independence of the Republic of Panama.

Incomplete returns already show that more letters, packages, and newspapers were handled and more money went through the mails from June 30, 1904, to June 30, 1905, than in any like period since the Government was established. During the twelve months 600,000,000 more postage stamps, stamped wrappers, and postal cards were used than in the preceeding year, resulting in an increase in receipts of approximately $10,000,000.

Send a comment to the editors

NEXT IN THIS ISSUE

Article

The Neglected Garden