The reduction of $96,182 in working funds for 1935 includes: (a) Reduction of $87,396, which is made possible by the transfer of the guard force of all Washington buildings, except the Weather Bureau group, to the Department of the Interior in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order No. 6166 of June 10, 1933. (b) Reduction of $43,013, due to the transfer of the cleaning force to the Department of the Interior as provided in the Executive order of June 10, 1933. (c) Reduction of $5,110, as a result of the transfer to the Weather Bureau of the funds required to maintain four guards and the necessary reliefs, for the protection of the buildings and property on the Weather Bureau reservation. These premises were excluded from the provisions of the Executive order, being classed as facilities of the work of the Bureau. (d) An apparent increase of $16,294, resulting from the transfer of the funds required for the motor transport service and consulting engineer from the appropriation "Compensation, mechanical shops and power plant". This action is taken to permit the abolishing of that appropriation, the mechanical shops having been transferred to the Interior Department. This reduction of $182,787 below the appropriation for 1934 consists of: Funds transferred to other appropriations. 5 percent salary restoration....... Total....... -$50, 079 -66, 246 -135, 519 +25, 729 +13,608 +29, 720 -182,787 (e) An apparent increase of $9,435, due to the transfer with corresponding reduction in the appropriation of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, of 5 employees engaged in legal work in connection with the enforcement of the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. This transfer is recommended since the office of the Solicitor handles the legal work under this act. (f) An increase of $11,310 (90 percent salary basis), to provide for an Under Secretary of Agriculture ($10,000) and a private secretary ($2,600). At present there is only 1 position as Assiatant Secretary in the Department of Agriculture, this being the only civilian department where that is the case, the State Department having 5, the Treasury 4, Justice 7, Post Office 4, Interior 2, Commerce 2, and Labor 2. The tremendous increase in the administrative responsibilities of the Secretary of Agriculture makes it urgently necessary that provision be made for the appointment of an additional assistant of the rank indicated, in order that the business of the Department may be conducted in a prompt and effective manner. This additional position is required for the satisfactory administration of the work of the Department. (g) An increase of $2,268 (90 percent salary basis), to provide for the services of 2 additional telephone operators. During the past year the volume of telephone business in the Department has increased at an unprecedented rate. For the fiscal year 1933, the number of Government and local outgoing calls averaged 23,000 per month. Since that time there has been a steady increase, with the total of such calls reaching a peak of 42,900 for the month of December. The latter represents an increase of 87 percent as compared with the average number of calls made during the last fiscal year. In addition, it has been necessary to increase radically the period for the operation of the switchboard in order to provide service for the many offices operating at other than regular office hours. CHANGE IN LANGUAGE The suggested changes in language are recommended for the following reasons: (a) To provide for an Under Secretary of Agriculture. (b) To permit the deletion of the authority previously provided for the cleaning and guarding of the buildings of the Department in Washington. This change is dictated by the transfer of his responsibility to the Department of the Interior in accordance with the provisions of the Executive order of June 10, 1933. (c) To make the phraseology with respect to personal services in the District of Columbia and elsewhere conform to the general practice under other appropria CHANGE IN AUTHORIZATION A reduction of $3,600 is recommended in the amount which may be expended from appropriations of the Department for allowances for quarters, heat, fuel, and light for employees permanently stationed abroad. WORK DONE UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION This appropriation provides salaries for employees of the office of the Secretary of Agriculture, Under Secretary, Assistant Secretary, the director of scientific work, the director of extension work (office force paid by extension service). the director of personnel and business administration, the personnel, organization and classification offices, the Budget, finance, disbursing, and accounting offices, the offices dealing with purchases, sales, and traffic, the division of operation, mails and files, telephone and telegraph, post office, motor transport service, etc., and the office of the solicitor. This organization comprises the administration of the scientific, extension, regulatory, personnel, and business activities of the Department and serves in planning the organization of the work, the expenditure of funds, the contracting for the purchase of materials and equipment, the handling of mails and files, the operation of the telephone and telegraph offices, and the initiation and direction of all phases of legal work involved in the Department's activities. Mr. SANDLIN. We have already discussed this new language with respect to the Under Secretary. I notice you are cutting out the words "for personal services in the field" and substituting the word "elsewhere" for that language. Mr. NELSON. Yes, sir. That is an attempt to make our language uniform with the other bureaus. We previously had special authority for the employment of extra labor; but due to the transfer to the Department of the Interior that item is coming out, and we wish to make our language uniform. There is no other intent. TRANSFER OF ACTIVITIES FROM OFFICE OF SECRETARY TO OTHER DEPARTMENTS In connection with the appropriation "Salaries, Office of the Secretary", I would like to call attention to the fact that the outstanding point is a reduction of $182,787. That represents a curtailment of 25 percent from the amount appropriated for the fiscal year 1934, and 33% percent as compared with the fiscal year 1933. Mr. SANDLIN. How much of that is due to the transfer of certain activities to the Interior Department? Mr. NELSON. There is $135,519 transferred to the Interior Department and Weather Bureau. The Executive order of June 10 had a very marked effect on three of the appropriations of the Office of the Secretary. Under that order we were called upon to transfer our responsibilities for building custody, maintenance, and guarding to the Department of the Interior. As a result we are transferring to Interior $87,396 for the guard force and $43,013 for the cleaning force; and as the Secretary of the Interior decided that the Weather Bureau buildings had better be considered as a separate entity, we are proposing to transfer $5,110 to the Weather Bureau in order to provide a guard force for the group of buildings at Twenty-fourth and M Streets. Mr. SANDLIN. Then what is the actual decrease, eliminating these items covered by transfers? What is the actual decrease for 1935 as compared with the appropriation for 1934? Mr. NELSON. There is a decrease of $20,359 in salaries, and a curtailment of 1934 working funds of $66,246. A portion of the gross saving of $182,787 is offset by transfers to this appropriation, with corresponding curtailments in others of $25,729, and new positions. added, amounting to $13,608. The curtailment of 1935 working funds is $96,182. We have an apparent increase of $16,294 from the transfer of the motor transport service. We are recommending the abolition of the appropriation for "Compensation, mechanical shops and power plant. The employees connected with the motor transport service, and the consulting engineer are recommended for transfer to the appropriation "Salaries, Office of the Secretary", in order that we may eliminate the other appropriation. The motor transport service is a general trucking service provided for the Department. We have a consolidated pool that involves a total of 21 ordinary trucks and 1 armored truck used for handling the cash from the Treasury Department, and that service is utilized by all bureaus of the Department for messenger service, the movement of mail to and from the post office, and general trucking facilities. Mr. SANDLIN. I notice on page 3 of your justification you have a statement of work done under this appropriation. Does that cover it in detail, or can you add anything to it? Mr. NELSON. I think that is a very fair statement of the responsibilities of the Office of the Secretary, which is supervisory and general, and has some particular functions assigned to it. Mr. JUMP. The best statement, however, of the work done under the appropriation, I think, is in the detailed project statement beginning on page 8 of the committee print. That shows exactly the units that are covered by this appropriation. Mr. SANDLIN. Beginning with the heading "By activities or projects"? Mr. NELSON. Yes, sir. Mr. JUMP. There are 14 divisions. That is really an organization list. METHOD FOLLOWED IN MAKING REDUCTION IN PERSONNEL Mr. THURSTON. When you make reductions in the different units, are they proportional as between the high-salaried employees and the lower-salaried employees? Do you take a proportion of each, or are the reductions made in some one group or class? Mr. JUMP. I do not think that it would be either of those, Mr. Thurston. In this particular unit there has been very little reduction in personnel. There has been some reduction in personnel and considerable in our personnel expenditures, through dropping positions, but not much that would involve the point you have in mind. Mr. THURSTON. Do you take some from each grade, I mean, or do you take them from just one grade? Mr. JUMP. No; they are scattered. For instance, when we effected the reductions that were necessary this year, my recollection is that several of the positions abolished were up in the higher grades one or two in the $4,600 grade. Is not that correct, Mr. Nelson? Mr. NELSON. Yes, sir. Mr. JUMP. Among the attorneys, and so forth. Mr. NELSON. The highest one was $4,800. The employee died, and we did not replace him. Mr. THURSTON. In separating an employee from the service, when you take one, we will say, of a certain grade, if that certain person wanted to stay at a reduction, would he be given the privilege of doing that, or would he go out and a person of a somewhat lower grade, with lesser experience, be retained? Mr. JUMP. I think that could be answered by this statement of policy. In effecting the reductions that have had to be made, we have tried to be as considerate as possible and to remember always the human character of the element that we are dealing with, and wherever it was possible to do so we have found places for people dropped. Mr. THURSTON. For instance, take someone who has been employed, we will say, for 15 years. You find that you can get along without his services; whereas that same person may be trained and fully conversant with the duties assigned to a person, we will say, who has been in the service 10 years. Would you drop the person with 10 years' experience or the person with 15 years' experience? Mr. JUMP. You mean that the two men would be equally interchangeable on the work? Mr. THURSTON. Yes. Dr. STOCKBERGER. We have had several cases where the services of the man with the shorter experience have been finally terminated and a man with longer experience has taken his place. That is done wherever it is possible. Mr. NELSON. Other things being equal, the man with the longer service would be retained, under the President's rule for separations from the service. ELIMINATION OF POSITION OF DIRECTOR OF REGULATORY WORK Mr. SANDLIN. It is apparent that you have dropped the office of Director of Regulatory Work. Mr. NELSON. Yes, sir. Mr. SANDLIN. How did you find out that you did not need a position of that kind? Mr. JUMP. Mr. Campbell has held that position since it was first created in the early 1920's. In that time there has been considerable reorganization of the regulatory work of the Department, and Mr. Campbell himself has been anxious for the past 4 years to get back to the place where he could devote his full time to exclusive direction of the food and drug laws. Shortly before the beginning of the year he requested, and the Secretary approved, that he be allowed to relinquish this work and go back to the Food and Drug Administration, and it was decided simply not to make any appointment. It is one of the ways of meeting the financial situation. Mr. SINCLAIR. Then this regulatory work is not being done? Mr. JUMP. It is being done, but there is not any one individual in the Secretary's office who has exclusive direction of regulatory work. It comes up through the bureau channels the same as other types of work. Mr. SINCLAIR. Is it spread out over different bureaus? 35962-34- -2 Mr. JUMP. It has been so all along. It has been in the different bureaus all along, wherever the various laws were assigned for administration or enforcement. The Director of Regulatory Work was serving as a kind of clearing house. In case you wanted to come down and appeal from some ruling, you might go the the Director of Regulatory Work, if you did not want to go to the bureau chief, and he would call upon the bureau chief and get all sides of the case. That has been eliminated. If it is a matter that is under Doctor Mohler, it is taken up with him; if it is a matter relating to food and drugs, it will go directly to Mr. Campbell; and if you do not like the way they are handling it, you appeal to the Secretary and the Assistant Secretary, and it is handled as best we can. Of course, the solicitor also has considerable to do with the regulatory work, as all legal matters are passed upon by that office. Mr. SINCLAIR. Then, of course, the work is really going on just as efficiently as heretofore? Mr. JUMP. Oh, yes. It did not affect the continuation of the work. It was just one official serving as a central clearing house for administration of the regulatory laws, and the position has been eliminated. Considerable reorganization of the regulatory work has taken place since the position was created and of course in being occupied by Mr. Campbell the work was handled by probably the most capable administrator of such work in the Government. The question of whether the plan of having a departmental director for such work is entirely an efficient plan, involves some important points about which there are many varying opinions. Mr. NELSON. Shall I continue, Mr. Chairman? TRANSFER OF EMPLOYEES Mr. NELSON. The next item is an apparent increase of $9,435 as the result of the transfer to this appropriation, with a corresponding reduction in the appropriation of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, of five employees engaged in the regulatory activities under the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act. NEW POSITIONS An increase, on the 90 percent salary basis, of $11,340 to provide for an Under Secretary and a private secretary to that official. Secretary Wallace has already spoken with regard to that. An increase of $2,268, on a 90 percent salary basis, to provide for two additional telephone operators. In the fiscal year 1933 we dropped two telephone operators in anticipation of the economies that would be effected by the introduction of the automatic telephone system, but now, as this chart evidences, we have gone beyond our ability to handle the situation, not only in that the number of calls to be handled has increased materially, but because the office hours have been so greatly extended that it is necessary for us to make a proportionate increase in the period during which the switchboard is open. We have some complaints about the Department's telephone service. I believe that our girls are working harder than any other operators in the city of Washington in an effort to keep up with this |