Conference of Officers in Charge of Government Hospitals Serving Veterans of the World War
History
Conference of Officers in Charge of Government Hospitals Serving Veterans of the World War
Medicine, Military; Military hospitals; World War, 1914-1918 -- Veterans -- Medical care -- United States
It was not the Secretary of the Navy who had really been responsible for
the first decision. It was some fellow along down the line, without the
bird’s-eye view, who has been safe for a hundred years from the eye of a
central authority, thinking in terms of the whole government—doing what
he believed his duty, I admit, in directing things for the best
interests of his unit, but who, without the bird’s-eye view would have
thrown the Government into an unnecessary expense of a million dollars.
It then developed when the Coast and Geodetic Survey people went to get
the mine sweepers, that they were in process of repair; that the engines
were disassembled. Now the Coast and Geodetic Survey had no
appropriation available for repairing work and so the Navy said, “We
won’t spend our money on those ships.”
“Why?”
“Because the President of the United States told us to be economical.”
Now supposing there had not been in existence an agency acting under the
President, such as the one here presided over by General Sawyer which
could see what was really involved in that action on the part of the
head of that subordinate unit of the Navy. Because the Navy wanted to
save a repair bill of $10,240.00 the Government would have spent
unnecessarily $1,000,000 for new ships. Do not think that was an unusual
case! It was almost always so in the old days.
Now nobody has been more anxious than the Secretary of the Navy to
cooperate in those matters but he must have information,—and you must
have the information,—to enable one to cooperate. All that was necessary
for me to do was to write to the Secretary of the Navy, that unless
these ships were repaired out of the Navy appropriation at a cost of
$10,240 we would have had to ask for a million dollars appropriation for
new ships. But what if that information had not been given?
The existence of these agencies is necessary to enable this Government
to be run on a business basis. I have given you a simple illustration in
connection with the ships. We transferred thirteen ships with the
acquiescence of the heads of the departments concerned by simply
developing the bird’s-eye view of the situation without ever taking the
matter up with the President, except for the issuance of the Executive
order by agreement.
The patriotic head of a unit really welcomes this system by which he is
given the information which enables him to run the activities of his
particular institution in the interest of the Government as a whole.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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