They had 49 mine sweepers; and they were going out of commission. If they went to the Coast and Geodetic Survey, they would be kept in commission and would not deteriorate so rapidly. What is more, if they didn’t go to the Geodetic Survey, the United States would have to ask for a million dollars to build new ships.
That matter was taken back and proper attention given to it with this knowledge of the whole situation and the Secretary of the Navy joined in the request that the ships be transferred.
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.