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OCR for page 85
CHAPTER V
CENTRAL FINANCIAL CONTROL IN MASSACHUSETTS
Although the legislation which during the past ten years has built
up a thoroughgoing system of central financial control in Massachu-
setts has not been so widely known as that of Illinois, the results
achieved have been strikingly similar. The steady growth of con-
trolling authority in the hands of financial officials has been so
remarkable that special attention will be given to it.
GENERAL VIEW OF THE LEGAL PROVISIONS
For a few years central control in Massachusetts seemed to be likely
to rest directly in the state legislature rather than in the executive;
but the change in the political situation in 1916 which restored the
Republican party to complete power, and the work of the Constitu-
tional Convention in 1918, combined to establish a very broad
executive control, now operating through the Commission on Adminis-
tration of Finance.
This legislation had its inception in a law of 191026 by which the
governor was authorized to pass upon all estimates and proposals for
revenue. It should be said that for many years estimates of expendi-
ture had been prepared by the various agencies and tabulated, but
not reviewed by the state auditor. The legislation of 1910 undertook
for the first time in the American states to vest-in-the governor power
of budget control. The measure failed, owing primarily to the lack
of staff assistance to enable the governor to make intelligent criticism,
and in part to the difference in political views held by the governor,
a Democrat, and the legislature, controlled by the Republican party.
Two years later, the same political situation prevailing, the legisla-
ture resumed full control of the budget-making process, and at the
same time provided machinery for the review and revision of esti-
mates by a Commission on Economy and Efficiency.27 This Commis-
sion, although appointed by the governor, was required to report to
the legislature, and for the first time in 1913 presented a set of
revised estimates. Since this date, the estimates of the different
departments have been subject to revision by some central state
25 The legislature, however, still plays an important role in making appropria-
tions, and leadership in budget affairs is shared by the governor and the Joint
Ways and Means Committee. The best exposition of the financial policy of
the state is still to be found in the budget speech of the chairman of the House
Ways and Means Committee.
"Laws of 1910, ch. 220.
7 Laws of 1912, ch. 719.
85
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86
FINANCIAL CONTROL OF RESEARCH
authority. In 1916 the Commission was replaced by an official known
as the supervisor of administration, with the same power of budget
review.28 The trend of opinion was, however, toward an executive
budget, a trend which was emphasized by the complete restoration of
the Republican party to power in the state in 1916.
Two important events occurred in 1918 to emphasize this tendency,
one, the enactment of a budget act by the General Court, establishing
the principle of executive leadership and responsibility in financial
matters; the other, the approval of a constitutional amendment to
the same purpose.29 The statute required every officer and board to
submit annually to the supervisor of administration statements show-
ing the amounts appropriated for the current fiscal year, and estimates
of the amount required for the ensuing fiscal year. "The supervisor of
administration shall study and reviewer all estimates and requests for
appropriations and shall make such investigations as may be neces-
sary to enable him to prepare a budget for the governor, setting forth
such recommendations as the governor shall determine upon." The
budget was required to contain in detail definite recommendations of
the governor relative to the amounts which should be appropriated.
In 1919 the legislature enacted an important act which consolidated
over two hundred government offices into twenty departments, plus
several which were attached directly to the governor's office.30 This
legislation brought into play the principle of subordination of small
offices to a large department and greatly simplified the process of
administering the budget and other phases of central control. In
contrast with similar statutes in other states, the Agricultural College
at Amherst was made a part of the Department of Education.3t
The present controlling machinery is the product of a statute enacted
in 1922.32 This law established the Commission on Administration
and Finance, a body consisting of four members appointed by the
governor and council for terms of four years, one retiring annually.
As the governor's term is two years, no governor can control the com-
mission during his first tern; a tradition of one reselection for the
governor, however, prevails in Massachusetts, and to date the com-
mission has been thoroughly in sympathy with the financial plans of
the governor. The commission is organized into three bureaus a
comptroller's bureau, a budget bureau, and a purchasing bureau and
includes a division of personnel and standardization. When the com
28Laws of 1916, ch. 296.
Laws of 191S, oh. 244, Amendment 63.
lo Laws of 1919, ch. 350.
31 The history of the Massachusetts budget is ably developed by Luther Gulick
The Evolution of the Budget in Massachusetts.
32 Laws of 1922, ch. 545.
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IN STATE GOVERNMENTS
87
mission acts as a board, each commissioner has an equal voice; in
case of a tie vote,- the board calls upon the governor to decide the
issue. Practically all elements of the present Massachusetts system
of financial control now center in this commission, to wit: accounting
control; budget making; purchasing; control of printing; control of
out-of-state travel; and determination of questions of personnel. Its
importance is therefore obvious.
Before proceeding to the description of the operation of the Massa-
chusetts system, brief attention will be given to the development of
other phases of central control. Prior to 1916 the supervisor of
accounts in the auditor's office was authorized to inquire into the
methods used in purchasing supplies and to recommend changes to
the auditor. This power does not seem to have been used effectively;
and in 1916 it was transferred to the newly created office of supervisor
of administration. The supervisor was authorized, after a hearing,
and with the consent of the governor and council, to make rules and
regulations governing the purchase of stores. For the next three
years, study of purchasing methods was carried on which resulted
in a recommendation for central purchasing of office furniture, equip-
ment, supplies and stationery.33 This recommendation was adopted
in 1919 and made a part of the reorganization act of that year.34
Complete centralization of purchasing has not, however, been accom-
plished; and scientific apparatus and supplies in particular are still
purchased as a rule by the department or division concerned.
Some degree of supervision over printing was found as early as
1902. In that year a State Board of Publication was created "to
examine the annual reports and all special reports and other docu-
ments issued by the Commonwealth and to define the form and content
thereof." Any special reports were allowed if deemed by the Board
of Publication "to be of practical utility." Statements of the scope
and estimates of the size of each publication were required to be sub-
mitted to the Board of Publication in which was vested power to
determine the number of pages, and the inclusion of ~naps, plans,
photogravures, or other illustrations. An appeal to the governor and
council was allowed.35 The general statutes of 1860 authorized the
secretary of the Commonwealth, with the advice and consent of the
governor and council, to omit all unnecessary and improper portions
of departmental reports, but this power does not appear to have been
edective.36 In 1916 the power of the Board of Publication was trans
38 House Document 1378, 1919.
34 Laws 1919, ch. 350, sec. 17-23.
35 Laws 1902, ch. 438.
General Statutes 1860, ch. 4, sec. 2.
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88
FINANCIAL CONTROL OF RESEARCH
ferred to the supervisor of administration, and in 1922 to the Com-
mission on Administration and Finance. [Discussion of the operation
of printing control will be found below.
In 1916 a special committee of the governor's council commenced
a study of the salary problem in Massachusetts, assisted by the super-
visor of administration. Subsequently a standardized salary scale
was established for all positions in the state service, and its adminis-
tration was given to the supervisor of administration, later the director
of the personnel division of the Commission on Administration and
Finance. The control over personnel has since 'extended to include
not only the determination of salary levels and the assignment of
specific positions to their appropriate grade but also the power to
approve the filling of every vacancy and the establishment of every
new position. No new position can be created and no vacancy filled
without the prior approval of the commission. This authority is
intended to guard against the retention of unnecessary employees, but
it is-obvious that it also furnishes a means by which the expansion
of a division can be influenced and the special lines of development
largely controlled.
A scientific bureau or institution in Massachusetts is therefore
subject to control in the following particulars:
1. Its estimates of expenditures are reviewed and may be reduced by
the budget commissioner.
2. Its accounting methods are fixed by the Commission on Adminis-
tration and Finance.
3. Its printing is controlled by the commission as to substance,
form, and amount.
4. Its salary 'schedules are governed by the director of personnel.
5. Appointments to vacancies or new positions are controlled by the
director of personnel.
6. Purchasing of most standardized equipment, not including as a
rule laboratory supplies and equipment, is governed by a purchasing
agent.
7. Travel out of the state is governed by the budget commissioner
acting on behalf of the governor.
In all cases an appeal may be taken to the governor or to the
governor and council or to the Finance Committee of the council
against decisions of the Commission on Administration and Finance
or its members acting individually.
ACCOUNTING CONTROL
Accounting control was transferred in 1922 from the state auditor
to the Comptroller's Bureau of the Commission on Administration and
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IN STATE GOVERNMENTS
S(3
Finance. As no special significance attaches to the supervision of
state accounts in Massachusetts, further reference to this phase of
the work of the commission will be omitted.
BUDGET CONTROL
The law concerning budget operations has remained essentially
unchanged since its enactment in 1918. Every officer or board submits
annual estimates to the budget commissioner (a member of the Com-
mission on Administration and Finance) showing in detail the requests
for the ensuing fiscal year. New or special purposes or objects are
separately submitted. The budget commissioner studies and reviews
all estimates and requests for appropriations, makes such investiga-
tions as may be necessary, and prepares a budget for the governor,
containing his detailed recommendations. The law authorized the
governor to submit supplementary budgets and the practice now is
for the governor to submit one supplementary budget containing
estimates made necessary by current legislation, or made possible by
enlarged revenues.
At the time the estimates are under consideration by the budget
commissioner, the heads of departments are called into consultation
with him to explain and defend their departmental estimates. Divi-
sion heads usually are not called in consultation. The decision of the
budget commissioner is not known until the printed budget appears
about the second or third week in January. The budget is considered
by the Joint Ways and Means Committee of the General Court before
which appear the budget commissioner and the heads of departments
and institutions. The latter are entirely free again to make the state-
ment of their case and to request the committee to override the recom-
mendation of the budget commissioner and the governor; but such a
request is seldom heeded. Thus only about $400,000 was added to the
governor's budget in 1924, on a recommendation of about $42,000,000.
The budget commissioner, governor, and Ways and Means Committee
have thus far been nearly a unit in their views of desirable expendi-
tures. This brings it about that the decisions of the budget commis-
sioner acquire a potency which is easily exaggerated. To administra-
tive officials it sometimes appears that the budget commissioner alone
is in effect deciding how much money they shall be allowed during the
next fiscal year. This is true, of course, only in so far as the governor
and Ways and Means Committee sustain his recommendations. To
the extent, however, that either of these authorities is unable by
pressure of business, lack of time, or other considerations, to examine
carefully the claims of the Various departments for increased expendi-
tures, the original recommendation of the budget commissioner is in
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FINANCIAL CONTROL OF-RESEARCH
eject conclusive. As a matter of fact, important controversial claims
for expenditure are examined with some care by the Ways and Means
Committee and by the governor.
The policy of the budget authorities and of the legislature for the
last five years has; been to enforce rigid economy in state expenditures.
The total original estimates and the budget recommendations for
these years are shown in the following table:
TABLE XXI.-Table Showing Budget Reductions in Massachusetts.a
Year
1920...........
1921. .
1922......
1923......
1924. . . . . .
Original Budget
estimates recommendations
48,338,640 36,696,349
. 51,947,688 40,043,110
. 49,987,341 42,146,943
. 51,865,264 42,114,247
. 49,950,924 41,903,069
Decrease
11,642,291
11,904,578
7,840,398
9,751,017
8,047,855
a Figures taken from budget speech of Henry L. Shattuck, chairman of Ways
and Means Committee.
This policy naturally tends to create a certain amount of friction
between the departments which properly see: the desirability of
enlarged expenditures in connection with their work and the budget
officials, who strive, primarily, to reduce expenditures to a minimum.
Yet if it is remembered that the ultimate decisions on the amount of
money appropriated are those of the General Court and the governor,
and that the departments have a full opportunity to present their case
before the budget commissioner, the governor and the Ways and
Means Committee, it is apparent that the budget commissioner is in
no proper sense of the word a clog on the development of the financial
support of the different services. The amount appropriated has always
fallen short of the amount requested. This was true in pre-budget
days and has been true since. In pre-budget days in Massachusetts,
however, appropriations were made in a hit or miss fashion and
deficits made up through bond issues; since the adoption of the budget
system the legislature attempts to provide a well-balanced program,
based on a thorough advance study of the relative needs of the
departments.
The following table shows the original estimate, approved estimate,
the decrease recommended, the appropriation, and its increase over
the approved estimate for recent years. From this table it appears
that the supervisor of administration and the budget commissioner
have made almost invariable cuts in the requests of the scientific
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IN STATE GOVERNMENTS
TABLE XXII.
91
Scientific unit
1924
Department of Agriculture:
Ornithology.................
Agricultural Information......
Department of Conservation:
Biological Work..............
Department of Mental Diseases:
Investigation.................
Department of Health:
Antitoxin and Vaccine.........
Wasserman Laboratory........
Food and Drugs. . .
Water and Sewage Laboratory. .
Agricultural Experiment Station. .
1923
Department of Agriculture:
Ornithology.......
Agricultural Information ;
Department of Conservation:
Fish and Game Biological Work.
Department of Mental Diseases:
Investigation.......
Department of Health:
Antitoxin and Vaccine....
Wasserman Laboratory........
Food and Drugs..............
Water and Sewage Laboratories.
Agricultural Experiment Station . .
1922
Department of Agriculture:
Ornithology.............
Agricultural Information. .
Department of Conservation:
Biological work...........
Department of Mental Diseases:
Investigation.............
Department of Health:
Antitoxin and Vaccine.....
Wasserman Laboratory....
. . . .
Original
estimate
7,400
13,880
9,510
16,000
76,136
17,800
63,418
38,761
1 109,985
.
7,677
17,125
9,350
25,000
63,070
15,500
43,750
35,835
92,420
5,475
17,385
Ap
proved
estimate
5,000
11,500
6,500
7,000
75,000
17,000
56,360
38,700
94,000
5,000
13,700
6,800
5,000
62,000
15,400
43,750
35,700
83,000
4,150
13,700
9,630 6,700
3,000 3,000
57,457
.... 14,980
* Decrease.
Indicates a supplementary appropriation.
55,500
14,280
, 8 2,950
De
crease
2,400
2,380
3,010
9,000 1
1,136
200
7,118
61
15,985
2,677
3,425
2,550
20,000
1,070
100
o
135
9,420
1,325
3,685
2,930
o
1,957
700
Appro
priation
6,400
11,500
6,500
7,000
75,000
17,800 _
S 189
57,300 1,000
82,270
38,700
8 1 ~ ooo
Not obt
Increase
1,400
o
o
o
o
2()n
5,000
13,700
6,800
25,000 20,000
65,620 3,620
16,600 1,200
48,750 5,000
37,200 1,500
84,750 1,750
4,150
13,700
o
ainable
o
o
o
6,700
3,000
60,100
12,257
8 2,950
o
o
o
o
4,600
* 2,023
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92
Scientific unit
Food and Drugs.......
Water and Sewage Laboratories.
Agricultural Experiment Station. .
1921
Department of Agriculture:
Ornithology....
Agricultural Information
Department of Conservation:
Biological Work.......
Department of Mental Diseases:
Investigation.................
Department of Health:
Antitoxin and Vaccine........
Wasserman Laboratory........
Food and Drugs..............
Water and Sewage Laboratories.
Agricultural Experiment Station. .
.......
.......
FINANCIAL CONTROL OF RESEARCH
TABLE XXII. Continued
Original Ap- De- Appro
estimate proved crease priation
estimate
42,65042,00065042,000
600 8 600
36,64535,90074536,400
8 225 8 225
90,91077,30013,61077,300
5,0654,1509154,405
15,59012,7002,89014,223
~ 1,000
9,9557,1402,8156,450
7,0004,0003,0002,993
51,98551,60038553,110
9,8679,70016714,283
44,03043,17086040,833
36,30034,8251,47534,304
136,76176,80059,96174,800
In
crease
o
o
500
o
o
300
1,523
* 690
* 1,007
1,510
4~,416
* 2,337
*521
*2,000
* Decrease.
s Indicates a supplementary appropriation.
agencies, and in many cases very substantial cuts on a percentage
basis. The legislature has on the whole tended to make a partial
restoration of these cuts, but in general follows rather closely the
recommendations of the budget commissioner.
true in 1922 and 1924.
Table XXIII shows the appropriations for a recent period
of years for a number of scientific institutions and the corresponding,
figure for the whole state. The figures were taken from the appropria-
tion acts, except in the case of the Agricultural Experiment Station,
figures for which were compiled from data given in the annual budgets.
It was not possible to segregate additions and betterments as in
analogous tables in earlier chapters.
If the year 1920 be taken as a base, the annual variation appears
as shown in Table XXIV. This table indicates clearly that the
appropriations for scientific purposes have more than held their own
in comparison with total state appropriations.
This was especially
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IN STATE GOVERNMENTS
93
TABLE XXIII. Appropriations to Certain Scientific Divisions in Massachusetts,
1920 - 1924.a
Scientific unit
Division of Ornithol
ogy. .. . ..
Division of Agricul
tural Information. .
Biological Work.....
Department of
Mental Diseases:
Investigation . . ..
Department of
Health:
Antitoxin and
Vaccine.......
Wasserman
Laboratory. . .
Food and Drugs.
Dater and Sew
age Labora
tories......
Agricultural Experi
ment Station......
Totals........
State Appropriations.
1920 19211922 1923
.
4,070 4,4054,150 5,000
. 14,450 15,22313,700 13,700
. 6,530 6,4506,700 6,800
. 8,000 2,9933,000 25,000
. 56,240 53,11060,100 65,620
.......... 14,283 15,207 16,600
39,750 40,833 42,600 48,750
33,500 34,304 36,625 37,200
. 56,000 74,800 77,300 84,750
_ . . .
. 218,540 246,401 259,182 313,420
.
43,449,091 42,677,958 45,811,913 49,293,120
1924
6,400
11,500
6,500
7,000
75,000
17,989
59,570
39,700
b 85,000
308,659
44,277,792
a Compiled from annual budgets.
b Estimated
TABLE SHIV.
Year
1920......
1921..................
1922..................
1923..................
1924. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
State
100
98
105
111
106
Scientific divisions
100
112
118
143
141
Consultation with the heads of departments and with the directors
of many scientific divisions did not reveal dissatisfaction with the
budget-making process. There was criticism of the individual deci
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94
FINANCIAL CONTROL OF RESEARCH
signs made by the budget commissioner, and a feeling that in some
cases there existed lack of sympathy with the work of the division
concerned. Some scientific divisions, however, secured practically
everything they requested. On all sides it was agreed that the law
provided adequate opportunity for the presentation of the requests of
the departments; but it was frequently asserted that in practice the
opportunity to confer with the budget commissioner or to appear
before the Ways and Means Committee was, in fact, fruitless. This
assertion means in erect that the need did not appear urgent enough
to the budget authorities to warrant additional expenditure; and while
this may appear at times as a hardship, it is an inconvenience which
all public authorities must necessarily accept as a condition of their
status. The view of the ultimate political authorities of the state as
to the extent to which they wish to support research is of course an
important issue, but after all not the issue to which this report is
addressed.
It would be desirable from the point of view of the scientist to be
subj ect solely to the review of a body of fellow scientists; but,
inasmuch as the source of financial support is the general treasury-
supported by taxation there seems no escape from the conclusion
that their requests must also be reviewed by the authorities responsible
for the levy, collection, and appropriation of public funds.
The Massachusetts budget is not highly itemized. The usual appro-
priation carries two items of a general character personal services,
and travel and other expenses and may carry further items for special
work. Except for the salaries of the heads of departments, individual
salaries are rarely specified. This does not, however, imply much
discretion in the department or head of a scientific bureau, because
there is a strict administrative control of salary scales which in Massa-
chusetts replaces the legislative control found in other states.
There is no system of departmental or division contingent funds.
The various estimates are figured out closely and no leeway is left to
the operating bureau except as it is free to modify the allotment of
funds suggested in the detailed budget and provided by the appropria-
tion act. A single contingent fund exists for the payment of extraor-
dinary expenses and for transfer to cover deficiencies, with the
approval of the governor and council. Table XXV shows the amount
of this fund for recent years.
It should be noted that heads of departments and divisions are free
to change the apportionment of funds within an appropriation from
the original apportionment made in the preliminary estimates. The
fact that Massachusetts has an annual appropriation also tends to
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IN STATE GOVERNMENTS
95
relieve somewhat the inelasticity frequently found in appropriation
acts. Not only is it easier to make accurate annual estimates but the
likelihood of unexpected demands for expenditure is less.
TABLE XXV.
Year Amount
1
1918 100,000
1919 100,000
1920 100,000
1921 100,000
, 1922 100,000
1923 100,000
I 1924 100,000
CURRENT REVIEW OF VOUCHERS
No machinery in Massachusetts corresponds to that found in
Illinois by which expenditures in general may be questioned on
grounds of expediency. Special cases analogous to the Illinois rule
do exist, however. Thus, proposed expenditures for personnel either
in filling a vacancy or creating a new position are subject to approval
of the director of the Division of Personnel and Standardization on
grounds of expediency. Proposed expenditures for printing are subject
to the same approval.
All vouchers, of course, pass through the auditor's office, where their
legality and correctness are checked before payment is allowed.
CENTRALIZED PURCHASING
A steady trend toward central purchasing has shown itself in Massa-
chusetts, so that at the present time staples and standardized material
purchased in large quantities are secured through a purchasing agent,
a member of the Commission on Administration and Finance. The
Department of Health has its own purchasing agent.
Consultation with the heads of scientific bureaus and departments
revealed no serious difficulty with purchasing methods. For the
purchase of scientific apparatus, a release can ordinarily be secured;
and for other special purposes, exact specifications, including the
particular brand and quality desired, ensure the purchase of satisiac-
tory supplies. To a substantial degree, therefore, scientific depart-
ments control the purchase of their scientific equipment and supplies.
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FINANCIAL CONTROL OF RESEARCH
THE CONTROL OF PRINTING
Of all the elements of central supervision, printing control at the
present time in Massachusetts is giving rise to the most acute difler-
ences of opinion, and furnishes perhaps the most extreme illustration
of the extension of the authority of financial officers.
The act establishing the Commission on Administration and Finance
vested in the Division of Personnel and Standardization authority "to
supervise the printing of the Commonwealth." This brief statement
served to transfer the power of the former supervisor of administration
to the commission. The supervisor of administration in turn suc-
ceeded to the duties of the old Board of Publication whose duties were
prescribed in the statute of 1902. They were "to examine the annual
reports and all special reports issued by or on behalf of the Common-
wealth by any public officer, board, or commission and to define the
form and content thereof." Public officers may in addition to their
annual reports make such special reports as shall be deemed by the
Board of Publication "to be of practical utility." The board was
authorized to determine the number of pages and the inclusion of
maps and illustrations "and no such report shall be published unless
it bears the certified approval of the state board of publication." An
appeal was allowed to the governor and council. After 1918 the
total number of each edition was to be fixed by the supervisor of
administration.37
The supervisor of administration used this power to a considerable
degree. The following table shows the extent in terms of reports
submitted, approved, and rejected:
TABLE XXVI.
Year
1916*.....
1917......
1918......
1919......
1920......
1921......
Total number Approved with
of reports Approved modifications
submitted
, .
114 83 27
328 277 51
296 192 101
394 not given not given
422 not given not given
488 not given not given
Rejected
4
1
3
not given
3
6
*From August 7 to December 31.
a7 Laws 1918, ch. 189.
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IN STATE GOVERNMENTS
97
The first report of the Commission on Administration and Finance
reveals a vigorous intention to eliminate as much printing as possible.
"For six years departmental reports and certain other publications of the
public document series have been edited. During the last year, editing has
been extended to include everything offered for printing. Each document is
first read to determine whether printing is justified. In the past the state has
printed an enormous quantity of unnecessary matter. The commissioner has
adopted the general rule that state printing should be limited to documents
required by law and those others which it is the duty of the state to print. In
accordance with this policy, the publication of many documents has been refused,
subject to the right of appeal to the governor and council.3S
"If it is decided that the document should be published, it is read again to
exclude any matter irrelevant and unnecessary. Annual reports of many depart-
ments had become voluminous, the authors failing to realize that a brief report
is more likely to be read." 39
In addition to editing, the Commission on- Administration and
Finance also determines the form of publication, the quantity to be
printed, and the kind of paper to be used. The results of this super-
vision are given by the commission as follows:
Cost of miscellaneous printing and paper in 1922........
Cost of miscellaneous printing and paper in 1923.........
Decrease ............................
- .$607,748
............... 406,278
........................... $201,475
There can be no doubt that in Massachusetts as in other states a
very large amount of unnecessary and extravagant printing has been
done. The demand for governmental saving has very properly insisted
upon more care in the amount and character of state printing.
The chief issue involved in the printing situation turns on the
advisability of allowing the Commission on Administration and
Finance power to deny ire toto the right of publication of a scientific
contribution approved by the scientific bureau or institution and by
the department of which it is a part. In law it is clear that the
commission possesses this power, and in fact it has used the power in
cases which have produced irritation and dismay in the minds of
scientists responsible for certain branches of scientific inquiry.
The writer has reached the conclusion from examination of the
situation in various states that the decision as to what should be
printed in the nature of a contribution to science prepared in the
regular course of work of a state bureau, and within the appropriation
made by the general court, should be made by the bureau subject only
to the supervision of the head of the department. The writer is not
unmindful of the difficulties involved in making an exception to a
principle which on the whole seems justified. It may be said that if
88 The exact number is not given.
"Public Document 140, pp. ~7, 1923.
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98
FINANCIAL CONTROL OF RESEARCH
an exception is made in favor of scientific publications, it will be
impossible in erect to draw the line between scientific and non-scien~
tific bureaus, and between scientific and quasi-scientific publications.
To draw such a line may be difficult, but a large part of administration
consists, in fact, of drawing and maintaining difficult lines of distinc-
tion. It may be said that scientists are no more inclined to care and
sound judgment in questions of what is wise to print than other men;
and there are cases enough of poor judgment to lend color to this
charge. The writer believes that some supervision is necessary and
suggests that the approval of the head of the department be required.
It must be remembered also that a check is found in the gross amount
of the appropriation which is automatic although undiscriminating.
On what grounds can the supervision of the department head be
justified while the supervision of the Commission on Administration
and Finance is denied? Primarily on the ground that the view of
the department head is more likely to be the correct view than that
of the budget commissioner. The head of the department, especially
in Massachusetts, is likely to be himself a professionally trained man
cognizant of the relative value of a research product. The members
of the Commission on Administration and Finance are likely to be
trained in accounting, business procedure and law, and are not usually
cognizant of the value of research products. The head of the depart-
~nent is in daily contact with the scientific bureaus, has an intimate
knowledge of their work, and a well-grounded estimate of the value
of research workers. The budget commissioner is in far less intimate
contact with the scientific bureaus, and then chiefly in connection
with the business phase of their work, and he has a less favorable
opportunity to form a judgment on the worth of scientific workers.
The head of the department usually has an opportunity to influence
the line of investigation undertaken by the research divisions; the
commission does not have this opportunity. The head of the depart-
ment is recognized by the chiefs of its divisions as their superior and
his judgment is likely to be accepted without friction or a feeling of
discontent; the commission is not recognized by scientific men as com-
petent to act as their superior in this respect and its decisions are
likely to be received with dissatisfaction and discontent.
Assuming that the state finds it necessary and desirable to carry
on a minimum amount of scientific research, it must provide the
conditions under which research can be accomplished. To do this
means conditions under which competent research men can be secured
and held in continuous employment. The lack of professional recog-
nition which comes from failure to publish results of scientific value
achieved through an investigation authorized by the bureau or institu
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IN STATE GOVERNMENTS
99
tion can have only harmful results. The fear induced by refusal of
some manuscripts is nearly as harmful as the outright refusal of many.
The edect is to cause the resignation of men with scientific training
and the ability to prosecute research which is not so common as
might be presumed- in order to take positions in which professional
recognition can be secured. From the point of view of even a narrow
efficiency, therefore, it is desirable to furnish incentives to research
men adequate to maintain a high morale. In state service, in contrast
with industrial research, those incentives cannot be found in salaries.
They can be found in large part in the professional recognition which
comes from the publication of meritorious scientific work. The ques-
tion of merit is best determined by the scientific division and
department.
The writer found the morale of several scientific groups seriously
impaired by the printing policy of the Commission on Administration
and Finance. Its continuance would seem likely to disrupt the scien-
tific divisions through the resignation of members of the staff and the
dissatisfaction of those who remain. A bill is pending in the present
session of the General Court to exempt research publications of the
Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station from the approval of
the Division of Personnel and Standardization, but it seems unlikely
that the bill will be passed.
THE CONTROL OF TRAVEL
No travel outside of the state is allowed except with the consent of
the governor, who has delegated his power of approval to the budget
commissioner. The commissioner handles each case individually, but
is likely to allow one trip a year outside the state in order to attend
a scientific convention or meeting.
There is a feeling of dissatisfaction with this solution of the travel
problem. It has been suggested on behalf of the Agricultural College
that the budget commissioner might properly fix the total amount of
out-of-state travel, allowing the college authorities to distribute the
amount for such purposes as should seem to them most desirable. This
would ensure a degree of control and at the same time leave some clis-
cretion in the use of the money to those who presumably are most
competent to decide upon the relative importance of different trips.
This policy would, of course, be feasible only if the institutions and
departments kept strictly within the amounts agreed upon; as soon
as any special request should be made for an additional amount, the
question of the use of the funds originally granted would necessarily
arise. The use of the money should be reported to the commission
also as a basis for budget making in the succeeding year.
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100 FINANCIAL CONTROL OF RESEARCH
THE CONTROL OF PERSON NEL
Central control of personnel by an administrative once has been
more fully developed in Massachusetts than in the other states included
in this study. Prior to 1918 salary scales and salary increases were
governed by no general or established rule; the treatment of each
department was approximately in accordance with the degree of
insistence of its director. The resulting situation is best described in
the words of the Council Committee on Standardization of Salaries.~°
"One of the greatest weaknesses of our State service appears to have arisen
from the fact that each department has been practically an independent unit,
exercising virtual control and discretion over the duties, qualifications and com-
pensation of its own employees. Such-- clerical force has been employed as the
department head has deemed advisable- the only check upon expenditures being
oftentimes the limitation in the amount of appropriation obtainable for carrying
on the work. To secure such appropriations it has been frequently necessary
to exert strong pressure on the Council and Legislature.
"In consequence of the above situation, there are at present almost as many
different methods of dealing with the employment problem as there are organi-
zation units. While the creation of the Commission on Economy and Efficiency
was an endeavor to check somewhat undue expenditures in this as in other
directions, there has been no intensive effort heretofore to establish an all-
embracing practical plan of standardization. The lack of such standards is
evidenced by
Irregularity in rates of pay for similar or related work.
Multiplicity of titles, many of which are unnecessary and misleading.
Unsystematic and in many instances unjust methods for advancement and
promotion.
Great waste of energy and time on the part of the Council and Legislature
in discussing details of relatively small importance concerning personal
service, and without any adequate basis upon which to form proper
conclusions.
"Departments also perform their functions under difficulties because the admin-
istrative heads, absorbed with consideration of large policies, often give little
thought to the adjustment of the personnel of their offices, leaving such matters
to subordinates, many of whom have been so long in the service and become
so accustomed to established methods and traditions that they practically never
attempt to initiate changes to meet new conditions, or in any way to improve
departmental practice.
"Probably nothing has contributed as much to lower the standard of efficiency
of State employees as has the present haphazard and irregular way of advance-
ment and promotion and of fixing salaries. There is absolutely rho uniformity
of practice with respect to granting increases. Many salaries are raised auto-
matically up to a fixed maximum by statute regulation. Those thus affected
are stenographers, clerks, watchmen, policemen, etc. For other employments
increases are made the subject of individual action; necessitating the approval
either of the Council or the Legislature. For increases in statutory positions,
legislative hearings before at least two committees are necessary, followed by
4° House Report No. 1175, 1918. Report of the Special Committee of the
Executive Council on the Standardization of Salaries in the State Service.
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IN STATE GOVERNMENTS
101
action by both branches and final approval of the Governor. Delays under this
procedure are absolutely certain. Many meritorious requests are held up for
years, and seldom is action taken under several months. Action by the Council,
while far more expeditious, is not at all uniform, for lack of sufficient data on
which to make comparisons and appraisals. Even when special reports are
requested from the Supervisor of Administration, the lack of a basis on which
to form logical conclusions is painfully apparent.
"Because of this, modest and retiring employees not desiring the publicity or
uncertainty incident to a controversy before the Council or Legislature seldom
attain their just deserts. Others, more bold and worldly-wise, have not hesitated
to importune their political friends, and often through such influence and by
favoritism have been able to succeed even where no merit appears to have
warranted such action. There is also a great divergence of feeling on the part
of departmental heads concerning the recommending of salary increases-some
being ultra-conservative and others leaning in the direction of liberality.
"There is too little recognition of the competent and too great protection of
the incompetent. In many instances practically no premium is placed upon
demonstrated merit, efficiency or length of service."
The general court authorized the supervisor of administration to
classify all positions except those in the legislative and judicial depart-
ments.41 Such a classification was completed and installed. The
present Commission on Administration and Finance not only has
inherited the power to administer the classification, but has acquired
also the additional authority to approve the creation of all new posi-
tions and the filling of all vacancies, that is, no new position can be
established by a department and no vacancy can be filled except with
the consent of the commission, acting -through the Division of Per-
sonnel and Standardization.
Obviously, the purpose of this control is to eliminate unnecessary
positions. The determination of what is a necessary position is made
by the director of the division of personnel and standardization, sub-
ject to an appeal to the governor and council. The practical possibility
of prosecuting such appeals is limited. The effect of Resting this
control is to vest indirectly a broad power of determining the policy
of the various departments and institutions affected. Thus, if the
director of personnel disbelieves in the advisability of prosecuting a
given line of investigation, he can soon bring it to an end by refusing
to allow vacancies to be filled, or new appointments to be made. On
the other hand, if some activity seems to him to be desirable, he can
rapidly expand it by allowing all proposed expenditures for personnel
in that direction. The development of research is thus more or less
at the mercy of an administrator who makes his decisions on personnel
either on grounds which are unconnected with the desirability of
research, or on the grounds of the advisability of certain types of
4' Laws 1918, ch. 228.
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102 FINANCIAL CONTROL OF RESEARCH
investigation which he cannot normally be expected to be qualified
to judge. Enough evidence of this tendency was observed in Massa-
chusetts to make it clear that the issue is important.
Classification of salaries has another common disadvantage for
which no easy solution appears. The salary scales are fixed at certain
levels, usually with maximum and minimum figures, and increases are
made uniform in order to ensure equality and fairness of treatment
to all alike in accordance with demonstrated efficiency. In order to
ensure "equal pay for equal work" a certain degree of rigidity is pre-
sumably necessary. Such rigidity makes it impossible to meet a very
common circumstance; when a scientific worker is offered another
position at a substantial increase of salary, the state cannot retain
his services by meeting the offer at least part way. It is usually the
ablest men who in fact receive offers of employment elsewhere, and
there is thus a tendency, probably always existent in government
employment but intensified by classification of salaries and promo-
tions, to lose the best men in scientific work. An industrial laboratory
is perfectly free in this respect; if the director feels that the man is
worth a large increase, he can secure it and hold his staff together.
Endowed universities are perhaps midway between the state and the
industrial laboratory in this respect.
Conversation with scientific men in Massachusetts indicated that
the rigidity of salary scales had proved to be a detriment in some
cases. The fear was expressed that the eventual result would be to
hold in state service only men of moderate ability, or men with political
influence. The latter horn of the dilemma seems unlikely so far as
scientific employees are concerned.
Probably the more serious issue in the long run is to be found in the
fact that control over the program and policy of an institution or
department flows from the power to withhold approval of new positions
and the filling of vacancies. Within the limits fixed by the appropria-
tion, it seems clearly wiser to leave the development of each division
and institution to the responsible head thereof; and.in the case of
scientific agencies this seems to be particularly true on account of the
special character of the work which they perform. In order to ensure
economy it is entirely proper for the Commission on Administration
and Finance to require prior notice of appointments to vacancies or
new positions; and in the case of non-scientific positions in a scientific
agency it should be entitled to discuss the matter with the division
concerned, and, if desired, to bring the case to the attention of the
governor. So far as research appointments are concerned, the writer
feels that if the state desires supervision of such appointments, it
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IN STA TE GOVERNMENTS
103
might better be vested in a scientific council than in the Commission
on Administration and Finance.42
SUM MARY
More clearly than in other states the system of central financial
control in Massachusetts is proving a detriment to the conduct of
scientific investigation. Although some agencies of research have been
affected only to a slight degree, the morale of other agencies has been
seriously impaired. This has been due in part perhaps to the per-
sonality of the men who are responsible both for financial supervision
and the conduct of scientific work, but also in part to the law which
defines their respective responsibilities. The budget recommendations
of 1924 proved to be disappointing to many bureaus and institutions;
but in the judgment of the writer no issue presents itself in the budget-
making process. An issue is clearly present in the degree of control
exercised by the Commission on Administration and Finance with
regard to the editing of printing, and the refusal to print scientific
contributions; and with regard to the filling of vacancies and the
creation of new positions for scientific work, within the limits fixed
by the appropriation act. It would appear also that adequate control
of out-of-state travel could be secured and that at the same time
discretion as to the individual allotment of funds could be left in the
hands of the division or institution.
Bibliography. Commission on Economy and Efficiency, Annual and Special
Reports, 1913~1916, especially "Functions, Organization and Administration of
the Departments in the Executive Branch of the State Government," 1914.
(For a full list of its publications, see Weber, G. A., "Organized Efforts for the
Improvement of Methods of Administration," pp. 122-125), Supervisor of
Administration, Annual and Special Reports, 191~1922, Commission on Admin-
istration and Finance, Annual Report, 1920, et seg., Joint Special Committee
on Finance and Budget Procedure, Report on State Finances and the Budget,
House Document 1185, 1918; Commission on State Administration and
Expenditures, Report on State Administration and Expenditures, House
Document 800, 1922; Annual Budget Speech of Chairman of House Ways and
Means Committee, Annual Budgets, 191~1924, inclusive, Special Committee
of the Executive Council, Report on the Standardization of Salaries in the State
Service, House Document 1175, 1918, Auditor, Statement of General and
Special Appropriations and Expenditures.
Gulick, Luther H., The Development of the Budget in Massachusetts, Clev~e-
land, F. A., and Buck, E. A., The Budget and :ELesponsible Government, ch. 11
Lamb~e, M. B., Administrative Control in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
in 113 Annals 9~105; Maling, E. E., Financial Administration of the Common-
wealth of Massachusetts, in 62 Annals, pp. 102~112, a valuable unpublished
manuscript by Professor John M. Gaus, The New Problem of Administration
Illustrated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
~ Further reference to this council may be found on pages 121-122.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
financial control
