AVOIDABLE WASTE.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 July 1920, Page 4

AVOIDABLE WASTE.

The acute shortage of paper for printing purposes is likely to lead to economies at the Government Printing Offlca. It may be that the deplorable wastage that takes, place year by year over Government publications may draw attention to economies that can be carried out with advantage in other departments. All that is needed is the institution ,of thorough business methods in all Government departments, and the economies that could be effected would go far to provide some of the urgent needs for which no funds are available. Waste has a demoralising effect, and should be eliminated ruthlessly. The Government Printing Office offers an exceptionally favorable field of energy for the use of the pruning knife. Tons of paper are wasted annually, besides the cost of printing, in connection with departmental reports occupying many pages, but capable of being condensed into concise statements, and many of these need not be printed at all, but merely typed in small numbers. The same with voluminous statistics and returns, the latter being frequently called for and not put to any good service. Probably the two most glaring exhibitions of waste that the public are most familiar with are the Gazette and Hansard, both of which could, and should, be drastically reformed. Members may naturally claim to be supplied with Hansard.* free copies of which should also be supplied to the Press and all public libraries, but out' side these only a limited number of copies should be provided for sale at a price which will help to pay for the cost of what may clearly be termed a dreary luxury. In the case of the Gazette, there is urgent need for common sense, business-like methods superseding the antiquated and useless .surplusage and formalities, which are repugnant to this matter-of-fact age. Reduced to bare necessities, the Gazette would be quite as effective—possibly more so—than at present, and an enormous saving could ba effected in the size,, as well a3 in the number printed; The calls on the Government Printing Office have grown beyond all reason, while the increased cost of production has soared abnormally This department has always needed the presence of a strong man of business at the head to discriminate between the useful and the useless. The present Minister for Internal Affairs (Mr. Anderson), who controls the Government printing, is well qualified fop„the work, having been through the printing mill, but he will need to have the support of all his colleagues in the Cabinet if he is to institute a rigid system of judicious economy. In times like the present exceptional means are necessary to prevent the expenditure of a shilling more than is absolutely necessary. Therefore it is a fitting opportunity to institute a new departure from the methods now in vogue, and members of the House should do al! in their power, to save the waste of public money. By severely cutting down the State's annual printing bill, the Minister will cam the approval of the country. A successful achievement in this direction will have a stimulating effect in encouraging she other departments to practk-e that economy for which there exists an insistent deinanrl.