The Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1913. THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXV, Issue 10713, 6 September 1913, Page 4

The Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1913. THE AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT.

The Public Service Commissioner's report is one of the most valuable documents that have been produced in the history of "the Dominion. It deals in a practical and comprehensive manner with every branch of the- public service under its jurisdiction, and suggests alterations which cannot fail to produce good results. Possibly there is no Department of the State in which there is greater room for reorganisation and co-ordination than the Agricultural Department. In his report,.the Commissioner says:— "This is a Department of great importance to the Dominion, which is conducted at a considerable annual cost. It is difficult to foresee the potentialities of such a Department, if properly organised and conducted on business methods which would give a maximum efficiency for the expenditure involved. It is unfortunately the case that the organisation, of the Department is about the last which should have been adopted. During the past few years a policy of excessive centralisation has 'been adopted, which cant only be described as calculated to

result in a minimum efficiency at a maximum expenditure, Thia is> not a Department in which the country is likely to take exception to» the cost, but it is certainly one in which the organisation should be such as to obtain the greatest value from the services of every officer employed, and this can only be done by an entire alteration of the present organisation, for which should be substituted a well-devised scheme of decentralisation. Under the present constitution oS the Department there are four divisions which are practically separate Departorients, over which is the head office, which repeats a good deal of the office work of the divisions. The divisions are aa rigid as it is possible to imagine, with the result that overlapping and waste of force is present in a marked degree, and, if the ' mass of evidence " which has * been obtained is to be relied upon, friction ia altogether too much in evidence. The two main divisions are the Live Stock and Meat Division and the Fields and Experimental Farms Division. Two others are the Orchards, Gardens and Apiaries Division and the Dairy Produce Division. The two latter are relatively small and compact, and present no great difficulties of management. In the two large divisions the organisation is broadly as follows: — In the Live Stock and Meat Division there is a director, who is a professional officer, an assistant director, a chief veterinarian, several socalled supervising veterinarians, ordinary veterinarians, and a great number of live stock inspectors.' In the Division ,of Fields and Experimental Farms there is a director, ail assistant , and a large number of inspectors of fatbits and noxious weeds."

The Commissioners deal at considerable length with the operations of the various divisions, and have no difficulty in showing that the overlapping of work is proving very costly and de-, triniental to the efficiency of the Department. They see no difficulty at all in devising a perfect re-organisa-tion. - The Dominion should, they say, be divided into workable districts, and a veterinary, oficer who has some gift for administration placed in charge of the Live Stook Division, to which should be added the rabbits and noxious weeds inspectors. He should be given ai thoroughly competent chief clerk and such staff as may be found necessary. This would immediately do away with the overlapping which at present exists, and enable the inspectors in the district to be properly oontrolled. It is said that there is a good deal of fear, on the part of matty inspectors, chat if this happen* ed they would be found unnecessary. It seeihs to the Commissioners, howr ever, that if there are incompetent or superfluous inspectors, the sooner this happens the better. As this arrangement would leave the Fields Division in a workable condition, the present fields supervisors could be placed . in cliarge of districts similarly, with a competent chief clerk; There is no reason wlij- aJi should not work,, in the same building, These suggestions will probably, be brought before the Board of Agriculture when it is set up, and there is* reason to hope that a scheme will be evolved which will make, for greater efficiency in administration.