Mr.  Fitzgerald. —  too  extreme  as  a  start ;  but  to  make  it  a
matter  of  extraordinary  difficulty,  because  in  my  experience  I
have  not  known  any  embarrassment  of  any  substantial  character
to  come  to  any  department  of  Federal  government  because  they
did  not  have  sufficient  funds.  Now,  when  Mr.  Root  was  Secre-
tary of  State,  that  was  one  department  that  had  more  trouble,
perhaps,  in  gettting  the  assistance  that  was  required,  than  any
other  department  in  the  government,  and  there  has  in  recent
years  been  considerable  reorganization  and  extension  of  the
assistance  given  to  it.  I  have  no  doubt  the  organization  is
much  more  effective,  and  yet,  while  it  may  have  been  annoying
and  difficult  and  embarrassing  at  times  to  the  personnel  of
the  department,  no  substantial  interest  of  the  country  suffered
as  a  result  of  it.  There  is  something  that  the  people  forget,
that  it  is  not  the  personal  inconvenience  of  the  official  that
is  of  much  moment.  I  don't  worry  so  much  because  men  in
the  executive  departments  complain  that  they  cannot  get  home
to  dinner  —  when  Congress  is  in  session.  I  have  to  work  six
teen  to  eighteen  hours  a  day,  so  that  if  the  head  of  a  great
department  of  the  government  must  work  eight  or  nine  or  ten
or  eleven  hours  a  day,  it  is  the  best  indication  he  is  doini?
his  work  properly,  because  he  has  to  take  some  time  to  think
if  he  is  going  to  do  his  business  and  he  cannot  spend  his  time
away  from  his  work;  I  don't  mean  in  his  office,  but  the  heads
of  the  departments  in  our  Federal  system  must  do  considerable
work  apart  from  the  time  they  spend  in  their  office  hours,  or  the
departments  are  not  conducted  by  them ;  they  are  conducted  by
somebody  else.  Now,  it  may  embarrass,  and  there  are  times,  T
have  no  doubt,  when  there  is  great  personal  inconvenience  and
perhaps  personal  hardship  upon  some  employe  of  the  government
because  of  the  failure  of  Congress  to  do  some  one  thing  or  an-
other; but  no  substantial  interest  of  the  government  suffers,  as
far  as  I  have  known,  because,  after  all,  of  course  it  is  something
that  is  lost  sight  of,  as  soon  as  a  man  is  elected  to  Congress.
