William A. Jump

The retirement of William A. Jump from his position of director of finance and budget officer of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on November 30, 1948, after forty-two years of service in the department, is an event that causes deep regret not only to his associates in the department but also to his host of friends in Washington, in the field service, and in the American Society for Public Administration. His career as a public servant is and will remain a symbol of devotion to the public interest. His letter of resignation and President Truman’s letter of acceptance are public documents of such significance that they are reproduced in Public Administration Review as tokens of the high achievement of which the public service at its best is capable.*

United States Department of Agriculture

Washington, D. C.

November 30, 1948

Hon. Charles F. Brannan

Secretary of Agriculture

Dear Mr. Secretary:

When I last mentioned the subject of my retirement I had hoped to be able to remain on the job until after the first of the new year. During recent weeks, however; my physical condition has grown worse so rapidly that I now have no choice but to apply at once for disability retirement.

28After spending nearly 42 years in the Department I regret very much the necessity for leaving in such summary fashion. I had expected to retire at 60, about 3 years hence, and always took it for granted that when that time came I would have the usual opportunity to say goodbye, individually and in person, to my many friends and associates in the Department. Since that is not now possible, I should like to take this opportunity, through you as the head of the Department, to say goodbye and to thank each and every one for their kindness and cooperation over the years. There are no finer folks anywhere than those who comprise the Department of Agriculture. I have the deepest personal affection for them and I am going to miss them very much indeed.

Among many other things that I should like to say at this time there is one more that I feel I must say. I would be either the most ungrateful, or the least discerning person in the world if I left without saying it. And that is that there is no finer place in America than the Department of Agriculture in which to grow up and spend a lifetime, as I have done. I feel that I have been most fortunate in having had that privilege.

Not a week passes, even after all these years, that I am not stimulated by some new and fresh evidence of the spirit of true public service that is the strong foundation of the Department of Agriculture. Somehow, and in some way, the fact that from the beginning the Department has existed for the sole purpose of making life in America a better, richer and fuller experience, has resulted in an honest, vigorous and intensely realistic public service concept on the part of the staff of the Department, high and low, that is truly remarkable. This makes the Department a most stimulating and inspiring place in which to work. A member of the Department of Agriculture does not have the feeling that he is just helping to turn the wheels that make a large organization work; he feels he is a partner in a great enterprise. That has been my experience for 42 years. I know it is the experience of countless others in the Department who could not be tempted to work anywhere else. This institutional appreciation is a priceless asset. It could not be created by the use of money or by any of the modern methods of building a so-called “esprit de corps,” as important and desirable as that may be.

Of course, some will say that these are merely the enthusiastic, or over-enthusiastic, observations of a person who has spent his lifetime within the walls of the USD A. I admit to some vulnerability on that score and have tried all the more, therefore, to be objective about the Department. I would be the first one to admit or even assert that the Department is not perfect. There is no danger of this, but if it ever gets 29to be perfect it will become so self-centered as to be of little use as a public service institution. For many years my work has involved extensive and varied external relationships, both public and private. I have kept my eyes and ears open. The net result is that I am more deeply convinced than ever that in the USD A we have something quite unusual, whether measured by public or private standards.

We have become so accustomed to all this that sometimes it appears that we just take it for granted. But, as everyone knows, traditions have to be kept alive and passed forward. We are not static, which I think is very good since nothing would be more objectionable than an insulated or too highly inbred bureaucracy. Heads of the Department, bureau heads, and the personnel at large come and go. Even bureaus come and go as the cycle of organization and reorganization keeps in motion. It is noteworthy that regardless of the scope and degree of such changes and the strain they sometimes impose the traditions and ideals of the Department at large are kept alive by recognition by the officers and personnel generally of these great intangibles among our institutional assets and determination and eternal vigilance to keep it so from generation to generation. That is why I feel impelled to mention the traditions and public service ideals of the Department as one of the outstanding impressions I have at the close of a lifetime of sharing in this good and wholesome atmosphere.

In building such a valuable institutional tradition over the years the Department has had great help from the existence of certain characteristics or factors that have a bearing on all that it does. The relative virtue we have attained, it seems to me, has been tremendously influenced by some of these. No two people would agree on a list of such factors but some that I have seemed to see quite clearly are:

The impact of research on the character of the Department. The existence from the beginning of research and experimentation as the basic function of the Department has instilled a general respect for the eternal quest for the truth and a corresponding skepticism and scorn for sham, half-truth, conclusions not supported by facts, and so on.

The practice of maintaining the closest possible contact with the people themselves and their elected representatives in Congress in determining what constitutes sound policy and program at any given time. This has resulted in the desirable situation where there is no such thing in fact as a Department of Agriculture Program. For convenience, we refer to “USDA programs,” but over the years I sense that we have learned that the people’s programs are the only ones that have a sound and lasting place in a democracy. Occasionally, the Department pushes forward more rapidly than some people believe justified. This is desirable evidence of dynamic and progressive leadership 30 arising out of our public service concept. When the shakedown occurs we know the actual programs will and must be those the people want and support.

The collaborative and cooperative process. The great connectionalism (I know about the word “nexus” but its too simple a word to do justice to agricultural organization in the U.S.) in which the Department is involved with the land-grant colleges and other state agricultural departments and institutions, the farm organizations, the farmer committee systems, the cooperatives, the agricultural credit agencies, the industry and trade groups, the Congressional committees, and so on, has developed a philosophy of collaboration and cooperation that has made an imprint on the Department and its methods of thought and action that is unique in Government. While fulfilling the obligations of this vast and intricate pattern of relationships is burdensome at times, the results have made the United States the envy of the world where food and agriculture are concerned. A by-product is that the Department has been saved from becoming arrogant, self-sufficient, smug and too satisfied with itself. These are alleged to be common sins of bureaucracy. I say “alleged” because they are not nearly so prevalent as some would have the public believe and personally I don’t believe they exist in Government in as great degree as in private enterprise. While some, of course, say we have these sins (and doubtless we do, in spots, for temporary periods), I believe we have largely avoided the pattern of officialdom they suggest because we are, and must be, a part of this vast agricultural connectionalism.

The democratic process in internal administration. Arising, I believe, out of some of the factors mentioned above, the Department is distinctive in its practice of collaboration and cooperation in the development of policies and methods of internal administration and operation. This contributes tremendously to making the Department a wonderful place in which to work. I do not know of any place in the world where an arbitrary or unsound administrative policy or practice has less chance of survival than in the Department of Agriculture.

The Department also has been blessed throughout its history by high-grade leadership at the top. I have worked under eleven Secretaries of Agriculture, including the present Secretary, and every one of them has dedicated himself to the highest possible standards of public service. For years I have advanced the theory that “God looks out for the Department of Agriculture” in this respect. Whatever the reason, the fact remains that we have never had other than able men who understood and believed in the public service concept as Secretaries of 31Agriculture. That has been a big factor in maintaining the high character of the Department, both externally and internally.

It is a source of deep regret to me that I will not have the privilege of serving with you personally in the years ahead. I have always enjoyed working with you. Particularly; I have admired your courage and vigorous and consistent championing of the principles of public welfare, fairness and justice as applied to Government policies and programs. I wish you happiness and every success in your leadership in American agriculture as well as in the Department internally and I have no doubt you are going to continue to have an interesting and satisfying experience.

I appreciate all of the consideration which has been shown to me and will always be tremendously interested in what you and the Department of Agriculture are doing.

With warm personal regards,

Sincerely,

/s/ W. A. Jump

Director of Finance

The White House

Washington

December 21, 1948

My dear Mr. Jump:

I have received with a sense of deep loss the word that you are retiring from the government service. Few public servants have earned a rest as much as you have, and I send you every good wish as you relinquish your duties as Director of Finance and Budget Officer of the Department of Agriculture. In addition to my personal relationship with you, for which I shall always be grateful, I know that I speak for hundreds of others when I say that your retirement will create a void which will be hard to fill.

However; you have become a symbol of such a high standard of public service that we cannot think of your retirement as ending your career. Your example of selfless effort to improve public administration has blazed a wide and clear trail which is already being followed 32by many of your associates and will be followed by many others for a long time.

You carry with you the good wishes of your co-workers. It is a privilege and a pleasure to extend to you the thanks of the government which you have served through more than four decades with such self sacrificing devotion and fidelity.

Very sincerely yours,

/s/ Harry S. Truman

W. A. Jump, Esq.,

3247 Patterson Street, N. W.,

Washington, D. C.