“Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to be appointed to do work”

“Committees have become so important that a subcommittee has to be appointed to do the work” is a jocular saying that has been cited in print since at least April 1964, when it was credited to the August (KS) Gazette. “Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to be appointed to do the work” has frequently been credited to author Laurence J. Peter (1919-1990), but it’s likely that this is because Peter published a book of collected sayings.
   
 
1 April 1964, Des Moines (IA) Register, pg. 12, col. 2:
Committees have become so important that a subcommittee has to be appointed to do the work. Augusta (Kan.) Gazette.
 
10 June 1964, Wisconsin State Journal (Madison, WI), “Quick Quotes,” sec. 1, pg. 6, col. 5:
Committees have become so important that a subcommittee has to be appointed to do the work.—Augusta, Kan., Gazette.
 
23 August 1967, Atchison (KS) Daily Globe, pg. 1 banner:
Have You Noticed In Congress Committees Have Become So Important A Subcommittee Has To Be Appointed To Do The Work
 
Google Books
Peter’s Quotations:
Ideas for Our Time
By Dr. Laurence J. Peter
New York, NY: Quill/Morrow
1993
Pg. 120:
(Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to be appointed to do the work.)
   
Google Books
20,000 Quips & Quotes
By Evan Esar
New York, NY: Barnes & Noble Books
1995, ©1968
Pg. 158:
Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to be appointed to do the work.
 
Google News Archive
2 July 1995, Victoria (TX) Advocate, “The Watercooler,” pg. 1D, col. 1:
Author Laurence J. Peter said, “Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to be appointed to do the work.”
 
Google Books
Phillips Treasury Of Humorous Quotations
By Bob Phillips
Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers
2004
Pg. 53:
Committees have become so important nowadays that subcommittees have to be appointed to do the work. — Laurence J. Peter