St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-03-18


OF the battles this week between
public sentiment and public official.
none will be fought with such vigor as
the third reading and passage in the
h0u' of the bill to make the Oil in
speciUr'S office a Salaried one, and to
turn over to the state treasury the bulk
OF the 500, 600 year that he now pock-
cts. The bill has passed the senate, and
on Friday was recommended to pass bv
the house, after it had been opposed by
every kind of tactics known to the
friends of the oil inspector. For there
is no disguise thrown over the fact that
the contest is not between two factions
divided over principle, but between
the personal and political friends of q
reform that has been demanded for the
last five years. From the first the con-
test has been a Eauseous one, revealing
as it has, official scandals which have
reached high enough to involve the gov
ernOr's office. The following uncon-
troverted statements have been made
by members of the house:
Zone influence that retards the pass
age of this bill emanateS from the gov
ernor's ofice.'
''One oil inspector gave to a governors
wife between three and four thousand
dollars as gift"
another oil inspector gave a gov
ernor's wife two thousand dollars.'
"a noted LOBBYIST was paid $500 in
1887 to defeat the passage of the reform
bills"
A gentleman well posted in politics
said TO senator on Friday night:
''Plenty of stuff will be used to defeat
this bill on Its final passage. Members
of the house will be induced to absent
themselves"
While the bill was under debate on
Friday its chief opponent leaned over to
a brother member and whispered:
Load it down with amendments.
Tack 'em 0n.h
Later. when his purpose had been de-
feated, he whispered again:
We'll kill it On.third reading.'
And the whole trouble with the bill
is told in these figures:
Salary OF governor. or...-..........-.... S.. 900
Salary of safe auditor. .......... -. $500
Salary of secretary of state. =. 49,. $500
Salary of insurance commissioner. 2G0O
Salary of supreme court judges 49,. 5000
Salary of railroad commissioners 300C
Annual income oil inspector now.. $4,000
The bill proposes to give the oil in
spector s.. 400 of this $4,000, and paid
deputy for each county of the state, and
turn the balance into the state treasury.
No change is made in the law of inspec-
ton. which the opponents of the bill ad-
NIT is good one. But there are seven
state officers, any one Of whose duties
is more arduOuS and responsible than
the Oil inspectors, receiving from S12.-
GOO to $4,000 a year less salary than he
does. The insurance commissioner
turns over fees and taxes to the state of
more thai 100000, yet he receives sl6,-
600 less for doing it than the oil in
spector does for not giving cent to the
treasury. 1t is no wonder that Mr.. Nor
gan rose and said:
'.This has been a stencil in the nostrils
of the people for five years."
Nor Mr.. Smith:
"This is public scandal"
It is noticeable that the men who
have fought for this reform rank high
in the conservative and working eIe-
ment of the house-Smith, Benson,
Morgan, Haven, Hoyt. Heidemann.
Early in the session the opposition
made very loud boasts of how they
would defeat any reform bill. Their
own defeat Friday astounded them. but