Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-01-03
A VIGOROUS KICK.
The Law by Wt1ion the State Board of
Control Was Created.

othe Editor Of the SealineI.
Centlala. Wis., Dec. p, 1S94.-Dea
II: Considerable comment has beer
| aade in your paper recently about til,
tate Board of Control | do not desire
. add anything in that line as to whom
IF how many shall constitute it, but
| 10 desire Though reluctantly to say ;
| title Of what | have been constraint {
. think for many years, in reference Il
| he law bv virtue of which the State
| }oard of Control has its existence. ant
lnder which 1t acts, and of the many
wills that might easily, if they do not il
ftct arise under its administration.
doubt very much if there is one
lwyer in one hundred of the man,
ood lawyers in Wisconsin. or, if there
one citizen, not a lawyer, in tel
h"usand, of the many ten thousand.
If good citizens in Wisconsin, outside
II interested persons and of professional
| politicians, who have ever read the law
II have any definite knowledge of the
| means whereby the State prison, the
State Hospital for the Insane, the
| northern Hospital for the Insane, the
| industrial School for Boys, the Schoo
or the Blind, the School for the Deaf ano
| Dumb and the Public School for Orphans
nd other uncared-for children, are
maintained and governed 1t is never
neless fact, that the men (six in
umber) who constitute the State
ioard of Control are invested by law
With the entire management, super
vision and control in general, and in
letail, of all the affairs of the State
| prison, the State Insane asylum, the
Northern Hospital for the Insane, the
school for the Blind at GAINESVILLE, the
school for the Deaf and Dumb at
Delavan, the State School for Orphans
md Deserted Children at Sparta, the
state Industrial School for Bows at
Vaukesha, and all other like state
institutions, with full and absolute
power to appoint perintendents,
'ttit tCilS SlSH dlus ltdCUcFS anu lA tie
salary of each, and to determine the
lumber and fix the salary of all other
employees, ut the entire pleasure of the
,'oard Of Control within certain broad
imis. So far, this feature of the law is
lot particularly Objectionable, but there
j. tackled upon and added to it other
f,.atnfes and provisions which, taken in
connection with the appointing power,
IRE most unusual and extremely entic-
ing and dangerous. The State Board of
ontrol audlts all Of it's own accounts.
lncluding the aecos, os,ats of all its en-
ployees, and there is drawn monthly,
without any further investigation than
such as the board may make, warrants
upon the state treasury for whatever
sum may be SO audited and allowed.
1t is quickly illustrated by saying that
the result is the same, as it probably
would be, if the sheriffs of the several
counties i'll the state were authorized
and empowered by law to audit and
allow the accounts of their jailers and
deputies, and, upon their certificates, to
draw warrants upon the county treasury
without submitting the bills to the
County Board of Supervisors.
There are many, many ways, besides
openly corrupt ways, whereby errors
could and would creep in and be easily
overlooked. A partisan board appoint
ing u partisan superintendent and a
partisan steward, for al institution in
which trey have no personal interest,
would look with partisan eyes indulgent-
ly upon bills presented by partisan
suburdinates. We all know from local
experience that the several counties in
the state save each annually consider
able sums of money bv reason of a
careful inspection, made by disinterest-
ed persons, of the bills presented.
Thousands of dollars annually are saved
to each county, even when the aggre-
gate Of all the bills does not exceed
$4,000, S20,U00 or $4,000.
The State Board of Control disburses
annually, through its several superin-
tendents, stewards aud appointees
(practicallv itself nearly or quite
S500,OO0, and there is no provision in
the law for any other person or board
to look over the details of these dis
bursements; no checking over of the
accounts by persons not interested; nc
| investigation as to prices paid. quantity
or quality of things purchased, except
such investigation as the purchaser
himself may make.
| little wonder that there are mer
who would be willing to undertake
these arduous duties without any salary
or with nominal salary only-sSiust fol-
sweet charity's sake"-but at present
| the members of the board receive eaci
| 81 900 per annum and all expenses.
Let me suggest how easy it would be
! for man with half the enterprise of al
army contractor to run into profitable
business, as one of the Board of Con
troll under this poorly considered anC
! lily begotten law. 1t is well to remem
ber that there are many large institu
tions in charge of the board, and tha
/ the feeding Of the inmates is quite al
item of expense Good bread is wortl
a certain sum per pound, good meat
good coffee, good tea, good sugar, gooC