Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-10-12

Los lOSt.
ports of 1875 and 1885, we are of the
opinion that the work of the state
printer on this report has been fairly
and honestly done, that the various
tables in this report are compactly
placed and with less waste of space
than those of either of the former re.
ports. We make this statement the
more cheerfully because in other de-
partments of the work we find little
to commend.
"We find that the clerks engaged in
the tabulating were paid three dollars
per day, while all the witnesses, In
Guiding the ex-secretary of state, who
has this work in charge, agree that the
same help could have been hired at
two dollars per day, this item alone
involving useless expenditure of over
twelve thousand dollars. Added to this
the testimony shows that many more
clerks were employed than could be
worked to advantage. All the witness
es who were questioned on this point
agree that one-half the number OF
competent clerks, working as dill
gently as such clerks work in business
houses, would have performed the
work in a better manner and in as
short time as it was done by all. In
other words the testimony shows that
under an economical and business-like
administration of this department this
work could have been done for twelve
thousand dollars, instead of costing,
as it did, over thirty-seven thousand
dollars. Even had two-thirds the num-
Der of competent clerks been necessary
to perform the work in the same time
(and no witness put it as high as this)
] we still have loss to the state OF
nearly twenty thousand dollars in this
item alone.
1 ''We also find that certain clerks
/ were carried on the census pay roll
from two to six months at three and
four dollars per day and at the
same time We're drawing pay as clerks
in the Office and of the secretary OF
state in sums ranging from twenty
five to sixty-6ve dollars per month.
.'We further find that large num-
Der of clerks employed on the census,
on one pretext or another, through
fear of dismissal, were compelled to
contribute of their earnings sums va
rying from ten to thirty dollars per
II month to the then secretary of ssltn
| "Your committee is of the opinion
that the present system of taking and
. publishing the census is eXtrayagant
and much of it useless. The crop sta.
tistics are three years old before they
get to the public and can serve no use
full purpose commensurate with the
cost. Your committee is advised thai
the dropping Of this feature will lesser
the cost at least one-half. We be-
. lieve that the senate amendment tc
j, the present law covers all that shoulc
, present conditions.
with malice toward none, with cha
rity to all, with only the good of oul
commonwealth in view, we respectful
, ly submit the foregoing findings, con
i illusions and recommendations to the
consideration of your honorable body
!, Signed,
!, J. II. Funk, j. W. Lauder,
NJ. j. Davis, Geo. T. Baker,
Chris. Voolker.
!, Committee, Majority Report.
Nearly a Million Dollars Debt.
Z Every citizen of the state as con
| versant with its affairs as ever,
) tax payer should be, is aware
that, Notwithstanding the mill tax ha
; been increased, the state has been &C
cumulating debt of nearly million
: dollars. The question, wherefore? w
) are now prepared to answer. I
!; can be summed up in sentence: Par
: ty favoritism, extravagant and fraudu
! lent expenditures of public money TO
: party purposes.
t These are serious charges, but they
are fully sustained by documents in
f dubitable and unanswerable. In ad
: ton to the above public money has
been paid out by state officials in larg
amounts, they knowing it to be in vic
, lation of law. Favorite employees hav
, been paid double salaries. This is tru
: not only of clerks, burt of higher EN-
$ ployes, among them the state binder
e who seems to have been one of thu
: favored beneficiaries of this illegiti
e mately acquired and corruptly accnm
r ulated party fund.
To the report of the committee ap
) pointed by the legislature to investi
s gate the charges against the Stat
: Printer, attention is first called. TIL
4 committee consisted of the following
0 named members: Thomas Lambert
{ P. A. Smith, ]. T. Jay. On the 27t,
I day of March, majority of thi
]. committee made the following report
a taken from the Journal of the Hous
e Of March 27th, 1897.
D Report of Committee.
e ITO the speaker and members o
: the House of Representatives of tn
j, General Assembly of the State o
: Iowa:
J, ''Your committee appointed on tn
sth day of February, 1897, to invest1
: gate matters pertaining to the print
; ing Of blanks and other miscellaneou
: job work done by the State Printer
! would respectfully submit the follow
: ing report:
e ''The committee has summoned be
: fore it workmen well versed in thei
b trades and well qualified by extensiv
= experience to give testimony as re
: ports of matters pertaining to prin,
: ing and binding, to aid the committe