Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1897-10-12
performed. In some cases, two, three
and even four clerks in department

performed. In some cases, two, three
and even four clerks in a department
being paid as high as fifteen hundred
($1,500) per year; this your commit
tee believes to be an injustice to the
taxpayers of the state, and would rec
ommcnd that there be an extra special
appointed at each biennial
term of the legislature, composed of
the chairman of the ways and means
and appropriation committees of the
senate, and of the ways and means,
appropriation and judiciary commit
tees of the house, and that each state
officer and board be required to submit
to said committee a proposed list OF
the employees and clerks for the ensu-
ing biennial term, and that in consul
tation with this committee, the salary
of said employees be fixed, and that it
be the duty of said committee to re-
port to the appropriation committee OF
the house and senate the appropria-
tions necessary for the clerical help OF
each state officer, including custodian
and all boards and commissioners, en-
ploying help drawing pay from the
state.
This plan, the committee believes,
will put the clerical and other en-
ployes of the state, upon national
and business basis, insure reasonable
salaries and prevent the eNtravagances
that have grown up under the present
system or plan of employing clerks or
other employees and fixing their sala-
ries by the independent action of the
various boards of the state officers.
'tYour committee finds the system of
invoices and keeping of accounts, hith-
erto in vogue in the supply depart
ment, unsatisfactory and unbusiness-
like. There has been no system of
checks or balances, nor is there any
way of ascertaining the value of sup
plies drawn by any department of the
state government, as many articles in
this department of the same name and
general description, vary greatly in
cost. We would recommend that the
secretary of state be directed to in
struct the clerk of said department to
preserve on each requisition, in sepa.
rate column, the cost of each item, as
well as the item itself, and that sys
TEN of bookkeeping be inaugurated
that will give strict accounting of al
supplies received and disbursed by the
state.
'sWe also recommend that the CLERK
of the supply department. be instructed
to submit estimates from time to time
! of supplies needed, to the secretary o.
state, which shall by him be submitted
to the executive council, and on it.
orders purchases shall be made. 1t i.
also recommended that the chief clerl
of the house and secretary of the sen
ate be limited in their ability to draw
supplies from this department of theil
personal acquisitions to the necessitie!
of their own desks and those of tn,
clerks under their immediate supervi
sion.
"It is also believed by your commit
tee that there should be a more stric
supervision by the chairman of eacl
committee in the legislature for tn.
supplies drawn for such committee
and that the chairman himself b,
charged with the responsibility of fill
ing out the acquisitions, instead o
leaving the same to the clerks. w,
also find that the privilege accorded
press reporters of drawing stationer,
is greatly abused and we recommend
that the number of committee clerk
be limited to one to each room; tina
the number of cloak room janitors b
reduced to three; that but one journa
clerk be employed in the future; W
believe that a stenographer for tn
chief clerk is entirely unnecessary
that paper-folders are useless appen
dage; that the number of pages shoul
be reduced; that the number of door
keepers be reduced one-half; in shor
we believe that it is the duty of this leg
islature to reduce every department o
the state government to a rigid eco
nemical business basis.
The Census Report
| "Your committee finds that owing t
lack OF data as to time consumed b
the various township and district as
/ SCISSORS in getting the various statistic
required by law the total cost of tn
state census can be accurately deter
mined. The cost of the blanks of tn
various assessors as nearly as you
committee can ascertain was:
Paper 81, 434.S
Printing 3,802.9
i Total ................ .$5, 237.S
/ ''The tabulating, after it came int
the Office of the secretary of state, cos
! $37,4lS.0O. The printing of the repo1
cost $5,255.O0. Paper cost s3,oO9.6t
The binding cost $13,13OOO, making
total. of $64,030.44, after it reached til
Office of the secretary of state. T
this must be added the expense of tn
counties of gathering the informa
ton by the various assessors which
from the best information your con
mittee can get, was as much more
making grand total of 1928, 060.8s.
"Your committee has diligently II
i quired into the truth of the variou
4 charges that have been made by POI
ton of the public press as to the di:
honesty and extravaganza in tabula
ing and printing this report; Will
there are many pages of useless rept
titions and of matter which, thoug
useful in historical work, is entirel
out Of place in report of this charae
ter, this should be charged to the ed
torial and not to the other depar,
ments of the work. From all the e,
dence your committee can gather, bot
from expert witnesses and from carr
full personal inspection, as well as
painstaking comparisons with the r.