Little Falls herald. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1889-1950, 1899-12-15

4 900 4 year zto NM port tl,s Appeal
Board, therefore, the twenty -nYe cent
/ fee for inspection and weighing ii
/ about what fs required to maintain
the department on q business footing.
Disposition Of Grain Samples. The
department having inaugurated
reform in the disposal Of the samples
of grain taken or inspection purposes.
which Inspector Reishus shows are Of
a, value of at least $4,000 q year, and
| which was hitherto appropriated by
the officials taking the samples, and
which he had directed should here
after. be sold. and for the. credit Of the
inspection fund, the Inspector says:
"The effect Of the old practice could
not fail to have been demoralizing, as
must necessarily be the case where
private and unlawful emoluments.
though SMALL fall to those in posi-.
tons of public trust. Besides. the
petty jealousies and tricks resorted
to by those eager to get their share of
| the plumber, there was the temptation
fto take unnecessary large and numer-
GUS samples. BY this practice. it was
possible for thousands of dollars
worth of grain to be taken under the
guise of samples without the slightest
fear of detection,
1T is not right that such tempta-
lions should be placed before public
employees Aside from that, the prac-
tice was thoroughly irregular, I'M
business-like, extravagant and demon
alizing, as we'll as contrary to law.
The samples taken belong to the
shippers of grain: but inasmuch as it
is impracticable to return the sam
pies to the shippers of the Northwest,
distributed among several states, the
state should sell the samples and de-
vote the proceeds to defray the ex-
penses of the department which the
shippers are required to meet"
This practically reaches the same
result as returning the samples to the
| shippers themselves. The
reform secures: First, greater eff1-
cheney and integrity in the. official
service; second, an increase OF the
department revenue, sufficient to meet
the rental expenses at the inspection
points; third, the stoppage OF the
| rivalry of samplers by the taking Of
unnecessarily large and numerous
samples, and fourth, the restitution of
the value of the samples to the ship
pers = by reducing the inspection
| charges they have to meet"
| The Inspector had been besought to
turn the samples over to public char
! tiles, but found no authority of law or
! right to warrant it, although to do so
would have been, the Inspector says,
"a vast improvement over the former
| practice of using the proceeds as pri-
vate plumber for those in official po-
sition.
Appointments, and the Civil Serv-
Recommending with a protest that
length of service is not necessarily
the only or chief test of efficiency in
the public service, and promising that
success of administration depends
upon the intelligence, faithful and eff
| fective work of employees, the In
spector says:
"The only way yet discovered of
, getting rid of corrupt practices and
inefficient methods in public service
is to get rid of the officials guilty of
corrupt practices and inefficient
| methods. l know of no way of i'm
proving the service of the department
| ii those guilty of doubtful methods
and inefticiency are retained. Length
of tire in office does not necessarily
imp!! either superior intelligence, en-
ergy, faithfulness Or general eff
cheney. It is my observation that the
official who thinks he has a sinecure
is conspicuous for neither energy,
faithfulness. nor all-round efficiency.
Changes based on the policy of bet
tering the service are among the most
wholesome Of civil service reforms
| The Inspector is unable to agree
with the theory that only years of
service can qualify a man for it. He
says:
MAY be good theory to advance
! for the maintenance of pets in office,
and that in my humble opinion is its
principal virtue After thirty years
experience in the handling and grow
ing of grain, it is my convict: II that
any person possessed of ordinary
| horse sense; good eye-sight and sense
of taste and smell, together with the
requisite physical strength, should be
able to do we'll the work required of
an inspector, after an apprenticeship
Of two or three months.
1T requires infinitely more skill, ex-
perience and judgment to grow So
cent wheat at a profit. than to name
the grade of that wheat after it is
dumped into the elevator or car.
compared with the brains and en-
ergy required to successfully run a
threshing outfit, the hardest and most
exacting work connected with the
grain inspection is easy. Integrity,
faithfulness in service, zeal for the
public interest, and spirit of har-
mony with the policy of the depart
ment and of the administration, so as
to make the department a thorough
ly organized official force, are far more
important qualifications in an employee
than mere length of time in service"
Inspection of the Present Seasons
Crop.-This is more different to grade,
owing to the heavy rains, and rust and
blight in certain sections. But the
Inspector has no fears as to fair and
e RI cfoot0r1y 1to.