The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1900-10-04
success Of which depended upon ragal

q reports for its value we can APP
prOximately fix the loss of the state
In the specuiations The sisaI wa,
bought when 1t was at the highes,
point, and 1T soon began to depre.
cfate II. value. running down stead
lily until II struck below 51a cents a
pound, or u net loss OF 3 cents from
highest to lowest points Supporting
the decline to have been gradual
and to have gone down to 3 cents
from the time Of the purchase until
now. and the factory having used
substantially 6,00O,OOO pounds dur
ing the period, IT is certainly a con-
servative estimate to place the av-
erage depreciation I'm value at III
cents pound. On 8.OOO,8OO pounds
that would foot mp net loss of
1 s90.O00. which, added TO the loss ON
! the stock now on hand. would make
1 a total loss OF S125.O
But even this Is not all, or the worst.
The cordage trust, which had never
been able to sell within 2 cents pound
| of the prison Irvine, has, gained new
strength and is underselling the prison
| Irvine from 2 to 8 cents a pound. The
prison twine has deprecated in quality
while varcing in price, and the
f2rmer who bought trust Irvine not
only got 1t 10 per cent cheaper. but 10
rer cent better.
OF COURSE THE BOOKS OF THE
PRISON TWINE PLANT DO NOT
SHOW THE LOSS, FOR THE FARM
ERS HAD TO PAY ENOUGH MORE
FOR THE TwINE TO MAKE THE
PRISON BOOKS BALANCE. THE
Loss ALL COMES OUT OF THE
FARMERS POCKET NOT OUT OF
THE PRISON OR THE, ADMINS
TRATION.
When In 1906. and again i'm 1898,
Gov. Lind promised that he would
"refOrm'' the grain inspection bu-
reaq and the prison Irvine plant. 1T
Is to be assumed that this is what
he meant. for that is. what he has
done i'm one year. put I'm tabulated
form for convenience of undo rstand-.
ing: -
Increase In expense of grain
inspection bureau ......... 100000
Loss to state In prison Irvine
plant =. I@o,OoO
This, too, in year when there was
a short crop, less grain to be inspected,
anu, necessarily, less Irvine to be paid
for. 1t is not only the loss of money
that the farmer sustains, but the value
Of the grade in fixing the price of grain
is destroyed and the farmers have lost
confidence in the state binding Irvine
plant and will buy trust Irvine rather
than submit to the extortiOn conse-
quent upon the almost criminal mis-
management of the prison Irvine plant.
1t is not necessary here or now to go
further into the details given by Mr..
Dunn, If every other department in
the state had been well managed the
odium attaching to these two would
condemn the whole. But they have
not There is not department in the
state that has been conducted as eco
nomically or as well as it was under
auspices, while almost with
out exception they have cost more.
The state institutions, like the depart
ments, have been conducted at an in
creased expense with no corresponding
in the service.
Such is reform as the people get it
at Democratic hands-a reform that
gives worse service and charges more
for it, No one wonders at the intervals
Of forty years between Democratic adj
One of the most significant facts
pointed out by Auditor Dunn in his
speech was that the per capita cost of
Of the inmates of the state
prison. insane asyIums and other public
steadily decreased from
70 ~ hn inc
until along about the close of the year
1898, when the work of the reform"
began to get in it's dead
" work, and then it came to stand
still or began to increase again. There
IS positively no excuse for anything Of
his kind. The state has provided mag
1ificent buildings for the care of its de-
oendents. with every convenience for
he comfort of the inmates and the
most scientific arrangements for eco
1omically caring for them. Ever one
will understand that. with the build
ngs and fixtures all provided, the cost
If keeping should be reduced per indi-
Tidual as the number cared for In
,rea ses. It is the wholesale idea in
same principle upon
which one can buy a. car load of flour
It less cost per pound than one can
,uy a single sack. Under ordinary cir
therefore. and with reason
bly, good management, the cost of car
ng for the state wards should be less
'er capita each year than they were
he preceding year. Instead of this, as
dr. Dunn says, ''in the years 1899 and
900 there is a slight increase shown"
The same bad management is shown
n every department Of the state gov
rnment., Every department went be-
ore the legislature demanding in
reased appropriations, and, when it
vas refused, made a lack of funds the
xcuse for failure. A striking instance
f this is found in the game and fish
commission, which found 1000 a year
mple for its support under Republican
administration; but when the Demo-
rats got in it was insufficient, and, as
iov. Lind himself declared, 1.-THE law Us
OF enforced because the department.
as not sufficient funds with which to /.
nforce it."
In his acceptance speech, Gov Lind
eclared that the only difficulty with
UT finances at the present time is the
arge surplus in the treasury If the
Democratic grain inspection bureau is ,
iven couple of more whacks at that /,
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