The Bemidji pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Beltrami County, Minn.) 1896-1917, 1900-10-18

r.
Their successful management would
necessarily reflect credit upon the adj
ministraticn, and for any incompe-
stence, scandal. mismanagement or mis-
takes in their conduct, the governor 10
equally responsible; he must stand or
fall by the record Of these appointees,
for whom he is personally responsible.
During his campaign, two years ago,
Mr.. Lind frequently stated that II
elected, he meant to reform the OH
.ferent departments, that he would in
troduce a sort Of civil service, retain
ing all efficient employees. irrespective
of their political affiliations; that his
only aim was the best service.
And he carried out this form
with vengeance. Immediately after
taking Office, he and his private secre-
tary, Rosing, commenced to WELD the
Official ak, indiscriminately, and in ey-
cry department the former offic hold /.
ers were replaced by active Lind par
tisans He has built UP a gigantic POI
litical machine. such as the state mas
never seen before, the with one sole OBJ
+ ject in yiew-to hold their jobs. Every
thing has been sacrificed to this end;
Mt is the alpha and omega Of their pol-
ttics Every officeholder, every ap-
pointee, even down to the janitors, the
grain inspectors and deputy game
wardens, including men, who are draw
ing only $40 a month wages, have
been called upon to contribute a part
OF their monthly salary for the cam
paign purposes and the machine. ''as 4
Is it to be wondered at that In every
department, an increased appropria.
ton of money from the state was
asked foro Is it remarkable that the
cost Of maintaining the various depart
ments is greater than 1t was before!
Is it not to be expected that every de
partment, run as it is by men whose
only qualification is their political
pull" should be poorly managed or
mismanaged?
In his campaign, two years ago, Mr..
Lind attacked the character of the
then public examiner, M. d. Kenyon;
he openly charged that the state pris-
on twine plant was run in the interests
OF the Irvine trust; he insinuated that
the farmers were being robbed by the
+ existing wheat ection--and it was
necessary to elect him to reform them.
! These charges were subsequently prov
en- to be absolutely false, and Were
made for the sole purpose Of infiuenc-
ing votes AND THIS IS HOW LIND
REFORMED THE VARIOUS DE-
PAYMENTS:
Couldn't Divide by 60.
The incompetency and ineff1ciency
Of the reform wheat inspection bu-
reau has become a by-word. With
men who don't know wheat from po-
tatoes appointed as inspectors, it is not
to be wondered at that in the open
market in Minneapolis, wheat that has
graded as No 8 or rejected, actually
sold for more, by sample, than wheat
that was graded as No. /. No wonder
that 1t is necessary to employ a great
er number of men in this department,
even in a short crop year, to do the
work. And besides, it was deemed
necessary to provide fat jobs for po-
litical friends. Who pays for it? The
farmer and taxpayer.
Under Republican management, poll
itics was absolutely kept out of this
department. In employing an inspect
or, he was never asked what his po-
litical faith was; he was engaged for
his fitness and capacity for the work.
Immediately Gov. Lind undertook to
reform the department, there was a
wholesale discharge of competent and
honest men, and their places were
filled-and more places created-by a
lot Of ward-heelers and politicians,
whose only qualification consisted in
their ability to carry a precinct eau
Gus.
1t is an actual fact, and matter
that can be verified, that two of these
employees were transferred from the
weighing to the inspection department
Of the service simply because they
were unable to figure out the number
Of bushels Of wheat in a car, from the
weight Of the contents-they were I'M
able to divide the number of pounds
by 60.
Minnesota wheat has always hereto
fore sold at a premium in the Eastern
markets, and by this premium the
farmers have proflted directly. 1t meant
from to cents more per bushel for
their wheat Under present inspection
the gradings given by the inspectors
have been ignored by the buyers. and
the wheat sold by the sample. What
does this mean? Why the buyers lost
confidence in the correctness of the
grading, by Lind's political grain in
spectors, and the remarkable discrep-
ancies between their gradings and the
actual selling standards of the wheat
have fully justified this suspicion.
Those grain shippers, whose elevat-
ors are adjacent to railroad lines rum
ming into Chicago, are shipping their
grain there in preference of to Mime"
apolis. The reason for this is self-eyi-
dent. They are assured a uniform
and just inspection with less dock
age than is being given under our
reform administration.
How Game Is s'Protccted."
During the past few years Minnesota
has spent $4,000 annually for the pro-
lection OF her game and game fish.
Under Lind's administration it may
well be said that this $4,000 has been
diverted into the reform campaign
fund, for this, like the other executive
departments, has been converted into
q coG-wheel of the Lind Rosing ma