The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-10

drafting law that would meet as nearly
! as possible all requirements. Action
1 should be taken at once, so that said
commission might Immediately proceed
With the work In hand and, if possible
! report bill during this session of the
/ legislature. If this cannot be done and
/ the plan propcsed by State Auditor Dunn
meets with favor, the commission could
easily complete its work by Jan. J. 1862
Know that the subject of taxation IS one
! upon which there is the widest divergence
| OF opinion. but 1t seems to me that there
/ should be none as to the necessity of a,
taA commission for our state. Said COM
mission could collect and coIlate laws.
! from ali the states and select those
winch are best, and then draft law that
n mouia pc "a vast Improvement over our
Will find this subject Of tax commissfoo
Iuliy and ably presented in the renort
OF our state auditor, and you will do well
~ read ana carefully study the same.
STATE BOARD OF CONTROL.
Equally important with the COLLECTION
OF taxes is a proper disbursement of fl,a
money thus received In round n,,uhers
It is estimated that for the next f1scai
year A,e00Oo0 will be needed for current
se 5onan and Tor the one succeeding, 81
lv e;;o ana Tor new buildings and re-
pairs, $3.50, coo, making a total for o,Ir-
ce e ss gu aa and charitable institutions
ol %e,eoV,etV Tor the next biennial period,
an convinced that there Should he
poarn OF control for the management OF
all these institutions. Such a hoard com
p u.s.; VI e&Ferienced business men, non
parlisan IN It's character the members
receiving adequate compensation for tJ,a:I
services, ana devoting ali their time and
energies to the discharge of their duties
nouiu pe vast Improvement over the
sePaf1e board plan, and would result in
a large saving TO the state annually and
tnls TO, without in any way Iessening
the efficiency Of the service to +be In
mates. The board would be free fron, Ia
cal and political influences and all mr.
cLaseS would be made at wholesale, and
after receiving competitive bids
10 Illustrate how this would result. T
quote an extract from the report of the
state BOARD OF control, of Iowa:
me large surplus to the credit of the
August 1st, 1899. to sl22, 743. So is largely
que TO the methods In purchasing sun
pies, and holding every person to A
Strlct 4, accounta n1hty, who handles or
ment is needed TO prove that our svster1
CT purchasing supplies for all the state
lnstltutiens together, and for a longer
period Of time than formerly, ard under
run and tatr system of compt titiv.
DDS, is Z great Improvement over former
methods, when each institution made. its
own purchases for only present needs
and practically no opportunity was az
1ofded for competition. At some of the
institutions merchants had been supplying
goods at a stipulated price but with the
Su!nulus OF competition the same parties
tld on the same articles from 10 to "a
Per cent below the price formerly re-
costing
OF our state institutions $40 per dozen;
we contracted for n supply for one wear
at 30 cents per dozen, a standard article
and quality the best.
''Osher instances Of saving In this man
her might be multiplied Indefinitely, but
1t IS unnecessary, for no one acquainted
with business Will deny that the methods
pursued must effect a great saving over
purchasing in small quantities from re-
tail merchants.
In concluding this subject, we may be
oPIn fa- At,,fTY
record made, not alone in the saving in
q business Ike manner, but OF far more
Importance Is the fact that the uneor-
tunate and helpless people entrusted to
ctothed Chan they were before being
placed under the control of this board .
do not wish to be understood as cast
ing any reflections on the management
OF our institutions by the various boards
under our present system. In fact, l am
satisfied that they have done their work
as faithfully and we'll as it could have
possibly been done under the present
system, but the question is how can we
d1sburse the vast sums OF money annual
ly required for these institutions IN the
most economical manner, as well as for
the best interests of the state? 1 am
convinced that it can better be done I'M
der a single board.
State Auditor Dunn answers the CUES
ton most satisfactorily by asking an
other. would any good business. man
consent to have his business carried on
.,
each acting separately?" If a good bus
mess man would not. why should the
state? How much better to have board
OF control, composed of three men eX-,
perienceSf in business affairs, which would
cut off All supernumeraries and manage
cur state institutions upon frSt-clasS
business principles giving their whole
time to their work, doing taeir duty with
out fear or favor, being free from facal
influence and regarding the needs of all
institutions alike and having in. mind
cnF Nv q M
fetal results would follow. and great
saving to the state would result.
In this way the members of the legisla-
ture, could be informed and act intelli-
gently as the board would have data to
furnish concerning the needs of each and
every institution. and the ones whose
in case there should be funds enough for
all. as is the case at present.
The board Of control is no innovation.
Other states have adopted 1t and from
all reports the plan is working admir-
ably. While in Iowa not long ago, L
made careful investigation of the work
there. ard was informed by those we'll
qualified to speak, that the new system
was a great Improvement ever the old,
ard that there was saving of nearly
$2C0,0eO during the second year of its eK-
istence. and this. too In spite of the
fact of the great increase in the price of
all commodities During the first year
the reports, Of the state treasurer show
that the cost of the maintenance In Iowa
was $SSO,O00 less than the year before,
thus showing a saving of over one half
million dollars in two years to the peo-
pie Of the state. l believe a very large
saving would follow the adoption of the
plan here, and l am confident that the
best interests of the state demand #.
In letter received as late as Dec. 90
eE-Gov. Larrabee, first president of the
board, writes me that 'the change has
s1ro6 EandX and meets with st general raj
situations are in better shape than ever
before. and more economically managed,
and this has not been at the expense of
efficiency
In view CT such facts and testimony.
do not hesitate to urge the passage of a
| law creating a board of control, and
would suggest that joint committee of
the house ard senate be appointed as
soon as possible tt thoroughly investi-
gate and frame a bill with this object in
view.
GROSS EARNINGS TAX.
A large majority of the members of this
legislature owe allegiance to a certain
political party and to said party's dec
laration of principles On the question of
the gross earnings tax the platform
speaks in no uncertain language, and for
your guidance l quote from it:
We commend the gross earnings
system OF taxation as to railroads We
believe that system to be attended with
! less friction and expense and to have
produced better financial results than the
/ method Of direct legislation which IRE
walls in some CT the adjacent states. We
are in favor of the maintenance of this
system IN this state. and we insist
| that the rate of taxation under gross
| earnings system should be maintained
at such figures as will make the tax an
hualiy collected on railroad property
equal and uniform with the taxes i'm
posed upon such property throughout the
state. 1t is your pain duty to investi-
gate and determine whether the present
| rate makes the tax annually collected on
raiiEaad property equal and uniform with