The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-01-31

the disposal of the governor of the state
is just enough to prove a source of irri-
tation." There are only a few appointive
positions that are worth anything, and
these are generally promised beforehand.
Inc total amount of patronage is not
| enough to be of any political worth to a
| governor, if he chose to make appoint
| ments on that basis. The oil inspector
| ship, worth s., 800 year under the amend
ed law, is one Of the few plums worth
picking. The state game warden prob
ably nets the same amount aS>the oil in
| spectorship, or nearly that. There are
three positions In the examiners Office,
worth 81, 500 to $4,000 EACH some appoint
| ments in the state health department,
which are not especially remunerative,
and the offices of state and district veter-
inarians. The assembly is even now dis
cussing the question of abolishing the
veterinarians as state office, and If
this is done, the patronage of the govern
or is still further reduced. The veter-
inarians will fight the proposed law, aad
hope to be successful in defeating it.
They have little confidence in the scheme
of having county boards appoint veterin-
ar1ans. In many cases, they claim. the
boards would not make appointments, and
In others they would pay so low a SAL
airy that no veterinarian would take the
place. The Office Of superintendent Of
irrigation and forestry wi be abolished,
sition. Little change is looked ror in the
heads of state institutions, and the in
dividual appointments to be made have
been discounted by the press, to the mat
ter of appointments absorbs little of the
public interest.
The proposed increase of state officers
salaries and reduction of clerk hire, with
the view of making state officers attend
to their office duties literally instead of
in supervisory way, may have its mer-
its as a business proposition. but the idea
of state officer in his shirt sleeves,
bending, over his desk and deep in the
clerical work of his department doesn't
strike much fire as a political PROPOSE
ton. 1t has generally been agreed that
state offices are political awards to the
successful manipulators Of a convention
combination, and that the states bust
ness was to provide the clerical assist
ance necessary to the proper transaction
of public business under the supervision
Of the actual heads of departments.
North Dakota pays comparatively small
salaries. The governor of the state gets
$1,000 and the other principal state Off
GERS 1900 annually, with, in each depart
ment, about the same allowance for clerk
hire as the salary of the principal officer.
1t isn't probable the assembly will make
any changes in the salary list. Each off,
Ger has a deputy ana clerk or stenog-
rapher. The deputy might write his own
letters in many cases, by close applica-
-tion to business, and the principal might
do his own figuring, but that's pcayun-
ish kind of economy for a great state.
A saving Of few thousand year might
be made by knocking off a clerk here
and there, reducing salary few hun
dred dollars a year, and in similar ways.
but the total saving wouldn't make much
Of showing.
Many are awakening to the fact that
this is not a beggared state, but simply
tied-up- state. The low debt init;
the 4-mill limit for taxation; tile adj
valorem railroad laws; no sale Of pubic
lands for eight years; besides consider
able tax dodging-all this helps to give
the finances tough luck' appearance,
while in reality the people are well off.
The newspaper scrap between Grand
Forks and Fargo papers over the rela-
tive merits of the university and agrt-
cultural college goes merrily on-aH OF
which Is very foolish, as both have
merit that is recognized by the legis-
lature and will be as well cared for at
this session as the condition of the
treasury will permit.