The Saint Paul globe., 1904-02-01
MONDAY FEB. 1, 1904.
A PARTY SNAP,

The revelations made by the article
published in Saturdays Globe on
the conduct of the state oil inspection
service have attracted the widest pub
lie attention. They constitute no less
than public scandal, and reflect most
severely upon the leaders and members
of the Republican party. The truth Of
it is, as shown by the figures, that the
people Of Minnesota are supporting
the managers of the Republican party
machine by payments from the public
treasury which amount to about $780,
900 year.
The state oil inspection service in
Minnesota has had an element of
scandal about it ever since it was Gre
ated. By this we mean that it has
been recognized and employed from
the outset as party graft. Directly
or Indirectly, its resources were ap-
propriated to the advancement of party
interests and the remuneration of party
workers. The only question at any
time has been as to the method by
which this could best be accomplished
without creating public talk.
AS results go it has mattered just
nothing at all to the people of the state
whether the oil inspectors office was
established upon fee or a salary ba-
sis. Under the old system, where fees
were collected, the inspectorship was
fat plum that went to good campaign
assistant. He was not allowed for
long, however, to appropriate all the
booty to himself. 1t presently became
custom to have division of the fees
an understood condition of appoint
ment to the Office and during the later
years of the fee system a good many
hungry noses were thrust into the
trough.
The scandal of this became so great,
the actual appropriation of public
moneys to party managers holding no
public office whatever, but simply
milking the COW from the outside, that
Republicans themselves thought 1t
best to end it by a pretense of virtue.
This they did by the passage of a law
placing the oil inspection office on a
salary basis and declaring that the
balance Of receipts over expenses
should be turned over to the state.
This would have been commendable
had it not been so arranged that there
would be no balance. The provisions
of the bill take care of that.
Under section three of this act the
state inspector is empowered to employ
one deputy inspector in each county in
the state and two in Hennepin and two
in Ramsey, if that should be in his
Judgment required. These deputies are
to receive 800 a month salary. with the
provision that the deputy's salary
shall not exceed rs per cent of the
amount of fees earned by him, unless
that rs per cent amounts to less than
$50 If it does. then he is entitled to
go the limit Indeed, we are surprised
at the moderation Of the single nro-
tective clause in the bill, which saws
that no deputy shall receive more than
the total amount of fees earned and
collected by him. Were it not for that
one safeguard, probably the state oil
inspection would be costing the people
OF Minnesota today two or three times
what it brings in.
The actual conditions are bad
enough. The fees paid for oil insnec-
ton last year aggregated trife less
than $4,000. The expenses of the of
flee were within $4,000 of that amoun+.
and Of the total. $4,000 were paid ont
Ior deputies salaries and general ex-
pehses. Inspectors and deputies enough
: nave been employed to eat un This
handsome sum paid by the oil compa-
MES and the money has been nut