Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-01-26
LLBENO "PARINC"
LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE ON RE.
TRENcHMENT AND REFORM.
NOT RADICAL.

[BY LEON BROWN
Des Moines Bureau of the Courier.
Des Moines, Jan. %.
Under the Iowa law passed in 1898,
a statutory committee was created to
look after the paying" of expenses OF
| the state government.
This committee is composed under
| the law of the chairmen of the COM
mittees on ways and means, Judiciary
and appropriations of both houses.
| The chairman of the senate ways
and means committee is made chair
man of the committee, ex-officio. the
senate ways and means committee
Craftsmanship being the chief place OF
honor in the whole legislature. Sena-
tor Hayward, of. Scott county, is at the
| head of the statutory committee, there
fore. It's official name is the commit
tee on retrenchment and reform.
The Commottee.
| Following are the members of the
committee by name and district:
| Senators Hayward, of Scott, Dowell
of Polk, and Garst, of Carroll.
Representatives Temple, of Clarke;
Kendall, of Monroe, and Mates, of
Sac.
| Ordinarily the principal business of
the committee is to cut down expenses.
! In 1898 decided wave of reform and
retrenchment struck the state and
urged by the old Iowa State Register,
the legislature determined upon cut
| ting down expenses wherever it was
possible.
! A legislative committee was appoint
ed by special resolution to investigate
the conditions in the state house Of
fees and to report back to the legisla-
| ture the conditions there prevalent.
This committee caused quite SEN
sation. For days and days employees
beheld visions of the headsman's axe
and waited in fear and trembling the
report of the committee. When the
report came out it was drastic in crit
icism and recommended the reduction
of the wages of a lot of poor janitors,
stenographers, etc.
| Since that time the committee has
not had much business to do, as the
pairing" was so deep that no more has
been needed. The tendency has been
the other way-to liberalize the af,
fairs Of the state. Some of the sal
aries that were cut have been put
back.
The new committee on fetrench.
ment and reform appears to be made
up of very conservative and fair mind.
ed men. 1t is believed at the state
house that no effort will be made to
save the state from bankruptcy if il
requires the chopping of a janitors
salary four dollars a month to do il
and that the state ought to be in bet.
4 ter and bigger business than being
spennywise and pound foolish. 1t is
the common belief ON the best posted
men that if the legislature would be
as careful of the thousands as it is OF
the pennies Of the state, there will be
no danger of inviting a deficit
To Investigate Merriam Affair.
One thing of Importance that will
come before the retrenchment and re-
form committee is the Merriam-B oeh
Ter business. The governor recon-
mended investigation of that. If an
! Investigation is made it will be by the
committee on retrenchment and re
form. Senator Hayward as chairman
| AAeto oe@ASA eAie1C liz bS11ONCu ehoI lAC COlA
mittee should follow the recommends
I ton of the governor as closely as pos
sible. Other members of the commit
tee have not expressed themselves.
| The impression among most of the
members of the legislature seems to be
that Merriam and Boehler have already
| been investigated. The executive coun.
Gil did it. The report of the investi.
cation has been submitted to the legis
/ lature by the governor in his message
A legislative investigation would re
veal the same line of facts. it is as.
sumed.
The business of the retrenchment
and reform committee, therefore, is tc
determine which of the companies
which paid fees to Merriam and Boeh
Ter are entitled to the return of the
money from the state Some of them
probably got value received, that is
they were actually examined so that
the state would appear not to owe
them anything.
L