The Idaho Springs siftings-news., 1907-01-05

! with the work OF the different depar--
msnts.
The governor is a member OF one
board however the duties OF when
, could. in my opinion. be placed upon
the secretary of state, and that is the
auditing board The purchase OF all
supplies comes through that depart
ment. and il is usually necessary Tor
him to attend the meetings OF the
board so that the Legislature couit.
with entire propriety. and without det-
r,ment TO the public good. place the
secretary OF state on that board, thus
relieving the governor OF a small por-
ton of Ais board work.
Land Board.
The land board is one OF the most
important boards of the state. II re-
cuires constant care and the duties are
becoming more and more arduouS anu
.xacting. and even then il is possible
for abuses to creep in which could not
If the board were able 10 devote It's
whole time and attention TO the work.
The members OF the land board can
not even by extreme industry. become
familiar with all the lands OF the state
their location and value. This endo"-
ment OF .hc state is constantly fncreas-
now ripe when provision should be
made for a separate board to manas"
the AFFAIRS of this department Inc
board should be an elective one with
term of either four or six years, the
longer term being preferable. lhls
will require constitutional amend
ment. and il would be at least louF
years before such a board could be-
come operative, but l hope this Leg
islature will take the preliminary steps
toward the change in the management
OF the lani board. However. this
should De remembered. that the stare
superintendent Of public instruction
should ALWAYS be member OF the
state board OF land commissioners. on
account of the fact that this inherl-
tance is Cor the benefit of the public
schools of the state believe CON
sttutional amendment providing for
the election Of two members OF such
hoard. with the superintendent or
schools as the third member. would
prove very satisfactory. and that IN the
end II would be great saving to the
state.
Certificate Of indebtedness.
II is to be hoped that the present
LEGISLATURE will provide for the pay
ment of the certificates OF indebted
ness issued recently on account OF the
various Instructions in this state me
non payment of these certificates has
been a considerable source of embar-
rassment to the present Administrations
and steps she ud be taken for the liquf-
dation OF this indebt edness. In case
another such emergency should arise.
which we all sincerely hone will not be
the case IL would simply be impossible
for the state to get credit.
believe this Indebtedness can best
be taken care OF by bond issne. 1t
should he 50 arranged that the in
creased tax burden will fall as lightly
as rossible upon the citizens of the
state.
Coal Mine Inspector.
The rapid development OF our coal
areas in the past few years has added
greatly 20 the responsibilities of our
coal mine inspector. who is now oper-
ating under A law passed twenty years
ago. which provided for only one dep
utv. At that time one was sufficient,
but II has 1ow become an absolutely
physicel impos ssibility for rwo men to
do the work required under the law
i'll making inspectiOns of coal mining
property. He should be provided with
two more deputies by this session of
the Legislature. The safety of the
men working underground requires it.
and hone there will be no delay in
coming to the relief OF this depart
n1ent. I am Of the opinion, however,
that all deputy coal mine inspectors
should be required to pass the same
examination as the inspector himself
A revision of the law governing coal
mines would not be amiss. as the law
under which they are now operating Is
somewhat old, and believe many i'm
prOvements could be made which
would tend TO prevent accidents ar'
protect the lives of the workmen. as
we'll as being OF material advantage TO
the opera ors themselves Ii is the
duty of the state to fully protect its
cftizons and believe here is an oppor-
tunity to do efficient work.
State Board Of Pardons.
] have found the state board of mar
dons great help to me in deciding
nnon cases worthy of clemencv The
services of these gentlemen is gratui-
touslv given to the state. their only
reward being the consciousness of hav-
ing faithfully performed a good sarv-
ice. which, many times. Is of much
more value than a money considera-
ton.
Tho secretary and clerk of the boarj
OF Charities and Corrections are made
secretary and clerk Of the board of par-
dnns without additional compensation.
The work in both departments of late
years mas grown to such PROPORTIONS
that 1t would seem almost imperative
to make segregation of the two de.
partments, although l believe the work
could be continued for some time To
come II provision was made for an ad-
ditional clerk in the office to attend to
the pardon work, placing the clerk un.
der the direct supervision Of the score.
tary OF the state board of charities and
correction. This would undoubtedly