Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-01-28
Well-Defined Movement to Take
Railroad Commissioners
Out of Politics
WALLACE APPROVES THE PLAN
Man Who Once Led in Movement to
Make Commission Elective Now Sees
Error of System-Governors Garst
and Carroll Both Recommended the
Change.

| SDecl3l TO
Des Moines, Jan. 2S.-Henry Wallace
was one of those who a number of
wears ago led in the movement to make
the railroad commission elective in
stead of appointive and he now heartily
commends that part of the biennial
message to the general assembly which
recommends that there be return to
the appointive system. He states that
the change was made at the time of
the adoption of the Eesent Iowa law
in the belief that if the railroad COM
missioners were responsible to the peo-
election each time better men could
be secured, but that time has shown
that this is not the case. Mr. Wallace.
|in his Farmer, states that it is sig
nificant this change should be urged in
both the biennial message and the IN
augural address, and he adds:
Both of these gentlemen suggest
that the authority of the commission
should be extended over telephone and
.
ommends that the salaries Of the MEM
bers of the commission should be IN
creased to not less than $4,000 a year
and that they should be required to de-
vote their entire time to the work.
! Governor Carroll goes a step further
and suggests that the time has come
, when all public utilities should be put
under public utilities commission. He
| suggests that such a commission could
be created either by charging the
present commission or by converting
lit into public utilities commission.
i He recommends that the commission
| be increased to five.
| "The present Iowa legislature should
carefully consider the recommends
tons of Governor Garst and Governor
Carroll, and whether they create a
public utilities commission or enlarge
the railroad commission and give 1T
additional powers. they should by all
means provide that in the future the
railroad commissioners shall be APP
pointive by the governor and confirmed
by the senate. In no other way can a
thoroughly competent, unbiased. eff
ficient commission be secured. The
members of the railroad commission
should have special qualifications. The
people of the state generally have no
means of knowing whether the cand1-
dates for the commission have these
qualifications. The governor can know
He is great deal more competent to
appoint than the people are to elect
to this particular office. If the COM
mission is made appointive 1T will en-
large the powers of the governor. 1t
will at the same time increase his re-
sponsibiMty If he appoints an incom-
petent commission he can be held re-
sponeible. Whatever else is done make
the railroad commission abpointive. 1t
is one of the most important actions
this legislature can take"
A state board Of education, compris-
ing seven members and having charge
of the educational matters of the state,
including the public schools as we'll as
the higher institutions Of learning, is
what Senator Whipple sees as the re-
suit of his bill for a single board Of
regents which he is preparing for early
Introduction in the legislature.
"The proposed board has been re-
ferred to often as a board of control
for state educational institutions" said
Senator Whipple last night, "but this
conveys the wrong impression. l am
in doubt as to the designation I shall
give to the board in the bill I will in
troduce and expect that instead of
calling it board Of regents as in my
former bill, I will give it the name
board Of education
THAT is what 1t will amount to. 1t
will have charge Of the state univer-
sity, the state normal school and the
state agricultural college, and expect
to see it eventually reduced to seven
members in charge of the entire edu-
cational system In the state, If the
proposition for the county unit con-
tanned in the school bill is adopted"
Senator Whipple- is not at all
alarmed for his bill, because Of the
opposition that some Of the educators
of the state have for it. He maintains
that the three higher educational insti-
buttons should have each It's distinct
field, and that this can be attained
best by placing all three under one
board Of managers.