The Chanute times., 1911-01-13
". R. STUBBs TO
PEOPLE OF KANSAS
lhe Governor Presents His Views
through the Legislature.
MAkESMANY RECOMMENDATIONS
Discusses at Length the Many Sub
jects of Interest to the State
-Favors Advanced
Legislation.
To the Legislature.

To the Legislature:
l. Our state constitution provides that
the governor shall make recommenda-
tlohs ana communicate such information
10 the legislature as, in his opinion, is
necessary and proper.
q Under continued favor of Divine
providence the, commonwealth. taken as
Whole has made satisfactory progress
ourlng the biennium just closed Our ed
ucatlonal institutions, including the coun-
Try districts, city schools, state university,
agricultural college and normal schools,
nave been moving steadily in the direc-
ton of more practical and common sense
system of education.
5. The prohibitory law is better en-
forced than ever before in the history of
the state. There Is not to my knowledge
an open saloon or joint in Kansas. The
sale of liquor for all purposes has been
outlawed and placed on the same basis
as other crime.
4. The federal government has entirely
revolutionized its policy toward law en-
forcement in Kansas and all dry territory
IN the United States Federal officers are
now instructed to prosecute and send to
jail boot-leggers and whiskey venders who
sell liquor without an internal revenue
stamp
3. The taxable property placed on the
$2,752, ,O9S,125, which is an increase of more
than three hundred million dollars in two
years.
&. The value of farm products and live
stock has increased and bank deposits,
railroad earnings, manufactured products,
the volume of general business and fnan-
cial transactions in the state have also
made satisfactory gains.
/. / would be unfaithfu to my trust
as one who believes in the superior i'm
portance of sound education as one of the
greatest factors in the social, political and
business uplift of any state or nation If
did not give a forward position and call
your special attention to the condition of
some of our country schools Whether
through false economy in the matter of
employment and salaries, or through the
desire of young people of higher learning
to flock to the cities where opportunities
seem to them to be better, it Is a fact
that some four thousand district schools
in Kansas are taught by teachers who
did not themselves advance beyond the
eighth grade / am informed upon most
thorough investigation that approximately
one hundred thousand pupils are taught
by these insufficiently equipped and mex
perienced teachers. 1t seems to me that
there is a great waste here not only of
public funds, but of the public opportu-
mites to which the children of Kansas are
entitled The food, clothing, books and
waste of time of one hundred thousand
school children mean an actual cost of
almost a million dollars a month to the
parents of these children, exclusive of
the teachers salaries and the cost of
maintaining the school.
2. now renew this recommendation
to this legislature and recommend that
you enact a law that will place all state
wide public utilities, railroads, telegraph,
telephone, street railway, pipe line, eX
press and Pullman companies and COM
mon carriers of all kinds under the con-
troll of a state commission having full au-
thority over the issue of stocks and
bonds, giving them means and power to
obtain the physical valuation of the prop
erty and plants of these corporations, to
fix and adjust rates upon their own mo-
tion and to regulate rates and services
in the interest of the people of Kansas
and the investors and employees of these
corporations.
l. The laws delay and mis-trial of
cases has been the subject of much bitter
criticism throughout the nation for many
years. Perhaps the most fruitful source
of delay in trial of cases has been the re-
Quirement of a unanimous verdict by our
petit juries in civil cases. Several states
have recently provided for a three-fourths
Jury verdict with very satisfactory re-
suits The law requiring a unanimous
verdict of a jury in civil cases is greatly
to the advantage of big corporations and
powerful or influential litigants, who are
able to hang juries and delay the final
decisions of cases by securing one or
more friendly jurors. This is especially
true in personal injury and death loss
cases brought against employers of labor.
1. In some counties in Kansas officers
charged with the enforcement of the
prohibitory law have utterly failed to do
their duty. The consequent burden and
expense of law enforcement in these
counties has fallen upon the state and
caused heavy expense in the employment
of special deputy sheriffs and assistant
attorney generals to do the work that
should have been done by the regular
local officers Under our present law tina
governor is charged with the duty ana
obligation of enforcing the laws or the
state but he has not corresponding power
to require effective enforcement OF law
by local authorities. If the governor is
to be held responsible for the enforce
ment of law in all the counties OF the
state he should be given full authority to
compel, II necessary, local executive off1-
GERS to do their duty. In several states
of the Union the governor is authorized
by law to remove from office sheriits'
county attorneys and other public of1-
Gals who fail to do their duty, settlng
forth in writing his reasons Tor such re
moval after giving them fair public
hearing.
1. / recommend that a proposition be
submitted to the electors at the next gen.
eral election providing for an amendment
10 the constitution which will permit the
state 70 derive its entire revenue from
state wide public service corporations,
and thereby relieve all counties, munich
palities and local subdivisions Of the
state from paying any state tax. I am
advised that fifteen of the most pro-
gressive states in the Union have already